Random Facts About Laura Ingalls Wilder And The Real Life Little House On Prairie (16 items)

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  (#15) She And Her Family Were Wiped Out By The Stock Market Crash Of 1929

  Like so many other Americans, Laura and Almanzo Wilder, along with their daughter Rose – were left destitute by the Stock Market crash of 1929. In reality, it was their poverty during the Great Depression that inspired Rose and Laura to turn Laura's life into a series of books.

  Rose had connections to the publishing industry, which she used to turn their idea into a reality. The success of the books helped the Wilders recoup some of their lost financial stability.
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  (#13) There Are Rumors That Her Daughter Helped Write Her Books

  Rumors still exist that Laura Ingalls Wilder's daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, wrote most of, or at least part of, the Little House book series. This is based on the fact that Laura received very little formal education (although she clearly received enough to pass the teacher's certification exam at age 15).

  Although mother and daughter didn't always get along, there are some records that prove that Rose helped with Pioneer Girl, Laura's autobiography, and some notes in the margins of the Little House manuscripts show that Rose at least helped with the editing process. 
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  (#6) Her Parents Were Homesteaders Who Once Tried To Set Up On An Indian Reservation

  Laura Ingalls Wilder's parents, Charles and Caroline, were homesteaders. Homesteaders took advantage of the Homestead Act put into place by the US government. If they moved to a certain part of the country (usually in the Midwest and West) and took claim to the land by setting up a farm on it, they could purchase that land at a very low price – or even receive it for free, simply for cultivating it. 

  The Ingalls family tried to take advantage of these new laws by claiming land of their own. They moved around from what is now Minnesota, to Wisconsin, and later Iowa and South Dakota, sometimes returning to the same state a few years later. At one point, they tried to homestead land that was a part of the Osage Indian reservation. Clearly, that didn't work. Every move was prompted by bad luck, such as very harsh winters, crop loss, or loss of land.

  The timeline in the Little House books describes the family's many moves, although Laura changed her age and switched a few of the states around. 
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  (#11) The Early Years Of Her Marriage Were Filled With Obstacles

  The first few years of Laura and Almanzo's marriage were tough. They lived off the land, as she had her whole life, but this was made more difficult when both contracted diptheria in the spring of 1888. Almanzo almost lost his life to a stroke that occurred during his recovery from the disease.

  Their second child, an unnamed boy, was born in August of 1889. He only lived for nine days. Later on that month, their farmhouse burned down. Hoping for better luck elsewhere, the Wilder family traveled to Florida, then back to South Dakota, before settling in Missouri. 
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  (#3) Her Sister Mary Went Blind – But Not From Scarlet Fever

  Late in the Little House book series, Laura Ingalls Wilder mentions that her older sister, Mary went blind from contracting scarlet fever. While Mary did, indeed, go blind at a very young age, it was not from scarlet fever. The disease could cause temporary blindness but not the permanent kind that Mary dealt with. Modern-day researchers combed the Little House books, as well as Laura's autobiography, and they noted that Mary suffered from some facial paralysis, debilitating headaches, and spinal sickness.

  Their conclusion – viral meningoencephalitis caused her blindness. Laura likely changed it in the thinly veiled fictional version of their lives, possibly because it was easier for readers to understand scarlet fever. 
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  (#5) She Had Three Sisters And One Brother

  Laura Ingalls Wilder was the second of five children. Her older sister was named Mary (just like in the books), and her younger siblings were Carrie, Grace, and Charles. Sadly, Charles died when he was only nine months old. At the time, the Ingalls family was traveling to Iowa to set up a homestead there.

  There are no records that show what he died from, but the mid-1800s were a time before modern medical care and antibiotics, and the odds that a family would have all of their children survive to adulthood were slim, particularly if they were rural homesteaders, setting up farms far away from established cities. 

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