Christine Carmichael was the youngest surviving child of William Howland and Margaret Carmichael Howland. She had two older siblings, but was significantly younger than them due to a lost baby in-between. As the youngest, she had ample attention from her parents. Robert and Nina had gone away to boarding schools in the north, and Crissy monopolized their time. Although she came from an interracial coupling, Crissy resembled her father, and was fair skinned just like her siblings.