Born in Clifton Springs, NY on August 10, 1889, Tyson moved with his family to Knoxville Tennessee in 1891. His father was Gen. Lawrence D. Tyson, a prominent Knoxville businessman and philanthropist, Army General, and State Senator. Charles McGhee Tyson attended boarding school at St. Paul's School in New Hampshire followed by Princeton University. After finishing college in 1912 Tyson returned to Knoxville to work as an executive in his father's textile mills.