Benjamin F. Meyers was born near New Centerville, Pennsylvania. He attended Somerset Academy and Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania (now Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania). He studied law, was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in 1855. He served as a member of the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives in 1864. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions of 1864, 1880, 1884, 1888, 1892, 1896, and 1900. He was the editor of the "Bedford Gazette" and in 1868 of the "Harrisburg Daily Patriot".