Charles Trowbridge was born on December 29, 1800 in Albany, New York; the youngest of six children born to Luther Trowbridge and Elizabeth Tillman Trowbridge. His father was a Revolutionary War veteran who had fought at the battles of Lexington and Saratoga, among others. Luther Trowbridge died in 1802, and Charles grew up with his mother. In 1813, Charles apprenticed to the businessman Horatio Ross of Owego, New York, who trained him as a merchant. In 1818, economic troubles bankrupted Ross, and Trowbridge, then not quite eighteen, was charged with closing up the business. Trowbridge continued independently in the merchant trade, but quickly decided to move west. In 1819, he secured a position with Major Thomas Rowland of Detroit as Deputy United States Marshal and deputy Clerk of the Court.