Charles T. Northup was born around 1824 in Rhode Island to William Northup. He married Theresa H. A. Wood on November 8, 1847, and they had at least six children: Charles, born around 1852; Mary, born around 1854; Isabel, born around 1859; John, born around 1862; Lincoln, born around 1867; and Henry, born around 1869. He worked as a merchant and tailor in Warwick, Rhode Island, and by 1860, he owned $500 of personal property. A decade later, he owned $1,000 of real estate and $600 of personal property. He supported the Republican Party, and he served as state constable in the late 1870s. He died sometime after 1886.