When Sonke Georg Nissen was born on 21 October 1834, in Ockholm, Nordfriesland, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, his father, Paul Nissen, was 44 and his mother, Ingeborg, was 38. He married Ingeburg Catharina Nissen on 21 May 1865, in Ockholm, Nordfriesland, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 5 daughters. He lived in Kokholm, Viborg, Denmark for about 5 years. He died on 22 September 1876, in Germany, at the age of 41, and was buried in Germany.