When Godtfred Johan Severin Jochumsen was born on 21 September 1833, in Kristiansand, Vest-Agder, Norway, his father, Jochum Billington Jochumsen, was 32 and his mother, Asgierd Gunnusdatter, was 36. He married Sophie Fredrikke Johannesdatter on 29 April 1859, in Kristiansand, Vest-Agder, Norway. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 4 daughters. He died on 19 May 1903, in his hometown, at the age of 69, and was buried in Kristiansand, Vest-Agder, Norway.