Jacob Späth, son of Johann Jacob and Anna Margareatha Späth, and Maria Catharina Krikau, daughter of Philipp Jacob and Maria Christina Krikau (sister of Johann Georg Krikau), came from Wolfenhausen in the Runkel region. The baptisms of three children were recorded in the Wolfenhausen parish records: Philipp Jacob, baptized 13 July 1755; Johann Anton, baptized 15 June 1757; and Johann Wilhelm, baptized 30 May 1760.
The family emigrated to Denmark in 1761. The baptisms of two children are recorded in Danish records: Julianna Catharina, baptized 27 February 1763, and Maria Margaretha, baptized 5 August 1764, both in Jörl, Denmark. The death of Phillip Jacob, age 6, was recorded on 6 November 1761 in Översee Parish, Schleswig-Flensburg.
The family left the Danish colonies in 1765 and emigrated to Russia. They settled in Balzer and are reported there on the First Settlers List in Family #5.
- Parish records of Wolfenhausen and list of emigrants to Russia in 1766, FHL Film #1476755
- Eichhorn, Alexander, Jacob & Mary. The Immigration of German Colonists to Denmark and their Subsequent Emigration to Russia in the Years 1759-1766 (Deiningen, Germany: Steinmeier, 2012): pp. 277, 610, 661
- Danish parish record extractions by Wayne Bonner and Mike Meisinger
- Pleve, Igor. Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet, 1764-1767 Band 1 (Göttingen: Göttinger Arbeitskreis, 1999): p. 72-73
