| Benjamin Ives Gilman | |
| Office: | Delegate to the 1802 Ohio Constitutional Convention from Washington County |
| Term Start: | November 1, 1802 |
| Term End: | November 29, 1802 |
| Alongside: | Ephraim Cutler John McIntire Rufus Putnam |
| Birth Date: | 29 July 1766 |
| Birth Place: | Exeter, New Hampshire |
| Death Place: | Alton, Illinois |
| Spouse: | Hannah Robbins |
| Children: | Winthrop Sargent Gilman, eight others |
| Alma Mater: | Phillips Exeter Academy |
Benjamin Ives Gilman (29 July 1766 - 13 October 1833) was a pioneer of the U.S. state of Ohio. He was a shipbuilder on the Ohio River and an extensive landholder. He was a delegate to the convention that wrote a constitution for the new state.
Gilman was the son of Joseph Gilman and Rebecca (Ives) Gilman, and was born July 29, 1766, at Exeter, New Hampshire. He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy. When the Ohio Company of Associates was formed, he purchased one share personally, and two in partnership. He moved to Marietta, Northwest Territory, with his parents in 1789.
Gilman returned to the East, and married Hannah Robbins of Plymouth, Massachusetts, at that place in February 1790, and they moved to Marietta. The couple had nine children born between 1790 and 1808, including Winthrop Sargent Gilman.
Gilman opened a store in Fort Harmar in 1792, and was clerk of courts for Washington County from 1795 to 1803. In 1802, Gilman was elected as a Federalist delegate to the convention to write a constitution for the new state of Ohio. He voted at the convention against slavery and for civil rights and suffrage of black people.
In 1801, Gilman began a shipbuilding business. His ships would sail down the Ohio River and Mississippi River, and thence to ports on the Atlantic Ocean. This business thrived until the Embargo Act of 1807 destroyed trade. Gilman also had extensive landholdings in Ohio. In 1810, he owned, sixth most in the state.
The War of 1812 diminished the value of lands in Ohio, and the ability of buyers and tenants to make payments. In 1813, Gilman moved back east to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was deeply indebted to his relative Nicholas Gilman at the time. He was a partner in the Philadelphia house of Gilman and Ammidon, and his business was successful there. Gilman was the only one of 35 delegates to the constitutional convention to return to live in the East.
Two of Gilman's sons lived in Alton, Illinois. He visited there in 1833, and died from a fever at that place on October 13 of that year.
. . The Gilman family traced in the line of Hon. John Gilman of Exeter, N.H. with an account of many other Gilmans in England and America. Arthur Gilman (educator). 1869. J. Munsell . Albany .
. . General catalogue of officers and students of Phillips Exeter Academy, 1783-1903 . Phillips Exeter Academy. The News-Leader Press . Exeter NH . 1903 . 1. ives..