Ingebret Moltke Moe was born on 19 June 1859 in Krødsherad, Buskerud County, Norway.

[1] After school graduation in 1876 he began to study theology, but eventually he was attracted more by folklore and religious history.

Moltke Moe also took up the legacy established by his father and Peter Christen Asbjørnsen.

He edited the collections of Norwegian folk tales in the tradition of Asbjørnsen and Moe.

He also published collections of folk songs in cooperation with Knut Liestøl.