Charles Chauncey was born on 17 August 1777. Raised in in New Haven, Connecticut, he moved as a young man to Philadelphia, where he met and befriended Horace Binney. In 1799 he joined the Philadelphia bar, the start of a successful legal career that would last for decades. Chauncey was also a trustee for the University of Philadelphia. In 1808 he married Hannah Chester (1781–1821), with whom he would have five children. Chauncey died on 30 August 1849 in Burlington, New Jersey, where he had relocated some years prior.