Samuel Schotten probably originated from the village of Schotten in Upper Hesse. He was given right of residence under the residence code in 1682, following in the footsteps of his brother, a clothing and drapery merchant, who had moved to Frankfurt a year earlier. In 1865 he became a rabbi at the zur Klause yeshiva, which had been endowed that same year by the Jewish philanthropist, Manasse Darmstädter. He was concurrently chief rabbi of the Grand Duchy of HesseDarmstadt. He was regarded as the leading Frankfurt Talmud scholar of his day. During the period 1703 to 1704 when there was no chief rabbi he acted as leader of the Frankfurt rabbinate. He performed many duties as deputy. When the foundation stone was being laid for the new synagogue in the Judengasse in March 1711 after the great Fire, Schotten spoke prayers in Hebrew which he had written himself. He wrote a commentary on a number of passages of the Talmud entitled "Koss Hajeshuot" ("The Chalice of Salvation"). His works stood out for their clarity and lucidity, and it was important to him that his writings should be understood. He achieved special fame through his regulation of 18 July 1715 instructing community members to wear simple dress and to limit expenditure on festivals. Several of his descendants subsequently moved to Amsterdam.