When John Asbjornsen was born on 30 June 1820, in Grønning kirke, Nordland, Norway, his father, Asbjorn Jonsen, was 21 and his mother, Lisbet Sjursdatter Gjølmo, was 21. He married Guri Svendsdatter Fet on 30 June 1839, in Ulvik, Ulvik, Hordaland, Norway. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 5 daughters. He lived in Ulvik, Ulvik, Hordaland, Norway in 1820. He died in 1908, at the age of 88.