I always enjoy your posts filled with interesting detail! I love Little House still. Rose never had children, neither did any of Lauras siblings. did charles ingalls actually make furniture 'We are still working hard to bring you fresh content and good vibes, even in these trying times!' Logan Bay , Lumpen My daughter has been determined to find a man like Charles Ingalls! Are there any blood descendants of the Wilders or siblings children. If you ever have a giveaway be sure to think of me. All the early New York census will verify this fact. Laura did see pa before he died. Even done research on the family. Nita Hallstrom. My big loss. The first book in the Little House series, Little House in the Big Woods, was published in 1932, when Laura Ingalls Wilder was 65 years old, according to the National Endowment for the Humanities. I read and re-read those books countless times and never grew tired of the escape they provide, the ideas they spawned or the dreams they fed me at night. Together Charles and Caroline built up one final home in De Smet, South Dakota. For example, the character of Nellie Oleson is a composite of Nellie Owens, Genevieve Masters, and Stella Gilbert. It was a complete surprise to me that the LH books were only half-autobiography, and half-fiction. This is great information. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. I am still dreaming alas I could have born in that period and living side by side with Ingalls family Perhapes. (She did have scarlet fever when she was much younger.) It was Grace, not Carrie, that wore the swan down trimmed coat. By the way, my husband and I stopped by to see the little house on the prairie on our way to Branson, Missouri a few years ago. I love it!!! Their other homes included Walnut Grove, Minnesota, where they lived in a dugout for a while; a rather rowdy hotel in Burr Oak, Iowa; and De Smet, South Dakota, where Charles' "wandering foot" seemed to calm down, and the family finally settled for good. Played without an attempt at Charless famous beard, Michael Landon remains the embodiment of Pa for many people around the world. It has been over four decades since the Ingalls were introduced on-air, whose lives inspired the making of the show. Charlotte Stewart, who played impossibly lovely schoolmarm Miss Beadle, is also famous for her work with director David Lynch in the 1977 film "Eraserhead" and the TV series "Twin Peaks." Uthoff is a nationally-known Laura Ingalls Wilder authority and has presented at five of the Wilder homesites, many conferences and numerous libraries, museums, and events around the Midwest. Thank you, Read the rose years about her daughter. Also mary never married nor had a child. Each time i watch an episode, i follow along with the detailed descriptions given on this website. Well to my surprise they are running the entire series again, and I am hopelessly addicted to each and every episode. I love this! If the Olesons were indeed real people, I am interested in when they were all four born and when they passed away. I had always wondered why the Ingalls family ended up staying in De Smet rather than carrying onsettling in town seemed so out of character for Charles Ingalls. I have been looking up stuff on line to see if certain things in the show really happened. Three of them froze to death before they were found. Why did the TV show basically eliminate the character Mary after her blindness? How Amazing is that?! It was clear now that farming was not in the Wilders' future. Nothing was easy, and that was instilled in me from a young age and I am proud and appreciate that so much. It may not be the biggest bombshell to hit the medical world, but to Little House fans, the question remains: Why did Wilder change her sisters illness to scarlet fever? That being said, love watching and reading history on the Little House on the Prairie series. Im sorry you became disillusioned in your search. My oldest sister purchased the first hardcover set for me with her first job as a 16 yr old waitress. I grew up reading the books and watching the television series. The Ingalls' home during their adventure in Kansas was minuscule by modern standards. Also, I would be interested to know what Nellie and Willie did later in life career and family wise. Rose actually lived with Almanzos sister Eliza, when Rose was a teenager so she could attend a good high school in Louisiana. I envy you all. The show ran from 1974 to 1984, and it retains a huge fan base to this day. Im a huge fan of the show and watch the reruns weekly. Wow, I had no idea any relatives existed very interesting! Such good values shown by the Engells. Not only "Ma" and "Pa" lived here but also three daughters: Mary (after returning from the School for the Blind in Iowa), Grace and Carrie. Stewart, 74, is now retired and residing in Napa, California. He was to help manage the Masters Hotel in the small town, hopefully to establish a more stable income for his family. Pioneer life was often brutally hard. I love watching the re-runs. No, James and Cassandra never existed. From her images of the "great, dark trees of the Big Woods" to the endless grass of the prairies in the west, Laura Ingalls Wilder's depictions of frontier life for America's pioneers in her. Sarah S. Uthoff is the main force behind Trundlebed Tales striving to bring the History, Mystery, Magic and Imagination of Laura Ingalls Wilder and other greats of childrens literature and history to life for a new generation. I am getting rid of cable, and sticking to the truths that are taught by Jehovahs Witnesses. 'Nuff said. Also the death of Franklin Roosevelt, and in later reunion movies the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. They are buried in Mansfield , Mo. I never get tired of watching over and over again. In severe cases, it can cause inflammation of the optic nerve that can result in a slow and progressive loss of sight. It probably is one of the most touching episodes! Since Earl was a real writer he was represented on the Waltons as John Boy Walton, the writer character on the show. Its known for its detailed descriptions of all the different things he had to eat. I watched it as a kid and still watch today Ive probably seen every episode a dozen times and I never get tired of watching them I really love the show I am 51 and Ill watch the show as long as it is aired for the next 20 yrs or until Im gone I really love the show Michael Landon & Victor French did an amazing job directing the show, same here and i am 59, love the show and have been watching the re runs for years. As a Type 1 Diabetic since the age of 8, now 50 yrs ago. Caroline Lake Quiner Ingalls - Biography In Brookfield, Wisconsin, Caroline Lake Quiner was born to Henry and Charlotte Quiner on December 12, 1839. Her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, had a clear hand in the stories that would be published under Laura's name. All Rights Reserved. The television show and popular book series and maybe even a Little House movie in the near future draw on the real-life experiences of Laura Ingalls Wilder. This show makes me happy and I smile a lot while watching. I read the books as a child and also as an adult and gave them to my children. I was just in for another routine surgery that day. I have a logistics question. I love your story. Could this have been an unintentional slip regarding Ma (Caroline) Ingalls eye color? In elementary school, our class read Little House In The Big Woods. The only son Charles Ingalls ever had, was Charles Frederick Ingalls aka "Freddie", who died almost 10 months after his birth! Im pretty sure I own every single book by and about LIW. The books are a fictionalized account of her life, but definitely ARE the story of her life. Thank you for all your hard work on this website! Laura wrote that Freddie "got worse instead of better, and one terrible day straightened out his little body and was dead.". Eliza Jane had a son. I watch the reruns to this day. Tarini started doing research. But, the timing sure is right. In real life, his family had long been farmers, moving several times while he was growing up in search of a better chance. She valued education, having attended an academy back east near Milwaukee, and tried to keep the family in fashion as best as she was able. She fades into the background for the second half of the series. Annette, The family sacrificed to get their share of the money needed to send her to the Iowa School for the Blind (support including money for tuition and books also came from the Dakota territorial government). Never read the books but do love to watch the reruns! However, most of the storylines were very loosely based on fact. When I was 12, I had hamstring surgery. Some of Lauras friends were based on real people. So did i!! The process of creating the series and later answering her fan mail would be her big project for the rest of her life. Wilder Thayer. Recently, a team of medical researchers raised the question about whether thats true. There were three marriages between the Ingalls and Quiner families. In the 1870s and 1880s, newspapers relied on "correspondents" for news of outlying towns. John boys actual name is Earl Hamner. Or any relatives at all? Little House on the Praire has always been a staple in my life for what a solid, strong, Christian family looks like. She passed away in 1968. It was only his statements about his age and his grave stone that says 1857 was his birth year. In the books, as Carrie grows up, Grace is born and takes on the role of youngest sister. The books dont portray the financial assistance the family received from the Minnesota state government during the grasshopper plague emergency and from the Dakota territorial government for Marys tuition to the College for the Blind. This "fantasy of blissful youth," as The Wilder Lifeby Wendy McClure calls it, was inextricably linked to the widespread poverty of the Great Depression. Updated Thank you for sharing such valuable info. I believe that too me is an amazing book. But Rose did not have any children. I am in my 50s, have the DVD series, and currently watching Season 4. Laura Ingalls Wilder - A Journey from South Dakota to Missouri, 1894, Eyewitness exhibit. Laura portrayed Pa as a man who wanted only the best for his family . I believe they all had issues related to Caroline was raised in a blended family after her father went down in a shipwreck on the Great Lakes, and her mother later remarried. Hi, The Waltons are real also, but their last name was Hamner. The book explores a different world from Lauras prairie tales. . Charles and Caroline had left Walnut Grove and were moving to Burr Oak, Iowa to help run an hotel there. I love show a lot. Never get tired of watching. My daughter who is 11 watches it sometimeseems with me. Adoptive children of Charles & Caroline. This. the world has changed from that time! There was also a second Laura Ingalls, who did what Amelia Earhart was not able to do. Eliza Jane married in middle age to a man with the last name of Thayer. Now I have to tell her the truth. Landon couldn't actually play the fiddle, though. Would love to know more about the painting-if you find out if she painted or not or what you did with it. After promising his wife, Caroline, that the family would finally settle in one place, it was in 1879 that Ingalls decided to stay in De Smet, Dakota Territory following their move from Minnesota. Im so thankful to people like you and the readers of this site to help keep the Ingalls family and their values and their story alive. In 1876, when Laura would have been nine years old, the Ingalls family moved to Burr Oak, Iowa. Ive been to the real house which is in VA and its much smaller than the one on TV lol. Digging deeper, when researchers looked at epidemiological data from the time, they saw that most cases of blindness attributed to scarlet fever were temporary. Once, while the family lived in a doorless dugout in the middle of the prairie, Charles woke Laura to show her the wolves that had wandered nearby. Im watching the series now! Here's what the residents of Walnut Grove are up to today. How is it possible to be related to all of them? The story is full of inspiration for the family. [4], For his entire life, Ingalls had a strong case of "wanderlust". They departed from the story I knew so well and seemed unnecessarily saccharin-sweet. Im a fan of all three families ! Laura, Carrie and Grace all came down with Type 1 Diabetes and died from complications of that disease. Ingalls has been portrayed in the adaptations of Little House on the Prairie by: Charles Phillip Ingalls with his wife, Caroline Lake Quiner Ingalls, Last edited on 15 February 2023, at 00:08, Caroline Celestia "Carrie" Ingalls Swansey, List of real-life individuals from Little House on the Prairie The Ingalls, Beyond the Prairie: The True Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder, "Little House on the Prairie Kane County Prairie, that is", "About The Ingalls Family Little House on the Prairie", "De Smet, Dakota Territory, Little Town in the National Archives", Image of Charles Ingalls homestead land grant, About the Ingalls Family (Sarah S. Uthoff), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Charles_Ingalls&oldid=1139405860, This page was last edited on 15 February 2023, at 00:08. Earl narrated the beginning of each episode of the show. I am writing a book about LIW. My God an amazing, exciting and wonderful experience of watching LHOTP season 1 after almost 40 years. Maybe Im being too nosey but do you mind sharing more about the connection? It's been more than 40 years since the beloved TV series "Little House on the Prairie" debuted on NBC. As the National Endowment for the Humanities points out, Wilder herself believed that she inherited some of her father's romanticism, saying that she owed "whatever religion, romance and patriotism I have to the violin and my Father playing in the twilight." Both a local doctor and Laura blamed it on Almanzo working in the wake of his recovery, placing the blame for his "slight stroke of paralysis," as the doctor called it, on Almanzo's now shaky shoulders. I have not found any reference to Grace being a painter, even as a hobby. In the "Little House" series, Mary Ingalls was said to have been blinded by scarlet fever, Researchers found that the real Mary Ingalls might have had viral meningoencephalitis. His wife, however, had had enough. I also have been disillusioned by the portrayal of this family. 1. For many American students, it was practically required read one or two of the books in the Little House series written by Laura Ingalls Wilder. In addition to creating an entire false narrative for Mary why did the writers add to the burden of her blindness with the unnecessary deaths of both her (non-existent) children? Why? Hope you get answers! I am 70 years olds and named my daughter Laura back then!!! Grace was born ten years after Laura. It was fantastic. He was 25. Growing up watching every episode of Little House on the Prarie from start to finish. I would like to know if Mr. and Mrs. Oleson, and their children, Nellie and Willie were real people or if they were just created for the TV series. When the series originally came out, I did watch it, but now it is different to me. Her independence and future were sharply curtailed when she lost her sight at age 14. While I know that the adopted children of the television series werent based on real life, its been my understanding that Charles and Caroline Ingalls did take in some foster children at times is anything known about these children? Rushmore. Hi. I too am a 65 year old unique black woman. Things like grinding poverty, the death of an infant brother, and encounters with 19th-century racism never made it into the Little House books that you may have read with your class in grade school. I love the arch where Laura meets Almanzo. I would love to create a quilt with all this information! It's a skill she mastered during the series. Needless to say.we all binged watched LHOTP together , I have been a Little House On The Prairie fan for 45 yrs. The tragedy of his early death was cut out of the books, perhaps because this was Laura's first real experience with death and grief. i cried when my family finished all 9 seasons. The second Laura was an Avatrix who actually was the first woman to fly the globe but her achievement was removed from history when was sent to prison for two years for flying over the whitehouse and throwing anti-war leaflets. Laura erased Almanzos oldest sister Laura to prevent confusion with readers. I watch it every night and my kids love it. Its awesome also. I remember as a young girl watching the series on TV, feeling so excited that the next show was about to begin. Hello Sarah, Have a question, in Farmer Boy, Ms. Wilders description of Almanzos mother, among other things, were her blue eyes. A Freemason, Ingalls was given Masonic rites at his funeral. Together, the two shaped Laura's memories into a paean to the pioneers' hard work and individualism. Witness for Ingalls Homestead. Rose had one child, a son who died at birth. I grow up with the show. I hope to pass the live I have for the books and shows to them! In fact, Rose's connections to the literary world helped her push her mother to write down her recollections of a childhood spent traveling through the woods and prairies of what had once been an American frontier. Wilder's novels were a kind of Great Depression comfort food for the mind, harkening back to a more successful past where people could be well-fed and housed for honest labor. Watched every episode thousands of times and know every scene word for word and still love it. What a wonderful comment. Perhaps you could look through Harvey Dunn paintings to see if any resemble the one you have. Hello, My husband I have been cleanup up our attic in prep for a move next year and I found a water color with the signature of Grace Ingalls 1901. I wonder why they made up the whole storyline of Mary getting married. I have the whole set which I re-read periodically.. Mrs. Wilder wrote these from a childs view of a simpler time made do with what you had neighbors helping neighbors. She chastises her semi-fictional child self for getting back at Nellie on occasion, but then there's always Pa in the background, eyes twinkling and tacitly approving Laura's retaliation. Regardless of whether all the characters are based on real people or not, in the end, all the characters are imbued with a message. A package arrived for him, I was surprised when he opened ithe had bought the entire collection!! Jody had epilepsy and finally a medication was found to relieve seizures. The books are so much better. Yes they did adopt hime. Were Charles and Caroline Ingalls still alive when Laura and Almonzos son died? I researched and found he was one of eleven children which two others married Quiners also, Peter and Polly. Grace, also arrived later in the TV series, played by Wendi and Brenda Turnbaugh from 1978-1982. 5/5 (1,121 Views . Melissa Gilberts acting ability really shined in the episode Be My Friend. Yes it was a good read. My husband was raised in Mansfield Mo. THANK YOU SO MUCH. Why did Almanzo call Laura Beth? I am still watching all the reruns of Little House on the Prairie and loving them! For years they struggled against poverty, disease, and the elements. The show is great and there are many truths within the show and I am sorry that you have yet to discover these types of individuals in real life but they are out there if you are open to them. If so did he become a doctor or did he die of leukemia?