Samuel, named after his father, was one of the four sons in the Calvinist family of Makowski in Łobżenica. In his times it was largely popular for students to complete so-called peregrinatio academica ---- great travels, often years-long, with the aim of being able to study at different academic centers across Europe to obtain a certain sense of worldliness. The first such travel in his family was done by his brother Jan, who accompanied several young men from noble Polish families to study in a variety of universities across Germany and The Netherlands.

​

After studying in a few Polish cities, Samuel with his brother Jakub followed closely after. Their first stop was Marburg in Germany, then the University of Franeker, and then, finally the University of Groningen. While through studying at the first two universities, Jakub and Samuel were mirroring the path of their older brother, Groningen was a choice they made themselves. Brothers arrived in 1614, just at the founding of the university. 

​

Samuel studied medicine, becoming a physician in Groningen after a few years of study, and a doctor of medicine upon his return to Poland. At a similar time, he found himself related to a famous Dutch painter, Rembrandt. How? His brother Jan, who became a professor of theology and a renowned scholar in his area married Antje van Uylenburch, the sister of Rembrandt's wife, Saskia. Saskia would then often help Jan out after Antje's death in 1633 until her own marriage in 1634. 

​

Out of the whole family, only Jan stayed in the North of The Netherlands, in Franeker. Both Samuel and Jakub moved back, Jakub becoming a trustee in Toruń, and Samuel continuing his medical practice.