Charles was born at Batsto in 1809; later in life he would go on to work at another Jersey Iron Furnace, the Bergen Iron Works in Ocean County (present-day Bricktown).

He was married to Hannah McKinney. Actually, there are various spellings of this surname popular throughout the Batsto region--McAninney, McNinney, McKinney, etc. She was born at Batsto on 23 Oct 1836 and died at Freehold on 28 Oct 1866. It is not clear when the couple left Batsto or when they arrived at the Bergen Iron Works, or if they resided anywhere else between the two. They were living in Bricktown according to the 1860 census, so it must have been prior to that.

At the time of the 1860 census, they had six children:

• Silas Southard, who was born on 1 Nov 1840, according to his Civil War Pension application. He died at Lakewood, NJ on 28 May, 1922 and was buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery there. He also worked at the Bergen Iron Works. He fought in the Civil War; he enlisted at Trenton on 16 Sep 1864 in Co.F. 14th Reg NJ Vols. He was the father of Mary (Southard) Matthews, born in 1869 and Harry E. Southard, born 5 Dec 1871.
• Samuel Southard, Pvt. Co. F. 14th Reg NJ Vols, killed in action at the First Battle of Bull Run.
• Adeline Southard, born in 1845. According to the 1870 Federal Census, she was 'doing housework' in the home of the Johnson family in Brick Township. It is not known if this is the same Johnson family to which her brother in law, Ivins Johnson, belonged.
• Silphia Southard, born in 1847.
• David Southard, born in 1848. He married Amanda Matthews (1856-1881), daughter of Joseph Matthews. She is buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery in Lakewood, NJ. David and Amanda were the parents of Charles Southard (b. 1874) and Athelina Southard (b. 1854). David's headstone says he lived from 1848-1934, and his wife, "Mandy M.", from 1857-1881. There are other names in the family plot at Woodlawn, possibly children but I cannot be sure:
  • Addie Southard Matthews (1880-1901)
  • Charles Southard (1874-1874)
  • William I.Chadwick (1876-1947). His name is on the reverse side of the stone that David Southard's name appears on. His wife, Ethelena Southard (1876-1947) is on the same stone as well.
• Thomas Southard. His name does not appear on the published Southard family genealogies, but it does appear in his sister, Sarah's, obituary in two different newspapers. He is supposed to have lived in Lakewood.
• Sarah Elizabeth Southard. For more about her and her family, click on her name.