Catharine Hailer was born August 16, 1834 in Berlin, Ontario to parents Margaret Riehl and Jacob Hailer, purportedly the first native German to settle in what is now the Region of Waterloo Ontario. She met Philip Ludwig (known as Louis) Breithaupt of Buffalo when he visited Berlin on business. The couple married February 8, 1853 in Berlin. Together Louis and Catherine had ten children, seven of whom survived to adulthood, and some of whom played an instrumental role in the growth and development of what is today Kitchener, Ontario. The family lived in Buffalo until relocating to Berlin in 1861.

Catharine was active in community affairs, most notably the Zion Evangelical Church. After her husband's death in 1880 she travelled to Germany, the Pacific Coast, as well as to the United States to visit family and friends, and seasonally to the family cottage "Bay View Cottage" in Penetaguishene, Ont.

Catharine died July 5, 1910 and was buried with Louis.