Charles Augustus Conrad was born about July 28, 1871 near Ashville in Clearfield Township, Cambria County, Pennsylvania, the son of Henry and Mary “Polly” (Settlemyer) Conrad.

Charles, or "Gus" or "Gust" as he was sometimes called, was the youngest of eleven children. He never knew his sister Martha, who died as a young girl before he was born. He grew up on a farm. His father was a farmer and owned and operated a sawmill near Conrad's Dam.

Charles may have enlisted to serve during the Spanish-American War. If he did so, he would not have saw any action, for the companies from Pennsylvania were mustered out because an armistice was declared three months after the companies were mustered in and still undergoing basic training.

On September 22, 1903 Gus married Sarah Ann Wilt at St. Thomas Catholic Church in Ashville. Annie was born about October 21, 1867, the daughter of Thomas and Catherine Ann (Bender) Wilt. Sadly, Annie died in August 1909, after less than six years of marriage. They had no children.

Gus lived his entire life on a farm near Ashville. He first worked on his father's farm, and then he became a coal miner. He died on March 22, 1937 at Altoona Hospital, Altoona, Blair County, after a brief illness. He was 65.

Gus is buried in St. Thomas Cemetery, Ashville, Cambria County, PA