Dr. Benjamin Coburn was born on 24 October 1838, the son of David Coburn of Keswick Ridge, York County. At age nine, he was orphaned and moved to Fredericton to live with relatives. He was educated in the Baptist Seminary in Fredericton, Harvard, and Vermont College. He served as an assistant surgeon in the American Civil War, and then established a medical practice in Chipman, Queens County. There he married Euphemia (Effie) A. King (born 8 August 1849). After eight years in Chipman, ill-health necessitated a twelve-month rest in Florida. He then returned to New Brunswick and set up a practice in Keswick Ridge, which he carried on for over thirty years.
A year before his death he moved to Fredericton and was appointed Secretary of the Provincial Board of Health. He died on September 22, 1900. In religion, Coburn was Baptist; in politics, he was a Liberal, he ran unsuccessfully in the election of 1895. In addition, he was a Free Mason and a member of the Independent Order of Foresters. He was survived by his wife (who died June 16, 1935) and four children.