He was born in Tønsberg in Jarlsberg og Larvik county in Norway to civil servant Anders Madssøn (1609-1670) and Karen Stranger (1617-1698).
[2][3] After visiting several European universities, he returned to Norway in 1668, and was assigned an administrative position at the Akershus Castle.
[3] In 1679 he was appointed as County Governor of Buskeruds amt, residing in the town of Drammen.
He only held this post for a few months before his health failed and forced him to resign in December of 1704.
From his base in Drammen, he ran exports of lumber and collaboration with the city's leading merchants and ship owners.