What Happened to the Real Charles Ingalls? What to Know About Laura Ingalls Wilder's Beloved Pa Victoria EdelDecember 2, 2025 at 1:00 AM 0 NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty (Clockwise from left): Michael Landon, Lindsay/Sydney Greenbush, Karen Grassle, Melissa Sue Anderson, and Melissa Gilbert in 'Little House on the Prairie' Laura Ingalls Wilder often wrote of her father Charles Ingalls in her Little House on the Prairie books, and Michael Landon brought him to life on the TV series of the same name But the real Pa Ingalls was not quite like what either the show or Laura...
- - What Happened to the Real Charles Ingalls? What to Know About Laura Ingalls Wilder's Beloved Pa
Victoria EdelDecember 2, 2025 at 1:00 AM
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(Clockwise from left): Michael Landon, Lindsay/Sydney Greenbush, Karen Grassle, Melissa Sue Anderson, and Melissa Gilbert in 'Little House on the Prairie' -
Laura Ingalls Wilder often wrote of her father Charles Ingalls in her Little House on the Prairie books, and Michael Landon brought him to life on the TV series of the same name
But the real Pa Ingalls was not quite like what either the show or Laura's books described him as
Charles moved his family around for decades before finally settling in South Dakota, where he died
In the Little House on the Prairie TV series, Michael Landon brought Charles Ingalls to vibrant life, and generations of fans saw him as an ideal (if sometimes flawed) father. The TV series was based on the series of novels by Laura Ingalls Wilder, who used the books to tell romanticized versions of her childhood as well as the childhoods of her parents, Charles and Caroline. In the show, Melissa Gilbert played Laura as a child into adulthood and her marriage to Alamanzo Wilder (Dean Butler).
The TV series ran from 1974 to 1983, but it wasn't exactly a one-to-one adaptation of Laura's series of books. Those books themselves were also an idealized version of the story of Laura's life and her parents.' Landon's portrayal of Charles was often even more idealized. Here's what to know about the real Charles Ingalls, his life and death.
What Was the Real Charles Ingalls Like?
Charles was born in 1836 in Cuba, N.Y., in the western part of the state, near Pennsylvania. He was the second of nine children born to Laura and Lansford Ingalls. The family eventually headed west, settling near Elgin, Ill. There, he learned to trap, hunt and farm. He was also interested in carpentry and reading and learned to play the violin, which he would do throughout his life.
Charles married Caroline Quiner (played by Karen Grassle in the TV series) in 1860 in Concord, Wisc. They welcomed children Mary, Laura, Caroline, Charles and Grace. Charles, who was called "Freddie" after his middle name Frederick, died as an infant.
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The cast of 'Little House on the Prairie.'
Caroline Fraser, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder, told WPR in 2019, "I don't think [Laura] always thought of [her family] as poor and struggling — she thought of the family as remarkably cohesive and warm, and judged them by values other than material ones. But that said, she did leave out a lot of her father's struggles, [specifically] his inability to put together a secure, stable life in one place."
In the pilot of the TV series, the family lives in the titular "little house" on a Kansas prairie, referred to as "Indian territory." Then, in the second episode, the family settles in Walnut Grove, Minn., and they stay there for almost the whole series' run. On-screen, they live in another "little house," but in real life, they lived in a dugout, a house dug into the side of a hill that uses sod for some of the walls.
The real Charles didn't settle the family in Walnut Grove for long. continued to move the family from place to place. Their time in Walnut Grove is chronicled in 1937's On the Banks of Plum Creek, which covers about five years.
The first book in Laura's series is Little House in the Big Woods, and Fraser notes that reading the book as an adult, it's clear the family is "so much better off" in those woods (near Pepin, Wisc.) than they were everywhere else. "They have a place to live and a garden and some cleared land and they're kind of doing OK. They have food, but when they go off to these other places to Kansas or Indian territory, as she called it, 'circumstances' really throw them back on their heels."
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The cast of 'Little House on the Prairie.' From left: Melissa Sue Anderson, Melissa Gilbert, Lindsay or Sydney Greenbush, Michael Landon and Karen Grassle
Fraser said that Laura "constantly emphasizes" her parents' positive values, like "honesty and integrity," but that doesn't mean the books were the full truth about them — a distinction that also got blurry for Laura. Fraser said, "She knew she was writing fiction. And yet she clung to the idea that everything in the books was all true in every detail. Her daughter Rose really doubled down on that idea and actually accused people who noted the fictional aspects of the books of being liars."
The family briefly lived in Burr Oak, Iowa, before Charles decided to move them to the Dakota Territory. The family finally eventually settled in De Smet, South Dakota, arriving in 1879. Charles helped to found the First Congregational Church of De Smet and held the church's first service in their home in 1880. He also assisted with the church's construction.
Laura and Almanzo gave Charles and Caroline their only grandchild who grew to adulthood, Rose Wilder Lane, who was born in 1886. Laura also gave birth to a child who died a few weeks after birth.
How Did Charles Ingalls Die?
Charles Ingalls died in De Smet, South Dakota, on June 8, 1902, from "heart trouble." He was 66 years old.
His obituary read in part, "As a citizen, he was held in high esteem, being honest and upright in his dealings and associations with his fellows. As a friend and neighbor, he was always kind and courteous and as a husband and father, he was faithful and loving. And what better can be said of any man?"
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Published: December 02, 2025 at 04:09AM on Source: SHOWBIZ MAG
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