When Johannes Larsen was born in 1794, in Borgund, Møre og Romsdal, Norway, his father, Lars Jonsen, was 29 and his mother, Karen Pedersdatter, was 31. He married Cathrine Arentsdatter on 30 April 1819. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 2 daughters. He died on 27 May 1827, in his hometown, at the age of 33.