Søndre Land
Ancher was born in Søndre Land in Oppland, Norway. He was the son of Bernt Ancher (1680–1724) and Karen Tanche (1685–1758). The son of a vicar in the Church of Norway, he trained in the trading house established by cousins James Collett (1655–1727) and Peder Leuch (1692–1746) in Christiania (now Oslo).