When Halvor Mogenson was born on 19 March 1842, in Aust-Agder, Norway, his father, Mogen Halvorsen, was 23 and his mother, Karine Johnsdr, was 30. He married Martha Stine Johnsen on 8 March 1872, in Arendal, Aust-Agder, Norway. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 6 daughters. He lived in Øyestad, Aust-Agder, Norway in 1842. He died on 10 March 1930, in Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, at the age of 87, and was buried in Wildwood Cemetery, Sheboygan, Sheboygan, Wisconsin, United States.