Sarel was born on July 27th, 1897. Sarel's father was Sarel Andries Nienaber and his mother was Martha Aletta Maartens (Hendrina). He had a sister named Johanna. He was the younger of the two children. He died due to a medical problem, Convulsions, at 2 months old on October 7th, 1897 in Diepfontein..