Following closely his father's record of public service, legislator, investor, and horse racing pioneer Benjamin Tasker Jr. was the only son of Benjamin and Anne Tasker to survive to adulthood. He was born on February 14, 1720, in Anne Arundel County, never married, and died without children.

Tasker acquired considerable amounts of land in Calvert and Anne Arundel Counties and owned one-fifth share in the Baltimore Iron Works, which was given to him by his father sometime in the 1750s. He was active in thoroughbred racing in Maryland and imported breeding stock from England. His famed mare, Selima, raced successfully in Maryland and Virginia and produced offspring of equal ability. With his brother-in-law, Christopher Lowndes, Tasker also was a partner in the slave trade in the 1750s.

Following the death of Samuel Ogle in 1754, Benjamin Tasker Jr. began operating Ogle's 2,177-acre plantation, Belair, in Prince George's County. Tasker made numerous improvements to the mansion house and grounds, the mills and the pasture lands. He also planted vineyards and began making wine.

Like his father before him, Benjamin Tasker Jr. served in the Provincial Council for many years (1744-60) and was the mayor of Annapolis from 1754 to 1755. He also served in other capacities including as Deputy Secretary of Maryland from 1756 until his death. Locally he also served on the Common Council and was an alderman in Annapolis throughout the 1750s.

Tasker was commissioned as a naval officer in Annapolis and served from 1742 until his resignation in 1755. He also served as a colonel in the Anne Arundel County militia from about 1744 until he died. In that capacity he was described in 1756 as one of "the two principal Field Officers in the County."

Benjamin Tasker Jr. died on October 17, 1760, after a fever of several weeks. His obituary in the Maryland Gazette described him as "charitable without ostentation, courteous without art, and in his friendships, steady and sincereÖuninfluenced by other motives than a sincere love of his country, he contributed on every occasion, his best endeavors to promote its best interests." Benjamin Tasker Jr. was buried in the St. Anne's Church burying ground in Annapolis.

Land, Aubrey C. The Dulanys of Maryland: A Biographical Study of Daniel Dulany, the Elder (1685-1753) and Daniel Dulany, the Younger (1722-1797). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1968.

Warfield, J.D. The Founders of Anne Arundel and Howard Counties, Maryland: A Genealogical and Biographic Review from Wills, Deeds and Church Records. Baltimore: Kohn & Pollack Publishers, 1905. Pp. 801-2.