On November 15, 1851, Helena married Abraham Klaassen at the village of Blumenort, in the Molotschna, colony, in Russia. Helena's parents came from the village of Zeyersvorderkampen, Prussia, located in an area reclaimed from the sea, near Elbing. They were Gerhard Martens (ca. 1789 - Jan. 31, 1842) and Anna Klein (Nov. 26, 1801 - April 30, 1889). In 1827, they migrated to Russia and settled in the village of Blumenort, where Helena was born.

Since her husband's income as a farm laborer was small, Helena managed to make the few acres on which she lived virtually self-sufficient. She produced the food for the table, and even much of the clothing. The meat came from the hogs and chickens that were raised; the fruits from the orchard; and the vegetables from the truck garden. Potatoes were a main item of diet. A memento, produced by Helena, is on display in our farmhouse in Virginia. It is a sampler she made shortly after her marriage, in 1854, while she was living in the village of Neukirch. She is buried in the family graveyard at Alexanderfeld [one mile west and one-half mile south of Hillsboro, Kansas].

Family Register of Gerhard Martens (my father-in-law):

~~ Gerhard Martens: 1789, Gerhard Martens was born in West Prussia. 1842, Jan. 31, he died. His age was 53 years, 9 months, 10 days.

~~ Anna Klein: 1801, September 26, my mother-in-law Anna Klein was born. She died April 30, 1889. They were both (I think) from West Prussia, from around Zeiens von der kamp [Zeyersvorderkampen] where they were married on June 7, 1820. In 1827, they immigrated (with a family of three children) to Russia. My mother-in-law married again to Diedrich Walde, Blumenort. They lived together 47 years and both died in 1889 at Blumenort.

They [Gerhard Martens and Anna Klein] had 5 children from the marriage, which follow:

~~ Gerhard: 1823, March 27, a son Gerhard was born. [He] lived only until May 4, 1823.

~~ Anna: 1824, April 19, a daughter Anna was born. She married Jacob Warkentin [sic], Neukirch. She died in Feb. 1862. She left four children (3 sons and 1 daughter) who, I think, are still living today (March 29, 1900).

~~ Maria: 1827, Jan. 18, my wife's sister Maria was born. She died on Dec. 30, 1841. She got to be 14 years, 11 months, 24 days old.

~~ Gerhard: 1829, June 17th, my brother-in-law Gerhard Martens was born. He was married to Maria Boschman from Fischaw. She died in 1877 near Hoffnungsthal. They had 2 children, Gerhard and Catherina.

~~ Helena: 1833, May 28, (new calendar) our mother Helena Martens (my wife) was born (as mentioned earlier). She passed away to her eternal rest on May 6, 1894.

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