Samuel Fenton Cary was born February 18, 1814 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He became a lawyer in 1837, but stopped working as a lawyer to become a farmer in 1845. He devoted himself to work on temperance (the avoidance of alcoholic beverages) and anti-slavery projects. He wrote books and gave lectures on prohibition and slavery. In 1864 he supported Abraham Lincoln for President.

Cary later joined the Greenback Party and was nominated for Vice President of the United States on the ticket with Peter Cooper. The race was lost to Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876.

Cary lived out the reminder of his days supporting prohibition. He died in 1900 in College Hill, Ohio. Although he never owned any Cary NC Real Estate, the city was named in his honor.