The "Little House" Series: Life of Laura Ingalls Quiz

Answer: five

They cover from Laura's great grandmother to Laura's daughter, going from 1788 through to the 1920's.

Answer: Martha Morse

Martha Morse was born in Glencaraid ("Friendly Valley"), Scotland on January 1, 1782. She was the daughter of Allen Alexanader (Lord Glencaraid) & Margaret Drummond Morse. She married Lewis Tucker, and they had 10 children. Sadly, only 5 of those children lived. I've always been curious as to how Martha's parents reacted to her marriage, as Lewis Tucker was the son of the blacksmith in the nearby town of Clachan. Back in those days, it was frowned upon for the daughter or son of nobility to wed someone who was not. Lewis came to America 6 months before Martha did. Once he had settled, Martha joined him and they married then. Martha died in 1862.

Answer: Charlotte Tucker Holbrook

Charlotte Tucker was born in 1809 after her parents came to the United States, in the small village of Roxbury, near Boston. She married Henry Quiner, and they had seven children. It is said that Laura named the rag doll she received for Christmas when she was five after her Grandmother. Henry died at sea in 1844, during a storm when he was a passenger on a merchant ship. Charlotte moved her family to Concord, Wisconsin in 1847. There, she met Frederick Holbrook. They married in 1845, and had one child, Charlotte, whom they called "Lottie". This was the Aunt Lottie that Laura wrote of in her book, "Little House In The Big Woods".

Maria Wilkes (who authored "The Caroline Years"), was incorrect in saying that Charlotte had been a dressmaker before marrying Henry Quiner and moving from Boston to Brookfield, Wisconsin. Laura Ingalls Wilder mentioned in two books that Charlotte had been a school teacher. I believe the confusion came because this author missed doing some research, because in the book, "Little House In The Big Woods", Laura mentioned in the chapter, "Sugar Snow": "Ma's delaine dress was very beautiful ... A dressmaker had made it, in the East, in the place where Ma came from when she married Pa and moved out west to the Big Woods in Wisconsin. Ma had been very fashionable, before she married Pa, and a dressmaker had made her clothes." I think Laura would have mentioned that Charlotte had been the dressmaker, since she was her Grandmother. The other time Laura mentioned it was in the book "By The Shores Of Silver Lake". In the chapter, "Wings Over Silver Lake", she writes: "Another, thing, Laura," said Pa, "You know Ma was a teacher, and her mother before her." Since Ma's mother is Charlotte, she must have been a teacher, not a dressmaker. Maria Wilkes also misspelled Lewis Tucker's first name. (She spelled it "Louis"). Charlotte died in 1884.

Answer: Caroline Quiner

Caroline Lake Quiner, whom we all know as "Ma Ingalls", was born in 1839 in Brookfield, Wisconsin, the fifth of Charlotte's seven children. She married Charles Ingalls and gave birth to five children: Mary, Laura, Caroline (Carrie), Charles, Jr. (who unfortunately died at age 9 months), and Grace. Laura left her only brother out of her books.

The publishers believe that it was too painful for Laura to write about. Charles Ingalls died in 1902, and Caroline died in 1924.

Answer: 1867

Laura was the second daughter of Caroline and Charles Ingalls. She married Almanzo James Wilder on August 25, 1885. Together, they had two children. Rose was born on December 5, 1886. The following year, Laura and Almanzo had a boy, but he lived only a short time and died from convulsions before he could even be named. Laura died in 1957, and Almanzo died in 1949.

Answer: Rose Wilder

Rose was born December 5, 1886. It cost the Wilder's one hundred dollars for the doctor through Laura's pregnancy, but, as Laura wrote, "...but after all, a Rose in December was much rarer than a rose in June, and must be paid for accordingly." Rose died in 1968.

Roger Lea MacBride authored "The Rose Years". Both he and his wife were very close friends of hers. He stated that Rose was like a grandmother to him. I believe this caused him to make numerous errors in the books, often giving Rose credit for things that Laura had done. For example, in the book "Little House On Rocky Ridge" he made two very obvious errors. First, he mentioned the missing one hundred dollar bill that Laura and Almanzo had saved to buy land when they reached Missouri. According to Rose, who wrote the forward and afterward of Laura's book, "On The Way Home", this money was hidden in Laura's writing desk. During the journey, the bill slid into a crack of the desk due to the jolting of the wagon. Laura herself located the money, as Rose wrote that she was not permitted to touch the desk. MacBride wrote that Rose found the money in the dish barrel in the wagon. Second, he wrote that their dog Fido had been found by Rose when they reached Mansfield. But Laura wrote in "On The Way Home" that Fido was found in Kansas. Another error came in another book, "Little Farm In The Ozarks". He wrote that Laura, upon inspecting the log cabin that was on the farm they had purchased, said that it was "better than some of the shacks I grew up in". Laura's books prove that she would have never made such a comment, nor would she have told Rose that she hated the fact her father often said that she was "as strong as a little French horse" and always called her "Half-Pint".

Answer: Gillette Lane

Rose married Gillette Lane. He turned out to be a pretty rotten husband. He abandoned Rose, leaving her very much in debt. Rose worked out an arrangement with Gillette's boss, and became one of the first real estate sales ladies ever. She was very successful, and paid off her husband's debts.

There's conflicting information as to exactly when Gillette disappeared. In the "Rose Wilder Lane: Her Story" by Rose Wilder Lane and Roger Lea McBride, he leaves her very early on, but if you read "West From Home", Laura's book of letters sent to Almanzo while Laura was visiting Rose in San Francisco in 1916, Gillette was still around. I put more trust in Laura's letters, as she wouldn't talk about Gillette in her letters if he had already left Rose. Apparently, according to Laura's letters, Rose and Gillette owed them quite a sum of money.

Answer: 1894

Laura and Almanzo had hard times in De Smet. There was illness and crop failure, and the Wilders were deep in debt. They decided to move to "The Land of the Big Red Apple"--Mansfield, Missouri. There they bought a farm and raised chickens and apples. This was where Laura wrote her "Little House" series.

Answer: Rocky Ridge Farm

Laura and Almanzo did well with Rocky Ridge after the first few years. They had to live in town for a while, but friends worked the farm for them, sharing each year's harvest with the Wilders. (I wonder how many people in today's society would do that?) The Wilders were able to move back to the farm later.

Answer: 90

Thanks for playing! If you haven't read all of the "Little House" series of books, I strongly recommend doing so. They are wonderful books, and you can learn a lot about the pioneer days from them. They sure make you thankful for what we have today!