Laura Elizabeth Ingalls was born to Charles Phillip and Caroline Quiner Ingalls (we commonly refer to them today as Pa and Ma) on February 7, 1867 in a log cabin in Pepin, Wisconsin. In her first book, (in a series of children’s books Laura began writing at the age of 64) “Little House in the Big Woods”, Laura discusses her early memories. The series of books discusses her childhood with her family as both a settler and pioneer.
Laura was the second of five children-her older sister Mary Amelia, her younger sister Caroline Celestia (Carrie), Charles Frederick (who died as an infant), and Grace Pearl. When Laura was two years old, the Ingalls moved to (modern day) Independence, Kansas. After Charles learning it was an Indian reservation and having no legal right to occupy it, they moved back to Wisconsin living there for three years. Around 1874, the Ingalls family again moved to Walnut Grove, Minnesota, living in a dugout (“On the Banks Of Plum Creek”). After crops had been destroyed two years in a row, the Ingalls then moved to Burr Oak, Iowa. Charles helped run a hotel while they lived in Burr Oak. After another year of crops being ruined, they moved back to Walnut Grove. In 1888, they moved to DeSmet, South Dakota. This is where Laura would meet her future husband, Almanzo Wilder.
In 1882, Laura accepted her first teaching position. Schools then were very different from schools today, they were one room schools that taught multiple grade levels. Laura received her teaching certificate and taught to help her family financially. Laura continued to teach until at the age of eighteen, she married Almanzo on August 25, 1885. Their daughter Rose was born on December 5, 1886.
Laura and Almanzo’s first few years of marriage were difficult financially and personal loss. Both Laura and Almanzo had diptheria and Almanzo suffered a leaving him partially paralyzed. In time, he regained use of his legs, but not fully. He walked with a cane the rest of his life. Laura and Almanzo’s second child, a son, died a month after his birth in 1889. Drought, fire, and financial difficulties forced them to move to Minnesota.
All photos are from the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Homes in De Smet, South Dakota in which I’m thrilled to be working on for them.
I also have some photos I restored and colorized on the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Homes app. The app offers virtual tours including information about Laura, the Ingalls/Wilder families, tours of two original homes of the Ingalls family and original school that Laura and Carrie attended. I strongly encourage all fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder and family to download the app either on Google Play or the Apple App store. You then purchase a code to take the virtual tour within the app. Here is a link to purchase the code. Thank you again Tessa Flak for this honor and allowing me to post screenshots!
