Benjamin Kissam (1728 – 1782) was a prominent lawyer in New York City who trained prospective lawyers in his office on Golden Hill. From 1764 until 1768 one of his clerks was John Jay, who grew to admire and love his mentor. Kissam’s wife was Catherine Rutgers, whose family owned a large amount of land in New York, and his brother Daniel was a judge in the Court of Common Pleas in Jamaica, New York. For a time Benjamin was primarily responsible for the support of his younger brother Sammy, perhaps the Samuel Kissam who became a doctor and friend of Jay. Benjamin Kissam died in 1782.