Jaan was born in 1785. Jaan's father was Märt and his mother is Mari. His paternal grandfather is Andres and his paternal grandmother was Mai; his maternal grandparents are Jaan and Liis. He had two sisters named Epp and Kärt. He had three half-brothers named Hans, Villem and Märt. He died at the age of 24 in 1809.