Samuel Gettys


Samuel Gettys was a settler and tavern owner in south-central Pennsylvania during the late 1780s. The borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, which was founded in 1786, was named after him.

Formative years

Born in 1725 in Randalstown, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, Samuel Gettys was the husband of Isabella Gettys, the sister of Reynolds Ramsey, grandfather of historian J. G. M. Ramsey. Their children were: Mary Linn, William Gettys, and James Gettys.

American Revolution

Samuel Gettys gave funds to the Continental Army but, soon after it won, he was rich in land but poor in cash; so he decided to sell off his plots of land in order to achieve financial stability. His son, James, bought his land and sold it off in parcel lots.

Death and interment

Gettys died in Gettysburg on March 15, 1790, and was buried at Black's Graveyard in that city.