Charles Henry Booth (1803–1903) was a longtime resident of Englewood, New Jersey, whose life and moral commitments linked the town to some of the most important reform movements of the nineteenth century. Born in Stratford, Connecticut, in 1803, Booth came of age during the early years of the American republic and lived long enough to see the nation transformed by industrialization, civil war, and emancipation.

After arriving in the New York region as a young man, Booth built a successful career in the wholesale dry-goods trade, rising from clerk to senior partner through decades of steady work. Following his retirement from active business life, he settled permanently in Englewood, where he lived for many years and spent the remainder of his long life. His Englewood home became a place of stability in his later decades, and the town served as the setting for his transition from businessman to respected elder.

Booth was widely known for his strong opposition to slavery. He was an active abolitionist at a time when anti-slavery views were controversial and often dangerous to express. His convictions were reinforced through his membership in the church led by Rev. Dr. Cox, a nationally influential religious leader whose congregation was recognized for its outspoken opposition to slavery and its embrace of social reform. Dr. Cox’s church functioned as a critical hub for abolitionist thought, where religious faith and moral activism were inseparable. Booth’s involvement in this community placed him firmly within the reformist networks that challenged slavery as both a moral and a national crisis.

Though he did not seek public office, Booth remained deeply engaged in civic life. He followed politics closely, voting in nearly every presidential election of his lifetime and aligning first with the Whig Party and later with the Republican Party as the political landscape shifted around the slavery question. His century-long life gave him firsthand knowledge of figures, debates, and movements that defined the nineteenth century.

By the time of his death at the age of one hundred, Booth had lived in Englewood for a significant portion of his life and had seen the abolition of slavery become a lasting reality. His long residence in the town, combined with his abolitionist commitments and ties to one of the era’s most important reformist churches, makes him a figure of enduring local and national significance.

"A Remarkable Centenarian." The Morris County Chronicle, 25, Sept. 1903, p.5.

"On This Date." The Record, 30 May 1994, p.A-12

"A Remarkable Centenarian." The Record, September 25, 1903.