[3] His father, a "joiner" or shipbuilder who worked for the British Navy around the Great Lakes, died at Penetanguishene just before Charles turned 2.

He took a job in the naval lab making cartridges at Fort Henry and two years later was transferred to the Ordnance office at the fort, where in his own words he “ranked as a messenger, received the pay of a labourer, and did the duty of a clerk.”[2][5] About this time (1839) Sangster wrote his first serious poem, a 700-line narrative in rhyming couplets called "The Rebel."

Considering that it had been written by a boy with little formal education, the poem demonstrated a considerable vocabulary and a wealth of historical and geographical knowledge more typical of an experienced writer.

[1] When James Reeves, owner of the Courier, died the same year, Sangster returned to Kingston, to work as a proofreader and bookkeeper for the British Whig.

[4] In 1853 Sangster took a steamship excursion down the St. Lawrence River and up the Saguenay River in Quebec, which he wrote about for the Whig in a series of travel letters called "Etchings by the Way"—material he would also use in his long poem, "The St. Lawrence and the Saguenay".

[citation needed] Sangster published his first book of poetry, The St Lawrence and the Saguenay, and Other Poems, in 1856.

According to the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, the volume "was received with unanimous acclaim as the best and most important book of poetry produced in Canada until that time.

"[2] The National Magazine of London echoed the same sentiment: "Well may the Canadians be proud of such contributions to their infant literature....

[citation needed] Sangster's second book of poetry, Hesperus and Other Poems and Lyrics, appeared in 1860, published in Kingston and Montreal.

To help him out his neighbor, the new Postmaster-General Alexander Campbell arranged a job for the 46-year-old Sangster in Ottawa with Canada's new Post Office Department in 1868.

He doubled the size of "The Saint Lawrence and the Saguenay" to over 200 stanzas, and sent the manuscript to his cousin Amos Sangster to illustrate.

[6] Charles Sangster died in Kingston in 1893, and is buried in the city's Cataraqui Cemetery.

[4] The Canadian Encyclopedia says that "Sangster's poetry distinguishes him as a lover and keen observer of the natural world.

He wrote many poems about his experiences and was commended for his ability to express the beauty of Canada's landscapes.

For a man with limited educational training, Charles Sangster had a vast vocabulary and an extensive knowledge of history, classics, mythology and authors.

His poems demonstrate familiarity with classic, historic, and mythological works, as well as British and American authors, including Shakespeare, Milton, Burns, Wordsworth, P.J.