Thomas Ashburner was born on October 23, 1859, in Baltimore, Maryland, to Charles and Mary Ashburner. His father was a clerk who owned $500 of personal property by 1860. He grew up and attended school in Baltimore, and by 1880, he was also working as a clerk. He married Helen Forbes in 1899, and they had at least four children: Catherine, born around 1900; Frances, born around 1903; Elizabeth, born around 1905; and Ruth, born around 1907. By 1910, they were living in La Grange, Illinois, and Ashburner was working as a salesman. He died there on March 3, 1930.