[1] His father, Edward Ferris, was long an Inspector of Flour in New York and one of the founders of the Tammany Society who made a large fortune, which he left to his children, including Charles and his brother, Floyd T. Ferris, a physician.
[3] Ferris was elected as a Jacksonian to the Twenty-third Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Dudley Selden and served from December 1, 1834, to March 3, 1835.
He was largely instrumental in securing an appropriation through Congress to build the first telegraph line.
[3] After he left Congress, he was appointed as Collector of the Port of New York by President John Tyler but his nomination was rejected by the U.S. Senate and Cornelius P. Van Ness served instead.
Together, they were the parents of one daughter, named after his only sister:[1] Ferris died in New York City on June 4, 1848.