Benjamin Gaither

{{short description|Founder of Gaithersburg (c. 1784–1838)}}

{{infobox person

|birth_date=c. {{birth year|1784}}

|death_date={{death year and age|1838|1784}}

}}

Benjamin Gaither ({{circa|1784}}{{snd}}1838) is the namesake of Gaithersburg, a U.S. city located in Montgomery County, Maryland.{{citation needed|date=January 2014}}

Benjamin Gaither was the son of Henry and Martha Ridgely Gaither and was born approximately 1784.{{cite book|last=The City of Gaithersburg|title=Gaithersburg: History of a City|year=2002|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=978-0738523729|page=17|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FJq8-fkWijoC&q=Benjamin%20Gaither&pg=PA17}} Through his mother, he descended from Hon. John Dorsey. He married Margaret Brookes who was the daughter of Henry C. Brooks and Martha (Bowie) Brooks. A slave owner, Gaither owned 11 slaves in 1824.{{cite web|url=https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-magazine/november-december-2009/gaithersburg/ |first1=Steve |last1=Dryden |title=Gaithersburg |date=21 November 2009 |publisher=Bethesda Beat |accessdate=2021-01-04 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211018050339/https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-magazine/november-december-2009/gaithersburg/ |archive-date= Oct 18, 2021 }} Gaither's family traces its roots to colonial Jamestown in the 1600s and settled in Montgomery County after the Revolutionary War.{{cite web|url=https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/gaithersburg/gaithersburg-reviewing-streets-other-memorials-named-after-those-with-ties-to-slavery/ |first1=Dan |last1=Schere |title=Gaithersburg reviewing streets, other memorials named after those with ties to slavery |date=9 July 2020 |publisher=Bethesda Magazine |accessdate=2021-01-04 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028015344/https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/gaithersburg/gaithersburg-reviewing-streets-other-memorials-named-after-those-with-ties-to-slavery/ |archive-date= Oct 28, 2021 }}

Benjamin Gaither died in 1838.