Jaan was born in 1746. Jaan's father was Andres and his mother was Mari. His paternal grandparents were Mats and Pabbo; his maternal grandparents were Jaak and Mari. He had a brother and two sisters, named Rein, Kärt and Mai. He had five half-sisters named Epp, Krõõt, Liis, Anu and Madli.