Charles Edward Robertson was born on 8 April 1848, the son of Alexander Robertson and Margaret Ferguson of St. Peter's Road, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. By 1881 he was established as a prominent custom tailor and merchant at the northeast corner of Dorchester and Queen Streets in Charlottetown. The tailoring enterprise offered the "latest styles clothing" made to order out of a wide selection of broadcloths, worsteds, tweeds, etc. while the Gent's Furnishing Goods offered a variety of ready made goods including hats, gloves, shirts, overshoes, trunks and valises. Robertson married, ca. 1875, Sophia Gates of Charlottetown and they had at least two children, Martha and Alma. By 1900 the premises on Queen Street were vacant.

Gent's Furnishing Goods, run by Charles Edward Robertson, offered a variety of ready made goods including hats, gloves, shirts, overshoes, trunks and valises. The store, located at the northeast corner of Dorchster and Queen Streets in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, seems to have operated from 1874 until at least 1884.