John Larson Vinje was born in Vinjeora, Norway in 1874. He came to the United States in 1888, settling in Bemidji in 1898, where he worked in the lumber mills, was foreman of a railroad construction crew and later was employed as stationery engineer at the courthouse until his death in 1939. He married Nellie Bly Helmer on Oct 28, 1903. He married Goldie Ethel Allen on August 2, 1924. They lived at 1115 Beltrami Avenue.
He was survived by one son John Lloyd Vinje and six stepchildren: Ralph, Ruth, Elaine, Russel, Eugene and Robert Koehn.