Charles C. Burdick was born on July 14, 1815, in Connecticut. He married Nancy Rix on February 14, 1838, and they had at least four children: Mary, born around 1839; Charles, born on January 7, 1842; Anna, born on June 4, 1845; and Sarah, born in July 1847. They lived in Pomfret, Connecticut, and Burdick worked as a farmer. The family moved to Brooklyn, Connecticut, in the 1850s, and he earned a living as a tavern keeper there. By 1860, he owned $3,500 of real estate and $2,000 of personal property. They moved to Providence, Rhode Island, in the 1860s, and he worked as a hotel keeper. By 1870, he owned $6,000 of real estate and $1,000 of personal property. The family returned to Brooklyn in the 1870s, and he died in Connecticut on January 2, 1892.