While a family tree holds he and his siblings as children of priest Der Avedis Der Avedisian and his wife Bilbil of Mashgerd, Arapkir, Turkey, it is more likely they were his grandchildren. He was the son of Der Avedis Der Avedisian, the priest of the village of Mashgerd outside Arapkir, and his wife Bilbil. His birth is estimated to have been in the 1840s. There is an Artin son of Avedis in the household of Der Avedis of Mashgerd born in 1852, this could be him, and fits with the theory he was the oldest sibling because there is an extra generation of descendants in his branch, though it becomes difficult to reconcile years between him and his grandchildren if true and would fit better if he was born in the 1840s. A family tree refers to Haroutune as "Haji Artin Agha", Artin Agha being a nickname for Haroutune. His wife's name was not recorded, perhaps she died young, but they are known to have had two sons. One son Asadour died without issue, it is said he might have been ambushed while traveling and killed. Haroutune's other son was Hagop, who married Sonia Tashjian and had four children. The only other fact known about Haroutune is that he had the title "Haji", which means he had made the Christian pilgrimage to Jerusalem. His brother Zakar had the same title so it can be assumed they might have gone together, as could be expected of the sons of a priest.

For unknown reasons, many members of the wider Der Avedisian family left their ancestral village of Arapkir at some point. It is not known when, but prior to the 1890s. Artin Agha's great-grandchildren were born in the town of Erzincan, while some of his brother's grandchildren were born in Tokat even further away from Arapkir. Hagop named one of his sons Haroutune, likely after his father. It is unknown when and where Artin Agha died, whether in Arapkir or if he had moved like his son to Erzincan.