Charlotte Treher was born on March 1, 1842, in St. Thomas, Pennsylvania, to John Treher. Her father was a tavern keeper who owned $400 of personal property by 1860. By 1860, she was living with Jacob and Elizabeth Grove in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. She married John Horst around 1869, and they had at least three children: Edward, born around 1871; Henry, born around 1873; and Bessie, born around 1876. They lived in Chambersburg, and her husband worked as a farmer. By 1870, they owned $575 of personal property. Her husband died on October 7, 1921, and she died of arteriosclerosis in Chambersburg on September 15, 1925.