Benjamin Tasker was born around 1690 in
Calvert County, Maryland, to Rebecca Isaacs (née Brooke) and Thomas Tasker. Tasker became a naval officer at
Annapolis, Maryland, in 1719 and served until 1742. He also served in the municipal and provincial government as: member and president of the
Governor's Council, 1722–1768; member of the
Lower House of the
Maryland Legislature, 1715–1717, 1720–1722; member of the
Upper House, 1722–1766, 1768; President of the Upper House, 1734–1766, 1768; Annapolis
alderman, 1720, 1754–1766;
Mayor of Annapolis, 1721–1722, 1726–1727, 1747–1748, 1750–1753, 1756–1757; President of the Council in 1752; acting governor of Maryland, 1753. In October 1731, Tasker was one of the founders of the
Baltimore Ironworks Company. In 1740, Governor
Samuel Ogle was dispatched to
England following
England's declaration of war against Spain. He left Tasker with his
power of attorney and in addition "the task of supervising the construction of a new house at Belair." {{cite book |last=Baltz |first=Shirley Vlasak |title=A Chronicle of Belair |publisher=Bowie Heritage Committee |year=1984 |location=Bowie, Maryland |pages=14–19 ==Family==