Memorable World History/Authors

The Real Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder

Little House on the Prairie became a popular television show that was written and directed by Michael Landon who also played Charles Ingalls. But despite the popularity of "Little House on the Prairie," there are differing accounts on the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Classified as historical fiction and not an autobiography, Wilder changed the story to fit her themes and because she did not view the real depiction suitable for children.

Laura Elizabeth (Ingalls) Wilder was born on February 7, 1867, in the Big Woods of Wisconsin near Pepin. She was the second daughter of Charles and Caroline (Quiner) Ingalls. In 1868, when Laura was no more than a year old, Charles packed his family and moved them from the Big Woods of Wisconsin to Charitan County, Missouri.

The Ingalls family didn't stay long in Missouri, because the Homestead Act of 1862, that offered 160-acres of "free land" to settlers to those who would farm and live on for 5 year, where Charles chose a patch of land 12 miles from Independence, Kansas, was within the boundaries of the Osage Diminished Reserve.

While building a cabin and stable with the help of his neighbor, Mr. Edwards. the family contracted malaria and recovered with the help of Dr. Tann, a doctor to the Indians. Despite having built a cabin and crops, the government forced the Ingalls family to leave in the fall of 1870, just after the birth of their third daughter, Carrie, when Charles heard that the government changed their minds and sent soldiers to force the settlers off the land.

Unwilling to wait for the soldiers to force them off the land, Charles took his family back to the Big Woods of Wisconsin where Laura and Mary were able to attend the Barry Corner School and play with their cousins again. Caroline was glad to be home, but Charles wanted to head west again.

So the Ingalls family once again headed west in 1874, where they traded for a small farm near Walnut Grove, Minnesota. The family lived in a dugout in the side of a creek bank until Charles could build a house out of sawed-out boards.

Mary and Laura were able to attend school and became acquainted with the snobby, cruel Nellie Owens. The Ingalls also attended church services headed by the Rev. Robert Alden.

Having grown a successful crop, Charles and the family felt that this was a sign of the end of their troubles, but grasshoppers invaded the area and destroyed the crops. Charles tried again to grow another crop, but grasshopper eggs hatched the previous year, invaded the crops and destroyed the crops.

On November 1, 1875, Caroline gave birth to their fourth child, a son they named Charles Fredrick "Freddie". The Ingalls family traveled to Uncle Peter's farm in eastern Minnesota so Charles could help with harvesting crops. Becoming ill, Baby Freddie succumbed to his illness, where he died on August 27, 1876.

Upon the loss of baby Freddie, the family moved to Burr Oak, Iowa, where Charles' friend, Mr. Steadman, where the family lived and Charles worked. Unhappy with hotel work, Charles rented a room over a grocery store and then to a house outside of town.

Caroline gave birth to their fifth child, Grace Pearl, on May 23, 1877. Homesick for their friends in Walnut Grove, the Ingalls family moved back where they lived in town and Charles worked carpentry jobs and opened a butcher shop.

Eager to find out what they missed while they were away, Laura and Mary found out that Nellie Owens had a new rival in the schoolteacher's daughter, Genevieve Masters. As the two girls fought for leadership of the girls, Laura won without even trying.

In 1879, Mary suffered a stroke and lost her sight. The family once again moved when Aunt Docia offered Charles a position with the railroad in Dakota Territory.

After the railroad work moved on, the Ingalls family stayed, and with new friends, the Boasts, they became one of the first residents of the town, DeSmet. Despite Charles and Laura's growing wanderlust, the family stayed and the girls got an education and Charles filed a claim on 160 acres of land 3 miles southeast of DeSmet.

The winter of 1880–1881 was a hard one as it was filled with continuous blizzards from October to May. The blizzards made it virtually impossible for trains to get needed supplies in or out of the area.

A glimmer of hope came by the summer of 1881, when the family managed to save money to send Mary to Vinton, Iowa to a blind school. While the government gave the money for Mary's tuition, it was Charles and Caroline who had to pay for transportation to and from school as well as suitable clothes for a college girl.

A teenage Laura became rather shy and found it hard to mix with other people. Fearful of crowds, Laura showed a great interest in history, English, and poetry. But arrival of Genevieve Masters and new teacher, Eliza Jane Wilder, in DeSmet, causing trouble for Laura. But Miss Wilder's departure soon allowed Laura to become top of her class once again.

Laura earned her teaching certificate at the age of 15 and was hired by the Bouchie School, 12 miles away. Laura boarded with the Bouchie family, despite being afraid of Mrs. Bouchie, who was suffering from a nervous breakdown due to the isolation of the settlement. Laura became grateful when a young man, Almanzo Wilder, the brother of her old teacher, braved the howling winds and offered to drive her to and from the school. At first Laura thought Almanzo was just doing it as a favor to her father, but over the next 3 years, Laura allowed Almanzo into her affections where they married on August 25, 1885.

A daughter, Rose, was born on December 5, 1886, to the newly married couple, but farming life proved no easier for the couple as droughts and hail storms ruined crops, keeping them in debt. Diphtheria and overwork led to Almanzo becoming paralyzed, the birth of their unnamed son in August 1889, and an accident in the kitchen that caused their house to burn down left the newly married couple destitute.

Almanzo and Laura left DeSmet to live with his parents in Springville, Minnesota, but the weather didn't help Almanzo's health. So the Wilder family moved to Westville, Florida, where Laura's cousin, Peter, made his home. Despite the improvement in Almanzo's health, Laura couldn't take the heat and humidity not to menion, the locals didn't care for Laura because she was a "Yankee." They returned to DeSmet in 1892, where Rose attended school, despite Rose being a little young, Laura and Almanzo worked to save money for a fresh start.

After saving money, the Wilders were able to leave DeSmet on July 17, 1894. Upon arriving in the Ozarks in Mansfield, Missouri, they purchased Rocky Ridge Farm on August 30, and what began as a small log cabin, became a 10-room farmhouse today.

Laura earned money by writing articles for the Missouri Ruralist, and in 1930, wrote her autobiography, "Pioneer Girl." Not able to find a publisher, with collaboration of Rose, was able to publish the edited version as "Little House in the Big Woods." An instant success with children, Laura continued the series of what came to be her Little House series.

Almanzo died on October 30, 1949 at the age of 92; Laura died on February 10, 1957 at Rocky Ridge Farm, just three days after her 90th birthday.