In 1837, when Samuel was eleven the family moved to Stalybridge and he became a power loom weaver in a cotton mill. By the time of the Cotton Famine he had risen to become a cloth-looker, but the depression of the 1860's threw him and thousands of others, out of work.
The cotton famine changed Laycock's life - he published poems inspired by the crisis and as a result he never worked in the mill again. In 1865 he became the librarian and porter at the Mechanics Institute. He left this post six years later after which he seemed to drift for some time. Various unsuccessful enterprises - a bookstall on Oldham market, a photography business in Mossley, a short-term as Curator at the Whitworth Institute in Fleetwood - belong to this period. In 1868, he settled in Blackpool as it was thought the climate would be good for his health. He worked as a photographer a this time and his poems were published in book form, but it is probably safe to assume that his income was never secure or very high. He was elected to Blackpool Library Committee, and wrote several other notable poems, including "Lancashire Poems, Tales and Recitations" in 1875 and "Warblin's From' An Owd Songster" in 1893.
He died on 15th December 1893 and is buried in Blackpools Layton Cemetary and his grave can be visited at plot E 31.