Son of Joseph Tarr and his wife, Catherine Amelia Hollenbeck. His mother died when Charles was young, perhaps even at the time of his birth. While his date of birth has been consistently shown in various records as March 7, the year of his birth varies as 1871, 1872, 1873, or 1874. The year 1871 would have conflicted with the birth of his sister, Minnie Bell. Charles gave his year of birth as 1872 in his 1918 Declaration of Loyalty, while his father's Civil War pension records state he was born in 1874. His father's pension record also lists him as son "Marion F. Tarr". Most other records place his birth in 1873. His place of birth also varies in records between Fulton and Peoria county, Illinois, but may have even been Knox county.

As of the 1900 census, Charles was living with his future in-laws, Horace and Myra Stafford, in Union township, Des Moines county, Iowa (south of Burlington), while his future bride was living in another nearby home, employed as a family servant.

Charles and Estella Anna Stafford were married in Monticello, Lewis county, Missouri on 14 November 1900. Their first born child, daughter Hazel, was born 9 months later, in Canton, Lewis county, Missouri. A year later, son Charles F. was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Son Theodore and daughter Esther were then born in Burlington, Iowa during 1905 and 1906, respectively. Daughter Estella was born in Stronghurst, Henderson county, Illinois in 1909. Their last four children, Lawrence, Margaret, Myra, and William, were born in Monmouth.

Various records list Charles as a laborer - a farm laborer, a day laborer, a laborer at a Monmouth clay factory, and a laborer at Patee Plow company. His death certificate listed him as a retired riveter.

Following the death of his first wife, Estella, in 1940, Charles married Ruby E. Alton, the widow of John Talley. This marriage took place sometime before the death of Ruby's daughter, Helen E. Talley, which occurred on 20 November 1944 in Monmouth. Ruby was not mentioned in the obituary for Charles which ran in the Monmouth paper, and his death certificate listed him as a widower. However, Ruby was still listed as Mrs. Tarr, living in Monmouth, until at least 1954.

Charles died at the Southton Home for the Aged, Bexar county, Texas, where he had been a patient for 4 days. His funeral was conducted by Frank Cortez of San Antonio (Bexar county) the following day. According to his Texas death certificate, his place of burial was given as Galveston, Texas, some 250 miles from Southton (cemetery not named in record), and on an island, no less, where cemetery space was limited. The home had their own cemetery, which was relocated as a mass unmarked grave in 1986, when the property was put up for sale. It is not known why he simply wasn't buried at the home. His obituary from Monmouth stated he was buried in San Antonio, with military honors given by the local VFW. While it has been claimed that Charles was a veteran of the Spanish-American War, no proof has been found to support the claim. Had he actually been a veteran, with services rendered by the local VFW, he probably would have been buried in one of several nearby National cemeteries, but no such listing has been found. Records of the funeral home which conducted his services have not been located, either. The owner of the firm volunteered his services during the Vietnam War, and was killed there in 1970 at age 67.