He was an early civil rights activist who farmed, sold real estate and owned a mattress factory, a funeral home (Sutton & Sutton) and a skating rink — in addition to being a full-time educator and father of 15 children. All twelve Suttons' children who survived to adulthood earned college degrees. Four of Suttons' daughters were prominent teachers; one son was an inventor; and a daughter was the first woman graduate of the Howard University School of Medicine. Oliver Carter Sutton was for many years a judge of the New York Supreme Court, and Percy Sutton was president of the Borough of Manhattan in New York City. Samuel was a teacher who later became principal of Phyllis Wheatley High School, San Antonio's black high school.

In a December 27, 2009 obituary of civil rights attorney Percy Sutton, The Associated Press erroneously reported that Sutton's father, Samuel, was a former slave. A family spokeswoman, Terrie Williams, says that Sutton's father lived in times of U.S. slavery but was not enslaved. In a videotaped oral history, Sutton said that his family had believed for years that his father had been born into slavery in Virginia, but found out later that his father was born free in Texas.

The Suttons' second youngest child, Rev. Alexander Carver Sutton, Sr is buried at Eastview Cemetery.

His parents listed on the US Census are Samuel W. Sutton and Mary.

United States Census, 1920 for Samuel J Sutton

Household Gender Age
Samuel J Sutton M 56y
Spouse Lillian V Sutton F 44y
Child John W Sutton M 22y
Child Carrie J Sutton F 20y
Child Samuel J Sutton M 19y
Child Lillian W Sutton F 17y
Child G J H Sutton M 11y
Child William N Sutton M 9y
Child Cora Mary Sutton F 8y
Child Smithie D Sutton F 6y
Child Oliver J Sutton M 4y4m
Child Essie M Sutton F 2y11m
Child Willis A Sutton M 10m

Samuel Sutton (1863 - 1950) –
Eastview Cemetery – Suggested By: Anonymous, 7 Jul 2021
Spouse
Lillian Sutton (1873-1971)
Married: 1897
Lillian Sutton (1873-1971)
Married: 1896