John Weatherburn was born in the village of Kenton, England, April 23, 1750. Weatherburn was bound by indenture to Robert Milbourne, a grocer and tea dealer, in the Great Market, Newcastle on Tyne. His contract bound him to work for five years until he reached the age of twenty-one at which time, he left England and sailed on the brigantine Lowther & Senhouse to settle in America. He arrived in Alexandria, VA in 1772 and eventually settled in Baltimore, MD. He entered a partnership with John Heatherington in 1773 but later managed a business on his own. In 1775, the beginning of the American War of Independence, Weatherburn became a member of the Volunteer Independent Company of Militia, formed under the command of Captain Mordechi Gist. He was prepared for service, but he never saw action.

Business matters and social obligations required that he travel often to Philadelphia and to areas in the Maryland/Virginia regions. At the conclusion of the war, Weatherburn had financial problems and was forced to give up his merchant business. Around 1800, he took a job as a clerk at the Bank of Baltimore. The family residence was then 6 Albemarle Street, in Old Town. In 1806, he was appointed president of Mechanics Bank of Baltimore.

John Weatherburn died April 21, 1811.