Artist John Bradley Hudson, Jr. (1832-1903) created a series of pencil sketches of the Greater Portland area, which later served as a basis for the woodcut illustrations in Edward H. Elwell's "Portland and Vicinity." The popular guidebook, first published in 1876 and followed by several expanded editions, featured numerous illustrations for the Portland peninsula, Cape Elizabeth, Deering, Westbrook, several Casco Bay Islands, and Maine destinations accessible by rail.

The sketch of Dr. Samuel H. Tewksbury's residence near Back Cove appeared in a chapter entitled "To Evergreen Cemetery and Pride's Bridge." The residence is described as being near Ocean Street (Ocean Ave.) with the "view from this point, of the city, rising on the peninsula across the cove, with its church spires and the dome of City hall, is one of great beauty."

Dr. Samuel H. Tewksbury (1819-1880), originally from the Oxford area, was a Harvard trained physician and surgeon. He practiced in Westbrook and Portland until his death in 1880. When Hudson first created the sketch, Tewksbury's home was technically in Westbrook, in an area affectionately known as Deering. The short lived Town of Deering didn't form until a few years after Elwell's initial publication. Deering was eventually absorbed by Portland in 1899.