The second of six children, John Wilson Bengough was born into a deeply Protestant family on 7 April 1851 in Toronto, Province of Canada. His parents were John Bengough, a Scottish immigrant cabinetmaker, and Margaret Wilson, an Irish immigrant. The family soon moved to nearby port town Whitby, where job opportunities beckoned surrounding the construction of Trafalgar Castle, the residence of Nelson Gilbert Reynolds, Sheriff of Ontario County. The elder Bengough later opened a shop in Whitby.