West was born in Springfield, Pennsylvania, in a house that is now in the borough of Swarthmore on the campus of Swarthmore College, as the tenth child of an innkeeper and his wife.
Benjamin West se narodil v Springfieldu v Pensylvánii v domě, který je nyní ve čtvrti Swarthmore v areálu Swarthmore College jako desáté dítě hostinského a jeho manželky.