Hetzel (Dietel)

Hans Georg Hetzel, son of Hans Georg Hetzel, was born about 1731 in Sand, Hanau-Lichtenberg. Georg was married in Kork, Hesse-Darmstadt on 21 January 1755 to Margaretha Heÿd, daughter of Georg Heÿd & Anna Heitz. She was born in Neumühl, Hanau-Lichtenberg on 3 October 1732.

On 28 March 1736 the lands of Hanau-Lichtenberg (including Kork, Neumühl & Sand) were inherited by the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. The region around Kork was commonly known as Hanauerland. As part of Germany's administrative reorganization in 1971, Neumühl became part of the municipality of Kehl in what today is the German state of Baden-Württemberg.

Georg and Margaretha had two children born in Neumühl and baptized in the Evangelische Kirche of Kork: (1) Johann Georg (born 30 July 1756 & baptized 1 August 1756) and (2) Jacob (born 14 May 1764 & baptized 15 May 1764).

Georg Hetzel and his family immigrated to Russia. They arrived from Lübeck at the port of Oranienbaum on 18 July 1766 on a Russian packet-boat named Svyatoi Nikolai (St. Nicholas) under the command of Midshipman Thomas McKenzie.

They settled in the colony of Dietel on 1 July 1767 and are recorded there on the 1767 Census in Household No. 6. The surviving Hetzel children are recorded on the 1798 Census in Household No. Dt32 of Dietel, Household No. Hk48 in Huck, and Household No. Hs079 in Hussenbach.

Descendants of this family also use the spelling of Etzel.

The Oranienbaum passenger list records that Georg Hetzel came from the German region of Hanau.