Charles Manning Furman was born on July 8, 1840 in Society Hill, S.C., to James C. Furman and his first wife, Harriet Davis.

Charles moved to Greenville and attended Furman University from 1853-1859. He enlisted in the C.S.A. on May 1, 1861 in Charleston and served from 1861-1865, first in the Second South Carolina Regiment and then as captain of Company A, 16th South Carolina Regiment. Following the conclusion of the war, Charles studied and practiced law for a time; however, he spent a large part of his life teaching. He taught at Bladensburg, M.D. and at Bethel College, K.Y., returning to practice law in Greenville, S.C. from 1877-1892. Charles served as Assistant U.S. Attorney from 1886-1889. He quit his law practice and served as the first chair of the English department at Clemson College, S.C., retiring in 1913. Furman died on April 12, 1934 in Bishopville, S.C.

Frances Emma Garden was born on February 6, 1842 to Alester Gibbes Garden and Elizabeth Richardson. Charles and Frances married on February 8, 1864 in Camden, S.C. and they had five children together – Constance Theodora (1864), Harriet Elizabeth (1866), Alester Garden (1867), Anne Eloise (1871), and Charles Manning III (1873). Frances died on March 3, 1883.

Furman married his second wife, Sallie Villepigue, in 1888 at Camden, S.C.