Born on a farm in Englemann Township, St. Clair County, Illinois, the son of German immigrants.

He served as United States Attorney for the eastern judicial district of Illinois 1914–1918.

Karch was elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-second Congress and served from March 4, 1931, until his death.

He died in St. Louis, Missouri, on November 6, 1932, and was interred in Mount Hope Cemetery, Belleville, Illinois.

This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress