He was the first teacher of English language in Closter, New Jersey, and rose to become "the most prominent man in the northern part of Bergen County".
[4] His activities in the legal life of Bergen County were so prolific that many area documents of the late 18th and early 19th century bear his name in some connection.
Blackledge is also said to have built the original (southern) portion of the Blackledge-Kearney House, a site on the National Register of Historic Places located in Palisades Interstate Park.
Benjamin Blackledge married Cathalyntie Tallema (April 1, 1754 - October 5, 1836), who was also known by her Anglicized name, Caroline Tallman.
As told on his monument in Saucher Tave's, at the age of 89, Dowe Tallema was bayonetted by a raiding party of Tories, who attacked his farm on May 10, 1779; he died the next day.