Johann Heinrich Jäkel, son of Johann Jacob Jäkel, was born on 1 April 1722 in Dauernheim. He married Johanna Catharina Ester Gerlach in Düdelsheim on 27 January 1746. She was born in Düdelsheim on 21 August 1718, the daughter of Johann Heinrich Gerlach and Catharina Eleonora Ros.
Johann Heinrich and Johanna Catharina Ester had at least three children who were born and baptized in Düdelsheim: Johann Friedrich (baptized 31 August 1749), Heinrich Peter (baptized 29 November 1752), and Anna Catharina (baptized 4 May 1758).
The Jäkel family migrated to Russia in 1766 and arrived in Oranienbaum on 16 June. They had sailed from Lübeck aboard the "Northern Eagle" under the command of midshipman Pyotr Malenkov.
After more than a year of travel, the Jäkel family arrived in the colony of Balzer on 18 June 1767 and is listed in the 1767 Census of Balzer in Household No. 55.
The following year (1768), Friedrich, the son, and Anna Catharina, the daughter, moved to Kutter. Anna Catharina married Johann Heinrich Wacker from Norka.
- Bonner, Wayne H. Volga German Settlers Identified in Isenburg and Other German Church Records Part I (Gardena, CA: Wayne Bonner, 2007): 28.
- Decker, Klaus-Peter, Büdingen als Sammelplatz der Auswanderung an die Wolga 1766 (Büdingen: Geschichtswerkstatt Büdingen, 2009): 83.
- Decker, Klaus-Peter, Die Auswanderung von 1766/67 aus der Grafschaft Ysenburg-Büdingen nach Russland (Büdingen: Geschichtswerkstatt Büdingen, 2015): 134.
- Düdelsheim Parish Records (LDS Intl Film #1201789). Accessed on Archion.de on 25 May 2025.
- Idt, Andreas and Rauschenbach, Georg, Deutsche Kolonisten Im Jahr 1766 in Oranienbaum Und in Den Siedlungsorten: Die Kuhlberg-Listen, 2. Auflage (Moskow: 2024): 184.