Name: Laura Ingalls Wilder
Born: 7 February 1867
Died: 10 February 1957
Occupation: Writer
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| Laura Ingalls Wilder |
Laura Elizabeth Ingalls was born on the 7th of February 1867. She had 5 siblings, the oldest Mary Amelia (1865 - 1925), who went blind when she was 14. Her younger sister was Caroline Celestia (1870 - 1946), called in Laura's books 'Carrie', as a nickname. Laura's younger brother, Charles Fredrick, died as an infant. Grace Pearl (1877 - 1941) was the youngest of the Ingalls.
In 1868 the Ingalls moved near Independence, Kansas. A few weeks after Carrie was born, the Ingalls moved back to Wisconsin. and they lived there for the next 4 years. This is where she based Little House on the Prairie and Little House in the Big Woods. On the Banks of Plumb Creek was written for the time period of 1871 - 1874. The Ingalls moved to Walnut Grove in 1874. In this time Charles Ingalls Jr. was born and died at the age of 9 months
During the next few years Laura's family moved around a bit. First to Burr Oak, Iowa where they helped run a hotel and where Grace was born. Laura skipped over the years when they were living in Burr Oak. then they moved to Dakota Territory where By the Shores of Silver Lake was based.
In 1879-1880 Charles put in an offer on a homestead where Caroline, Mary and himself spent the rest of their lives. During the winter of 1880-1881 Laura described in her book, The long Winter. This winter was the severest in the record if the Dakotas. When the Ingalls settled in De Smet Laura attended school, worked a few part-time jobs, and met Almanzo Wilder who she later married. These years are written in the book Little Town on the Prairie.
Two months before her 16th birthday, Laura went to her first teaching job. When she was not in school in De Smet she taught 3 terms in a one roomed schools. She received a Teaching Certificate on December 24, 1882.
She married Almanzo James Wilder on the August 25th 1885. Laura was 18 and Almanzo was 28. she and Almanzo moved to a new home north of De Smet. On December 5th 1886 Rose Wilder (1886 - 1968) was born. Rose had a little brother who died as an infant, unnamed.
The first few years of Almanzo and Laura's marriage was full of trials. Almanzo had diphtheria which left him partly paralyzed. After the death of their unnamed son, a fire destroyed there house and barn, many years of drought, which left them in debt and physically sick. All these trials Laura wrote about in The First Four Years. This book was found after Rose's death.
In 1894 the Wilders moved to Mansfield, Missouri, buying a farm, called Rocky Ridge Farm, just outside Mansfield. Almanzo sold wagon loads of firewood, the only income the farm gave them. The Wilders, after working the farm with no success moved to a rented house in Mansfield. To have an income, Laura took in boarders, and gave the railroad men food. Almanzo worked as a oil salesman and a general delivery man. Almanzo's parents visited and gave Almanzo and Laura, as a gift, the property deed to the house they were renting. Now they could buy acreage to the house, In 1910, they sold the house in Mansfield and lived at Rocky Ridge Farm permanently. In 20 years, the 40 acres that came with the farm soon increased to 200 acres, with a 10 roomed farmhouse to replace the old log cabin that was there before.
Rocky Ridge Farm soon became a dairy and poultry farm with an apple orchard,
The Wilders were never really rich, until the Little House books became to sell. The Wilders soon got money from the Farm Loan Association for the Wilders to live in a middle class society in Mansfield.
In 1949 at the age of 92, Almanzo died. Laura lived for 6 years after Almanzo died. On the 10th of February 1957 Laura died. She was 90. They both died at Rocky Ridge Farm.
I plan to do one famous person a week.
Laura
