When Jón Ólafsson was born on 10 August 1799, in Leirá, Borgarfjarðarsýsla, Western Region, Iceland, his father, Ólafur Magnússon, was 31 and his mother, Steinunn Nikulásdóttir, was 35. He had at least 1 son and 2 daughters with Ingibjörg Guðmundsdóttir. He died on 20 July 1825, in Iceland, at the age of 25, and was buried in Vestmannaeyjabær, Suðurland, Iceland.