When Even Ostensen Lee was born on 27 June 1819, in Brattberg, Hedmark, Norway, his father, Osten Arnesen, was 26 and his mother, Berte Eriksen, was 31. He married Hellena Karoline Hansen on 30 January 1843, in Vestre Toten, Oppland, Norway. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 4 daughters. He lived in Bangor Township, Brookings, South Dakota, United States in 1900. He died on 17 June 1900, at the age of 80, and was buried in Volga, Brookings, South Dakota, United States.