In 1860 Charles was called by President Brigham Young to take his family and settle in Henefer, Utah—40 miles east of Salt Lake City on the pioneer trail. He was to assist in getting a branch of the Church started. He left his family in Salt Lake City while he went to Henefer to make preparations for taking them there.

Sometime after June 30, 1860, and before March 31, 1861, Charles moved his family to the sagebrush-covered valley of Henefer. They were still living in Salt Lake when the 1860 census was taken on June 30th, but were in Henefer on March 31, 1861, when their son, Golden Freeman, was born. The baby died on April 30th, nearly a month later. There is a biographical document in the Church historian's office written by Charles in which he said he moved to Summit County (Henefer) in 1860.

After August 30, 1860, while still in Salt Lake City, Charles employed Esther Stowe Ovard as a general housekeeper to assist Louisa during her pregnancy. We do not know if Esther went to Henefer with them when they first moved from Salt Lake. What we do know is that on March 9, 1861, three weeks before Louisa had her fifth child, Charles and Esther were married in the Endowment House by Brigham Young. If Esther accompanied Charles and Louisa then she and Charles left Henefer to go to Salt Lake to be married. If she didn’t Charles left Henefer to go to Salt Lake to marry her, and bring her to Henefer with him. During that time Louisa must have stayed in Henefer with her two children.

After entering into plural marriage Charles, Louisa, Esther, Wellington and Prudence lived together in two tents pitched near the Weber River. Charles began immediately to provide better living conditions for his family. He spent a lot of time and hard labor digging three dugouts in the side of the hill nearby. When finished, the dugouts served as their home for a year.

One of Brigham Young's purposes in sending Charles to Henefer was accomplished in 1861, when the Henefer Township was surveyed. William and James Hennefer settled in the valley at the suggestion of President Brigham Young about 1859. William was made the presiding elder of the Henefer Branch, and served in that position until 1865, when Charles Richins succeeded him.