This Benjamin Gomez, namesake of his maternal grandfather, was born the fourth of six children of Mattathias and Rachel Gomez. As his parents were first cousins on the paternal side, he was descended from two sons of Lewis Moses Gomez, Isaac (through his father) and Benjamin (through his mother). He could certainly claim that he was a Gomez through and through!

Benjamin Gomez had the distinction of being perhaps the first Jewish bookseller and stationer in the United States when, in the New York directory of 1791, he listed his shop at 32 Maiden Lane ‘near the Fly Market,‘ at the same location where his brother Isaac carried on a brokerage business. Benjamin Gomez was among the most significant New York booksellers of his day, advertising a wide selection of books, including (according to one advertisement) volumes ‘just imported from Dublin,‘. His offerings focused on religious, historical, and scientific subjects, ranging from literature to anatomy. In 1792, he extended his activities to include publishing. He was most active in the book trade between 1792 and 1799, publishing a number of significant volumes. In 1798, he took up the lottery trade as a sideline, and after 1801 the Fortunate Lottery Office became his principal occupation. When, however, it turned out that lotteries were not as lucrative as he had hoped, he added dry goods to the business as a sideline. He eventually returned to bookselling, then worked as a grocer and a tobacconist after 1806.

In 1797, following in the family tradition, he married his twenty-six-year-old second cousin Charlotte Hendricks, a sister of Harmon Hendricks, the celebrated early American industrialist. They had daughters Hetty, Matilda, and Emeline, along with a son, Mathias, who was killed in a duel in New Orleans.