Needham Bryant Broughton was born on February 14, 1848, on a farm near Auburn, North Carolina, to Joseph Broughton and Mary Bagwell. His paternal grandfather was an English immigrant. Joseph Broughton died in 1854, leaving Bagwell to care for Needham, his three brothers, and his three sisters by herself. In 1856, Broughton moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, with his family and studied in public schools for five years.
