When Søren Nielsen was born on 27 September 1815, in Ørsted, Roskilde, Denmark, his father, Niels Nielsen Skreder, was 34 and his mother, Ane Sophie Andersdatter, was 30. He married Ane Margrethe Christensen on 11 January 1839, in Copenhagen, Denmark. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 6 daughters. He lived in Ørsted, Ramsø, Copenhagen, Denmark in 1850 and Copenhagen, Denmark for about 51 years. He died on 29 May 1894, in Utah, United States, at the age of 78, and was buried in Salina, Sevier, Utah Territory, United States.