 Being the youngest of eight, Caroline watched as “three of her brothers became officers and served in the War of 1812.” Their letters home and “tales of patriotic adventure” were great inspiration to Caroline.As a young girl, Caroline was “popular with her companions, playing games, taking woodland walks, and studying nature.”

On September 30, 1824, Caroline married Nicholas Marcellus Hentz, “a political refugee from Metz [and] son of a member of the French National Convention.” The couple originally lived near Round Hill School in Northampton, Massachusetts, where Nicholas was an instructor.In 1826, the couple moved to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where Nicholas became the chair of modern languages.