Saml.

Saml. is a clerk's shorthand for the given name Samuel. Writers shortened common first names to save time and ink, usually by keeping the first letters and the last one or two, often with the final letters raised above the line.

The clerk kept the first three letters and the final l, often raising the l above the line. Searching an index for Saml. as well as Samuel can turn up entries that a strict search misses.