Samuel Gettys (1725–15 March 1790) 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, Ireland, Samuel Gettys was the husband of Isabella (Ramsey) Gettys (1731–1815), the sister of Reynolds Ramsey, grandfather of historian J. G. M. Ramsey. Their children were: Mary (Gettys) Linn (1752–1823), William Gettys (1757–1813), and James Gettys (1759–1815). American Revolution Samuel Gettys gave funds to the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, 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. References American city founders Drinking establishment owners American pioneers 18th-century American people People from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania People of colonial Pennsylvania 1725 births 1790 deaths