John Burton Newcomb was born on July 10, 1809, in Pictou, Nova Scotia, father of Simon Newcomb (1835-1909), a mathematician, astronomer, and geographer.

He was an itinerant country school teacher. He moved around teaching in various parts of Canada, particularly in different villages in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. After the death of his wife in 1851, he moved to the US to join his son Simon and he taught in Massachusetts and Maryland.

In 1834, he married Emily Prince (1813-1851). He died on November 20, 1882, in Saltillo, Aguascalientes, Mexico.