When Harda Karoline Hansen Bakkeland was born on 12 October 1884, in Holmestrand, Vestfold, Norway, her father, Herman Hansen Bakkeland, was 27 and her mother, Hanna Karoline Hansdatter, was 35. She married Oluf Bertinius Arvesen on 29 January 1905, in Horten, Vestfold, Norway. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 2 daughters. She died on 20 February 1930, in Horten, Vestfold, Norway, at the age of 45, and was buried in Horten, Vestfold, Norway.