Charles Howard was born August 7, 1804, in Chenango County, New York.

[2] He later joined the firm of Alvin Bronson and Company (later Bronson, Crocker, and Company) as a shipping and forwarding commission merchant,[2] and moved to Oswego, New York, to represent to firm.

The couple had two children: Mrs. William J. Waterman and well-known dramatist Bronson Howard.

[3] In 1848, he entered a partnership with N. P. Stewart, continuing his shipping and forwarding business and also as a railroad contractor, building substantial portions of the Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad line,[1][4] although his firm lost $280,000 in the project.

[1] The Panic of 1857 caused the failure of the Peninsular Bank,[4] and in 1858, Charles Howard moved to New York City.