Charles Pearce was born February 24, 1833, at Limehouse, England, the third of ten children to his parents, Edward and Elizabeth Bennett Pearce. Limehouse, a hamlet within Middlesex, was then on the eastern outskirts of London, almost to Greenwich. Charles entered the trade of tin and coppersmithing.

At the age of 22, he married Eliza Jane Rodwell, also of Limehouse, at St. Mary's Stratford Bow Church in London, July 21, 1855. Eliza and Charles had become members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints prior to their marriage, Nov. 3, 1850, and April 6, 1854, respectively. Charles' parents and siblings also joined.

By 1862, the Charles and Eliza Pearce family had grown to five: Eliza Esther was born in 1858, Charles Rodwell was born Oct. 3, 1859, and Helen Jane was born Dec. 21, 1861. The family responded to the call to Zion and Eliza and the three children boarded the Amazon which sailed from London Jun. 4, 1863. Charles' emigration date is unclear. Charles parents and siblings also emigrated and settled in the Ogden area.

"Ancestral File" lists two other children born in England, Nellie in 1864 and Sara in 1866. The US Federal Census taken in 1870 (Ogden) lends credibility to this as it lists all family members as having been born in England. The birth locations for the latter children are, however, in doubt. A second son, John, was born in Salt Lake City, Mar. 2, 1868, and a third, William Edward, was born in Ogden, Jun. 27, 1870. Helen Jane (Ellen Jane) and John both died in Salt Lake City, Jul. 8, 1868, and Jun. 4, 1869, and were buried in City Cemetery.

Sometime between 1870 and 1880, Charles and Eliza divorced. The 1880 census indicates that Charles, a tin and coppersmith, was divorced and working in Frisco, Beaver County, Utah. Eliza and the children have not been located, but it is known that their second child, Charles R, moved to Montpelier, Idaho, where he died in 1935. Eliza died in Denver, Colorado, Jan. 19, 1896.

Charles met Emma Townsend Lovesy, after her husband, Henry, had died (Jul. 12, 1881). At that time, Emma had two young teen-age daughters, Rachel and Annie, still at home. About 1883, Charles and Emma were married. To them, it appears, a son was born Apr. 11, 1884, who was named Charles William. The infant died two days later, Apr. 13, and was buried in his sister's grave at City Cemetery. The conclusion that he is their son is based on the family's residence and burial location of the boy. The other Pearce family members were in Ogden, and Charles, himself, was later buried in the same plot. The child was not mentioned, however, in Emma's obituary, nor in the 1900 census where the number of her children was enumerated.

Charles and Emma were joined by Emma's mother, Ann Walton Townsend, in the late 1800s and Emma cared for her until Ann's death. The three were counted as a family in the 1900 census -- Charles still a "tinner" and Emma a laundress. Charles died Nov. 7, 1901, and was buried in City Cemetery Nov. 9. No death notice or obituary was found.