Austin was born to Tobias and Mary Schantz on October 5, 1871 in Hawkesville, Waterloo County and raised alongside his seven siblings; Orpheus Moyer Schantz, Etta Lydia Mary Schantz, Sophie Emma Schantz, Franklin Abram Schantz, Arthur Benjamin Schantz, Florence Annie Catherine Schantz, and Herbert Cecil Palmer Schantz.

In 1877 Austin and his family moved to Conestogo, Waterloo County and later to Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario in 1884.

In the 1890s Austin moved to Chicago, Illinois and worked as a clerk with Chas. Gossage & Co, a dry goods store. During this period, he sent money home to support his family in Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario.

Austin moved frequently between Iowa and Nebraska in the late 1890s.

Austin moved out west to homestead in Alberta with his brother Arthur, his father Tobias and his brother-in-law Ward White in 1900. They each claimed a quarter section of a 160 acres of land southwest of Didsbury, Alberta for a fee of $10.00. Austin lived in a small framed house with finished wood in Alberta. Between 1911-1912, his sister Florence helped him keep house. Austin kept angora goats and hogs on his property and possibly some horses. He had two dogs named Tony and Bobs.

Between 1917-1919, Austin worked as a courier between a mine and a nearby town around Grant, Colorado. As a courier, Austin made two trips a month carrying supplies, mail and samples of ore for assaying between the mine and the town. In the meantime, a neighbour in Didsbury, Alberta maintained his crop and stock back home.

During the 1920s and 1930s Austin travelled frequently. He briefly worked as a caretaker for a mine in Denver, Colorado.

In 1942, he returned to Kitchener, Ontario and moved into the family home at 43 Schneider Avenue. Austin subsequently suffered from rheumatism and dementia and died at Sunnyside Nursing Care Home on June 9, 1959.