Laura IngallsLaura Ingalls
Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder (often referred to as "Half
Pint") was the second of five children, born to Caroline and Charles Ingalls in the dense pine forests near Pepin, Wisconsin. When she was young, Laura was the tomboy of the Ingalls daughters; preferring to go fishing or play baseball instead of doing more ladylike activities. After moving to Walnut Grove, Laura soon met Nellie Oleson and the two became rivals throughout most of their childhoods although they did make amends when the two were older. Albert IngallsAlbert Ingalls
Albert Quinn Ingalls is the adopted son of Charles
and Caroline Ingalls. He was introduced to the Ingalls family when Laura caught him stealing newspapers and money from the hotel where her family worked in Winoka when he was 10 years old. Charles let him go after returning the money and papers. But later, he caught him stealing a lantern from a store, and chased him to where he was living underneath some stairs. He didn't want to be caught as he didn't want to live in an orphanage again, but he needed to steal to survive. Albert was later invited to Mary's birthday party where he was introduced to the rest of the Ingalls and the other guests as a friend of Charles. When the time came for the Ingalls to leave Winoka, he came with them back to Walnut Grove. After searching for his birth father for a family tree project at school, Charles and Caroline adopted him as their son. Mary Ingalls KendallMary Ingalls Kendall
Mary Ingalls Kendall is the first child and eldest daughter of Caroline and Charles Ingalls. She had seven siblings
altogether. Laura, Carrie, Charles Jr. (who died shortly after birth), and Grace. Albert was adopted after Mary left home. The family met Albert, a runaway who had been a ward of the state, after they moved temporarily to Winoka to be close to Mary. Mary was an adult at the time, and married to Adam Kendall, whom she met at a blind school in Iowa. In her childhood growing up in Walnut Grove, Mary was an excellent student and spent most of her free time studying. When she was fifteen years old, Mary went blind. Her failing eyesight was first noticed after a yearly checkup at the eye doctor in Mankato. After returning with new lenses in her glasses, she found her vision was still not improved. When Charles took Mary back to the doctor to find out what the problem was, the news was not good; the doctor told Charles that scarlet fever had weakened the nerves in Mary's eyes and she didn't have much time left before she would go blind. Charles hesitated to tell her this, though he finally did, and a few days later her sight was gone. Doctor Baker suggested that they send Mary to a blind school so she could have some kind of life; Charles and Caroline agreed and made plans for her to be taught at a blind school in Iowa. After arriving at the school, Mary met her teacher, Adam Kendall. Originally she resented Adam, but began to change her opinion of him soon after. Later, Adam and Mary fell in love and got married. They had one son named Adam Kendall Jr., after Mary miscarried her first child. Willie OlesonWillie Oleson
Willie Oleson was the younger brother of Nellie Oleson. He lived in Walnut Grove in his family's store. Mischievous and spoiled as a child, Willie
causes trouble and plays pranks on other children including his own older sister Nellie. He was sometimes a peeping tom; sometimes he would look through the woman's underwear catalogue, but only when his mother wasn't around. He even tried to watch Laura while she was changing her clothes, but only once. It appears that, as a child and in his early teens, Willie had a soft spot for candy and would often try to take candy from his family's store. Willie has a hard time trying to make friends and once some of his so called "friends" tried to get him to steal cigars from his family store. Although Willie was very mischievous and sometimes mean, on rare occasions Willie can be nice. It is at school that Willie often gets into trouble; he is always being sent into the corner for his behavior by his teacher Miss. Eliza Jane Wilder. Most of the time he gets into fights and trouble with Laura Ingalls. If they play marbles and Laura won he would refuse to hand over his marbles and argue with her until Miss Beadle came along. Alice GarveyAlice Garvey
Alice Garvey was the wife of Jonathan Garvey and mother of Andrew Garvey. She was raised by her mother who
ran a boarding house, and was first married to a man named Harold, they divorced soon after.Alice was for a time the teacher at Walnut Grove Church and School. Almanzo WilderAlmanzo Wilder
Almanzo Wilder moved to Walnut Grove with his sister Eliza
Jane, who taught at the school. This is where Laura first met him, whom she quickly took an attraction to; as did Nellie. The two competed for his attention, which led Nellie to invite him over for dinner at her restaurant. Laura volunteered to do the cooking, which was cinnamon chicken. She however substituted the ingredients and used Cajun pepper instead of cinnamon, this cut the dinner drastically short. Almanzo courted a few other women unsuccessfully while Laura watched jealously. Though her crush on him was unrequited for a while. Reverend Robert AldenRobert Alden
The Rev. Robert Alden (more often referred to as simply
"Reverend Alden") is the clergyman at the Walnut Grove Church and School. Prior to entering the ministry, Robert Alden was a farmer and family man living in the Walnut Grove area. Then, a disaster killed his entire family, and a deeply grieving Alden turned to alcohol for solace. Then, one day, after "hearing God's voice," he was inspired to become a born-again Christian and become a minister. Throughout the series run, Alden is shown as a loving, caring man who faithfully ministers to Walnut Grove Township. He has a particularly close relationship with the Ingalls family, and is also shown to be good friends with Doc Baker and Nels Oleson. Amanda May WhippleMrs. Whipple was an elderly women and a the local seamstress in Walnut Grove, Mary Ingalls worked for her both part time and full time while the Ingalls needed money. |
Charles IngallsCharles Ingalls
Charles Ingalls, or "Pa", is the husband of Caroline
Ingalls and the father of Mary, Laura, Carrie, Charles Jr. and Grace; as well as the adoptive father of Albert Quinn (Ingalls). He is also the patriarch of the Ingalls family. Charles' parents are Laura Colby and Lansford Ingalls. He has two siblings Peter and Polly Ingalls. Charles grew up in Wisconsin and remained there with his family until it became too populated and it was starting to grow scarce of food. Caroline, Charles and their children left the big woods and went to Kansas. After many hardships they settled for a while but later were ordered to leave by the government because they lived on Indian territory. The Ingalls family then settled in Plum Creek of Walnut Grove, Minnesota. In order to obtain the deed for their land Charles took several jobs like working at Hanson's Mill and repairing the roof and stacking bags of grain at the feed and seed for Liam O'Neil; under the conditions that if it was not done in time O'Neil could take Charles' new oxen as collateral. At a family picnic, while getting a kite down from a tree Charles fell and broke several bones and was advised not to do any work by Doctor Baker. Charles however attempted to finish stacking the grain bags at the feed and seed but soon was unable to continue. Laura and Mary followed Charles into town and tried to do the work themselves; and thankfully were soon aided by the men of Walnut Grove. The job got finished on schedule and Charles got to keep the oxen. Grace IngallsGrace Ingalls is the youngest child of Charles and Caroline Ingalls, and their last biological
child. When Caroline first told Charles that she was pregnant, he hoped for a boy and Caroline feared how Charles would react if the child was a girl. When Grace was born, Charles was just as happy as if she had been a boy. Harriet OlesonHarriet Oleson
Harriet Oleson is the co-proprietor of Oleson's
Mercantile with her husband Nels, and is also the local town gossip. Harriet is mother to Willie and Nellie Oleson. Harriet "wears the pants in the family" so to speak, as she makes a lot of the decisions and does most of the business. Nels usually tolerates this to a point but occasionally makes a stand, for example, not long after the Ingalls family moved to Walnut Grove, Caroline brought some eggs to the mercantile to be used for credit. Harriet was in a snooty mood at the time and said the eggs were not acceptable, Nels disagreed and told Harriet that she should be locked in a cage. Furious, Harriet took the basket of eggs and dumped them over Nels' head while Caroline was watching. They separated for a time, Nels moved to the hotel and Harriet stayed at the mercantile. They did get back together, despite a useless attempt made by Reverend Alden to get the two together Nellie OlesonNellie Oleson
Nellie Oleson was the oldest child of Harriet and Nels Oleson. She has a brother, Willie Oleson.Nellie was a spoiled girl (daughter of a wealthy general store owner and his
wife) who got everything she wanted from her mother when she was a little girl. As a result, she became rather bratty, and all the other kids hated her for it. Nellie was the first antagonist in the show. She served as a rival and nemesis to Laura. She would always try to sabotage Laura but always failed in her efforts. At the end of most episodes, Laura would gain revenge on Nellie. Nellie had much misfortune in her quarrels with Laura. In episodes, she had horse manure thrown on her, was pushed down a hill in a wheelchair, was pushed into the mud, and even was punched in the face by Laura at least twice. As a gift for finishing school, Harriet and Nels gave Nellie a restaurant. Caroline Ingalls was soon hired as a cook and waitress. Hester Sue TerhuneHester-Sue Terhune
Hester-Sue Terhune, first was a teacher at a blind school that
was later merged with the one operated by Adam and Mary Ingalls Kendall when they moved to Walnut Grove. She also worked as a waitress at Nellie's Restaurant. Hester-Sue was married once, to Sam Terhune but divorced because of his gambling and drinking habits. Jonathan GarveyJonathan Garvey
Jonathan Garvey is the husband of Alice Garvey and the father of Andrew Garvey. After moving to Walnut Grove, Jonathan worked on his land and at
the mill with Charles Ingalls. Eliza Jane WilderEliza Jane Wilder
Eliza Jane Wilder is the sister of Royal and Almanzo Wilder and the sister in law of Laura
Ingalls Wilder. She was the teacher in Walnut Grove. Eliza was an intellectual and utterly dedicated to her teaching career but her personal life was that of a lonely woman. Being a very shy and repressed woman, she rarely when out on social occasions and usually went straight home after teaching school. She was a very sensitive women while in class and was not prepared to deal with disruptive students as with the time a bully boy named Bart abused students and didn't do what he was told, a situation which caused her great pain and hurt and nearly caused her to quit teaching school at Walnut Grove School.She was never close to a man and never kissed a man. She had a chance to fall in love with a man when she befriended Harve Miller, spending some time together sharing each others feelings. There relationship ended when it was revealed that Harve Miller was already engaged to be married. She lived with her brother Almanzo and was known to regularly mend things for him such as his clothing. She, also, kept a regular diary. Kate ClemmonsKate Clemmons
Kate Clemmons was the youngest of the Clemmons family. She was raised on a small farm in texas before she decided to leave home and start a new life. When she heard about land being sold in Walnut Grove Minnesota she decided to buy it and start a horse ranch of her very own.
|
Caroline IngallsCaroline Ingalls
Caroline Ingalls, or "Ma" was the wife of Charles
Ingalls and the biological mother of Laura, Mary, Carrie, Charles Jr. and Grace Ingalls. She is also the adoptive mother of Albert Quinn (Ingalls). Caroline was born in Wisconsin to Charlotte and Henry Quiner. She had one sister, Eliza who would eventually marry Charles' brother Peter. Her father died when she was a young child however, so her mother later married Fredrick Holbrook. Although resistant to him at first, Caroline was touched by his kindness during a very special childhood Christmas when she was feeling especially sad, and she soon learned to love and respect her new stepfather as if he were her natural father. She met Charles when they were both young. Once, Charles invited Caroline to go with him to a barn dance and never showed up; mad, Caroline went home. Charles showed up and at her house and explained why he wasn't there; he was beaten up by school bullies. Charles stayed and they had their own dance with just the two of them. Years later, Caroline told her own children this while waiting for Charles, who was stuck in the rain, to come home. Once, Caroline's parents came for a visit but her mother died during the trip. Her stepfather was distraught until he was convinced to write an autobiography; during this time Mary also had her baby, who was the Ingalls' first grandchild. Caroline had been a teacher for a short time before her settlement with Charles in Walnut Grove. After marrying Charles, the two lived in the big woods of Wisconsin; they moved to the prairies of Kansas next, but had to leave after being ordered out by the government. Later, they settled in Plum Creek of Walnut Grove, Minnesota. During their stay in Kansas, the Ingalls family met Isaiah Edwards, whom Caroline tolerated at first, but finally did accept as a close family friend. After they had lived in Walnut Grove for a while, Charles' wheat crop was ruined by a hailstorm, which left him looking out of town for work. During this time, Caroline and the other women of Walnut Grove harvested the wheat which was salvageable, by hand. Charles returned but did have to leave again to find work. Prior to getting married, Caroline was a schoolteacher. But she had to quit when her and Charles moved to a house near no school. This came in handy when a teacher was needed at the school, such as when Miss Beadle was injured. She was also on the Walnut Grove Church Committee. Carrie IngallsCarrie Ingalls
Carrie Ingalls is the third child of Charles
and Caroline Ingalls. Prior to the birth of Grace, Carrie was always the baby in the family. When the Ingalls family first moved to Walnut Grove, Carrie stayed home with Caroline, since she was too young to go to school. When she was old enough however, Carrie did go to school. Nels OlesonNels Oleson
Nels Oleson is the co-proprietor of Oleson's
Mercantile with his wife, Harriet Oleson. In total they have two children: Nellie and Willie. Harriet and Nels are the perfect example of a love/hate relationship, they argue and bicker often but only on a handful of times did they take it to the next level. For example, when Caroline Ingalls brought in a basket of eggs to be put on their credit for the mercantile Harriet was in a snooty mood and said the eggs were not acceptable. After arguing, Harriet dumped the basket of eggs on Nels' head and left the room; he stayed, humiliated and payed Caroline the normal price for the eggs. Soon the two separated for a bit but did manage to work out their problems and get back together. After living in Walnut Grove for quite some time, the Oleson family had to move to Winoka because of Walnut Grove's blistering economic situation. Nels, and later Harriet both worked in the saloon; Nels kept the books and Harriet worked as a barmaid. One night, Nels won a large sum of money from gambling and they decided to return to Walnut Grove. Adam KendallAdam Kendall
Adam Kendall was the husband of Mary Ingalls. At a young age, Adam was fishing
with his father. As he was walking over the rocks to cross the rushing stream, he fell in and hit his head. He woke up in the doctor's office blind. Adam first met Mary while she was at the Burton School for the Blind in Iowa where he worked as a teacher. At first, she despised him, but eventually the two fell in love and got married. They later moved back to Walnut Grove and opened their own school. The school was later combined with Hester Sue Terhunes school. Andrew GarveyAndrew Garvey
Andrew "Andy" Garvey is the son of Alice and Jonathan Garvey. After moving to Walnut Grove, Andy soon became friends with Laura Ingalls and the two had many adventures
together; such as caring for a mother wolf and her babies and solving a series of burglaries in Walnut Grove. Andy left Walnut Grove with his parents, the Ingalls and the Olesons' for a time and settled in Winoka. This is also where they met Albert, whom Andy became friends with as well. Doctor Hiram BakerHiram Baker
Hiram Baker (more often referred to as "Doc Baker" or simply
"Doc") is the friendly doctor and veterinarian who services Walnut Grove and the surrounding areas. His office is located in the same building as the post office; he rarely worked with help except on a few occasions. For example, when Harriet Oleson's niece Kate came to visit, she accompanied him during his rounds. During this time Doctor Baker fell in love with Kate and proceeded to court her, until he was honest with himself and realized the fact that he was much too old for her. Years later, when the town became bankrupt many of the townspeople from Walnut Grove moved to Winoka, however he stayed behind to look after Lars Hanson. Sadly Lars never recovered and Walnut Grove went into despair. Luckily many former citizens came back to the town and helped Baker restore Walnut Grove back to its former glory, Lars who had just had a stroke managed to recover slightly since Walnut Grove had become a town again. Edith MaloneEdith Malone
(Bio under construction) |