When Torger Østensen was born on 1 September 1827, in Atrå, Tinn, Telemark, Norway, his father, Østoyn Olsen Veeåsen, was 29 and his mother, Torbjor Torjersdatter, was 25. He married Kjersti Sigurdsdatter Halvorsen on 19 January 1848, in Bratsberg, Norway. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 3 daughters. He lived in Elbow Lake Township, Grant, Minnesota, United States in 1895 and Delaware Township, Grant, Minnesota, United States in 1900. He died in 1905, in Fillmore, Benson, North Dakota, United States, at the age of 78, and was buried in Pierce, North Dakota, United States.