The Ingalls Family

 The Ingalls Family began long before their arrival to fertile lands at Walnut Grove in 1874.

For context, Charles meets Caroline in the 1860s. They marry and have three beautiful daughters, two of them born in Pepin Wisconsin: Mary Amelia and Laura Elisabeth in the years between 1865-1867. The family moved in the fall of 1868 to Independence, Kansas, where their daughter Caroline "Carrie" was born in 1870. Since they were settled in Indian territory, they were forced to leave and return to Pepin.

In October 1873, Charles negotiated the sale of the family estate in Wisconsin for about one thousand dollars, beginning his journey west into Minnesota. Although another city persuaded Charles to settle, it was already heavily populated, so they continued to embark until they reached their final destination. During his break in the home of a Norwegian immigrant Eleck Nelson, near the small settlement of Walnut Grove MN. Charles discovered that a plot owned by Mr Hanson was for sale and without hesitation acquired it.

For some years, the Ingalls worked the land and watched their family grow. Charles Frederick was born in Walnut Grove on November 1, 1875. Charles sold his land in August 1876 and the family moved to Burr Oak, Iowa.. While traveling to Burr Oak, the family was devastated by the death of the young son. Life at Burr Oak didn't satisfy them either. Shortly after Grace was born on May 23, 1877, the family returned to Walnut Grove to give it a try again. The village had grown. The Winona and St. Peter railroad was running west through the town heading to the Dakotas. The Congregational Church had been organized with the help of Rev. Edwin Alden of the American Home Society.. Charles became trustee of the congregation. Children were educated in a school built in 1875. The prairie community was growing and becoming part of the civilized West.

The inhabitants of Walnut Grove were very resilient people of the old lineage. They had worked hard and fought against overwhelming adversity. They managed to make their dreams come true: dreams of a new beginning and a better life for their loved ones. However, the dreams of Charles Ingalls would take his family even further west, to DeSmet, in Dakota territory. This was the final address until 1928.