Benjamin Say was born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Thomas (1709–1796) and Rebekah Atkinson Budd Say (1716–1795), He married Ann Bartram Bonsall (1759–1793) on Oct. 1, 1776, a granddaughter of naturalist
John Bartram. Say was elected as a
Democratic-Republican to the
Tenth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of
Joseph Clay. He was reelected to the
Eleventh Congress and served until his resignation in June 1809. He had a grand house to the southwest of the then-borders of Philadelphia. Dubbed "The Cliffs", it overlooked the
Schuylkill River near
Gray's Ferry, just upriver from
the Bartram estate. ==Death==