Klaas Thiessen was born on August 16, 1806. At the age of 26, he married Maria Penner on January 6, 1833. To this union 11 children were born, two of whom died in infancy. Klaas' wife passed away in 1859 at the age of 50 leaving Klaas with nine children. Since Klaas was a widower when Helena was only eight years old, he took her along to the next village when he went horse-trading.
