[4] Obeng was born in the 1870s (likely 14 October 1877, due to events that happened at the time) in Abetifi Kwahu,[5] then under the oversight of the then Ashanti Colony.
[6] His parents were Maria Akua (Kuru) Animwa and Daniel Kwadwo (Donkor) Asare of Akropong.
[6] He began teaching in 1898 until 1910 when he resigned as a teacher,[7] to take up appointment as a "C" Company pay clerk with the Gold Coast Regiment.
Obeng could be described as a traditionalist who abhorred the imposition os British rule and favoured the traditional system, while acknowledging its limitations.
Obeng also wrote text books in Geography and History in the Twi language.