Charlotte Makgomo (née Mannya) Maxeke was born in Fort Beaufort, Eastern Cape on 7 April 1871. She was the daughter of John Kgope Mannya, the son of headman Modidima Mannya from Batlokwa people, under Chief Mamafa Ramokgopa and Anna Manci, a Xhosa woman from Fort Beaufort. Mannya's father was a roads foreman and Presbyterian lay preacher, and her mother a teacher. Mannya's grandfather served as a key adviser to the King of the Basutos. Soon after her birth, Mannya's family moved to Fort Beaufort, where her father had gained employment at a road construction company. Details about Mannya's siblings are unclear, however, she had a sister known as Katie, who was born in Fort Beaufort. Mannya's date of birth is in dispute, with possible dates ranging from 1871, 1872 to 1874. The Home Affairs minister of South Africa, Naledi Pandoor took special interest in this detail of Charlotte Maxeke's life, however, no records were found. The date in 1871 is also often accepted as it does not conflict with the age of her younger sister Katie who was born in 1873.