When Edvard Embretsen Åkroken was born on 18 April 1864, in Eidskog, Hedmark, Norway, his father, Engebret Olsen Åkroken, was 37 and his mother, Berthea Arnesdatter Solheim, was 34. He married Marthea Olsdatter Trådstadkjølen on 2 April 1890, in Eidskog, Hedmark, Norway. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 3 daughters. He died on 29 December 1917, in his hometown, at the age of 53.