Collection is open to the public. Collection must be used in Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room. Collection or parts of collection may be stored offsite. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives in advance of your visit to allow for transportation time.
Abel Helman was born of April 10, 1824 in Ohio. On October 23, 1849, he married Martha Jane Helman, who was born March 3, 1826 in Pennsylvania. The couple had 8 children. In 1850, Martha and Abel made the overland trek from Ohio to California then later Oregon. The family eventually settled in Jackson County, Oregon.
Collection consists of a typed copy of a diary and expense account of a voyage to California in 1850, and to Oregon in 1851; expense account of an overland trip from Oregon to Ohio and return, 1853; a diary, Oct. 7, 1858-April 11, 1859, Feb. 1, 1883-July 30, 1892; a table of weather data, Ashland, Or., Feb. 1, 1883-July 31, 1892. There is a photostat copy of the journal of the Mountain Rangers, Company A, 1st Regiment, 1st Brigade, Oregon Militia, 1863-1866. The Rangers were a marching and social organization. The originals of the Helman papers are privately owned.