Tales from Silver Lands 1924

Charles Joseph Finger was born in Willesden, England, the son of a tailor. He attended several small private schools, and then King's College in London, although he left university before receiving a degree. He studied music in Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany. In 1887, his parents immigrated to the United States, but he remained in England working in activism. Between 1890 and 1895, he travelled South America, working odd jobs such as sheep and cattle herding, panning for gold, and harvesting and selling sealskins. In 1893, he was a guide for the Franco-Russian Ornithological Expedition to Tierra del Fuego. He returned to England, then came to New York City in 1896 and became an American citizen.