Benjamin Contee

Benjamin Contee (1755 – November 30, 1815) was an American Episcopal priest and statesman from Maryland. He was an officer in the American Revolutionary War, a delegate to the Confederation Congress, and member of the first United States House of Representatives.

Contee was the son of Col. Thomas Contee (1729–1811) and Sarah Fendall (1732–1793). He was born at "Brookefield", near Nottingham, Prince George's County, Maryland, the home of his father, and original home of his ancestor, Maj. Thomas Brooke, Sr., Esq. (1632–1676).

At beginning of the Revolutionary War, Contee entered the Continental Army, rising to the rank of captain of the 3rd Maryland Regiment, which proved to be one of the army's elite units until its near annihilation at the Battle of Camden.

After the war he was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates, where he served from 1785 to 1787. He served as a delegate to the Confederation Congress from 1787 to 1788, and the third district of Maryland in the U.S. Congress from 1789 to 1791. Along with his brother Alexander Contee (1752–1810), he became a merchant of London, at their stores in Nottingham, Queen Anne and Upper Marlboro. He was declared insolvent due to “mishaps in trade”. After having served in Congress, he went to Europe and traveled through Spain, France, and England.

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