The Skowhegan Clarion was edited and published by Charles M. Coburn in Skowhegan, Somerset County, Me. during 1867. He included a variety of content, including puzzles, poems, bible verses, advertisements, nursery rhymes, anecdotes, and writings about winter, Christmas, animals, family, the transatlantic cable, and religion, an index of the contents of the paper, and several original drawings.
Charles Miller Coburn was born on June 17, 1860 in Skowhegan, Somerset County, Me. to Stephen (1817-1882) and Helen Sophia (Miller) (1832-1910) Coburn. His father was a prominent school teacher and principal, U.S. Congressman, and lawyer, and was the brother of famous businessman and Maine Governor Abner Coburn. Charles Coburn had four sisters, Louise Helen (1856-1949), Susan May (1863-1865), Frances Elizabeth (1867-1960), and Grace Maude (1871-1931). He likely attended Dudley's Corner School House and then graduated from Skowhegan High School in 1877. He graduated from Colby College in 1881, being one of the editors of the college paper "The Echo." He studied law in his father's office but had to give up on his studies due to poor health and vision problems. Coburn died on July 4, 1882, at age 22, when, according to the July 13, 1882 issue of the Piscataquis Observer, his father had jumped into the river to commit suicide and Coburn jumped in after him to save him, despite not knowing how to swim. He was buried at the Southside Cemetery in his hometown.