Disclaimer: This post is simply my pondering thoughts.
After re-reading the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder as an adult, I have a different view of Charles “Pa” Ingalls than I once did.
In my child’s mind, Pa was fun and spontaneous and always looking for adventure.
As an adult, I still see Pa as those things, but also as a little bit irritating and maybe somewhat irresponsible at times. From what we read in the books, he was always looking for the next adventure or opportunity, instead of finding stability for his family. Then again, maybe traveling from place to place was how he was finding financial stability for his family – he had to go where the work and food was.
It had to have been hard for him to stay still, I realize that. He was a person who was always looking for a new experience. When more families pushed into the west to find new experiences, he wanted to join them.
Pa reminds me a lot of a family member of my husband’s who was always seeking a new opportunity that she was sure would bring her riches. Each scheme failed and she was left right where she started. In some ways, this is Pa.
He moves the family to the prairie, but the government threatens to move them out, so he leaves and moves on to Plum Creek. They are there several years, but as soon as Pa is offered another opportunity to build a new life in a new land, he’s gone again, moving his family hundreds of miles across the country.
Living with him must have been hard for his wife and children, more so for his wife Caroline. Even though the books are more fiction than non-fiction, it’s clear that Laura probably wrote some truth in the pages when it came to her parents and her father’s constant urge to move the family. There were many times Laura described her mother as worried or tired, and who wouldn’t be when their spouse is constantly coming home with a new idea, and when they live in unpredictable places where life can change on a whim?
“Laura knew that Ma had never wanted to leave Plum Creek and did not like to be here now; she did not like traveling in that lonely country with night coming on and such men riding the prairie.” – On the Shores of Silver Lake.
When Pa did come back from his trips, he always had some crazy story about why he was delayed or what happened during the trip. The stories were most likely true — except that far fetched one on Plum Creek when he fell in a snowbank/cave and had to stay there for three days, living on the hard candy he bought for his kids, until he was able to dig his way out and then found out he was right up the hill from their house. Come on, Pa, really? You were in town hanging out with the blacksmith or the general store owner. Don’t lie, dude. *wink* (This is a joke, of course. I have no idea.)
He also left his family alone in some dangerous situations where angry Native Americans (I mean, the Ingalls were building homes on their land half the time, so of course they were angry), wolves, rowdy railroad workers, or other threats could have harmed them.
Despite Pa’s propensity to launch the family into an insecure situation, it was clear he loved them. I don’t believe he was always rushing off to something new simply for himself. Sometimes he might have been, but mainly he was taking new jobs, trying new things in farming, and moving to new places to help provide a better life for his family, not gain riches and fame for himself.
Even if he was doing it for his family, it couldn’t have been easy never knowing when he might come home and suggest they move again.
Luckily, Pa sacrifices his desire for adventure more than once for Caroline and his girls, something Laura touches on in The Shores of Silver Lake.
When Laura’s cousins leave to go further West, both she and Pa look after them wistfully, wishing they could follow them into adventure. Pa, however, says he won’t continue into the west because a town is being built where they are now, and with a town will come a school. Caroline always wanted her children to attend school and Pa says he promised her he would settle down so the children could be educated.
In the end, the love of Caroline and his girls kept him grounded.
There are a variety of different stories out there on the internet and in books about Charles Ingalls. Some of them paint a rather unpleasant picture of the man and accuse Laura of romanticizing her father for the books. Well, duh, if she did. Her books were written for children. She wasn’t looking to write an expose on Charles Ingalls.
In 2014, the Laura Wilder Trust gave permission for The Pioneer Girl, the Annotated Biography to be released. Some of the stories there, such as Charles Ingalls taking off in the middle of the night to avoid paying rent, upset readers of the Little House books. I understand that in a way, but the Little House series was fiction with some truth mixed in. Of course, there were some truths that were painted over for the sake of a lovely story. Not all of those stories were lovely if you read between the lines, anyhow.
What all of us fans of the children’s books need to realize is that life wasn’t easy back then. It wasn’t what we see inside the pages of a book or a polished Hollywood production. These were real people struggling to survive. They weren’t perfect. They made mistakes and took risks and judged harshly, like any of us are prone to do.
Decisions weren’t, most likely, made out of selfishness but for survival and to protect family members.
Pamela Hill Smith writes in her blog post Charles Ingalls: Driving Away in Darkness that after the grasshopper plague in Minnesota, which lasted four years (!!) (I think readers of that part in Laura’s book think it was only a short time), the Ingalls family was hit extremely hard. They lost everything. At one point a neighbor offered to adopt Laura and raise her as her own to help raise the economic burden off the Ingalls.
“With no opportunities left except the unthinkable—giving Laura up for adoption—Charles and Caroline decided to move west,” Pamela writes.
She continues to write about how Charles asked for an extension on their rent until they could move West but the landlord refused and then threatened to take their horses as payment.
What choice did Charles Ingalls have? His wages in Burr Oak didn’t cover his family’s living expenses, his landlord wouldn’t agree to an extension on the rent, and if the Ingalls family lingered, they’d lose their team of horses—and still face the prospect of homelessness in the future. There weren’t eviction moratoriums or rental assistance plans or unemployment insurance for victims of natural disasters in that time and place.
To keep his family together, to try again to build a new life for themselves, Charles Ingalls did what he had to do: “Sometime in the night we children were waked to find the wagon with a cover on standing by the door…. Pa put our bed in the wagon and hitched the horses on; then we climbed in and drove away in the darkness.”
I highly recommend reading her articles and others to help give a more rounded picture of the man many say Laura Wilder “romanticized.”
Have you ever read Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House series?
What is your impression of Charles Ingalls based on these books?
Was his desire for adventure a detriment or a benefit to his family?
Did he drag them all over the country too much, even if he did do it for the right reason?
Additional resources:
Charles Ingalls: Driving Away In Darkness by Pamela Smith
Pioneer Girl by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Charles Philip Ingalls from Laura Ingalls Wilder.com
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Pa liked adventure.. I think I would have loved it too had I lived in the newness of that time. But he obviously loved his family and took care of them although they went through hard times. But hard times were part of life in that day. I think in the end he pleased his wife instead of uprooting her again. He was a good man.
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I think so too! It was questions I asked as I read but I still think he truly loved his family and was always striving for the best for them.
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Charles Ingalls in truth did drag his wife and children from one place to another. On the one hand, he wanted to be a farmer and when he did settle down to farm he firmly believed that just one successful wheat crop would make him rich. Unfortunately the places he chose to farm wheat were no wheat country. I think he may have fell for the many ads of the time advertising rich farm lands. Example, south Dakota, very hot and dry, not enough rain for crops yet he could not understand why the cattle multiplied so well. Why not raise cattle instead of breaking his back trying to raise wheat? I do not doubt he loved Caroline and his daughters but he also took extreme chances with their safety and well being. When he moved them to Kansas, he was literally a squatter. The land he decided to settle on was Indian land yet he chopped down their trees for a cabin and when he was told the government was going to remove him and the family he was angry. (Being half Native American myself I resent the treatment of the native Americans and how they were cheated). Caroline must have deeply loved Charles but even reading where once they settled in De Smet, he talked of going to Oregon. But Caroline finally put her foot down. who can blame her? When he uprooted them from Wisconsin, Laura was 3 years old and Caroline was expecting Carrie. She had Mary, who was almost 5, a 3 year old and expecting a baby! If anyone kept that family together it was Caroline. Had it been me, I would have given Charles a good swift kick in the butt!
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I have loved all the little house books since I was a girl and have read them many times. I had similar thoughts on Pa as became an adult. It’s hard to say why he moved them around so much, but I am sure it was hard on his family, whatever the reason. I have had the thought they may have fared better if they’d been able to settle down.
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I certainly feel like Pa loved his family and was looking for that farm that would enable them to have stability. When you are trying to cultivate
and plant a crop in freshly cleared stumpy tiny wood lots in Wisconsin and you hear about open prairie about to be “free for the settling”, you might hitch up and look west. Just because there is fine farmland in Wisconsin, doesn’t mean you have access to it if you’re poor. When you run into difficult challenges I.e. farming, getting kicked off a reservation, you might look west again.
N8
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Yes. I agree! This is something I’ve thought about since writing this post too. Yes, I have thought of this off and on again since writing this. Because why? Because I probably need a life. Ha! Kidding. Because it is interesting.
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People who have ever had to hustle – and I mean truly hustle – to get by are not psychologically threatened by change and personal risk in the way that people who park themselves in one place are. (The real Charles Ingalls was also a Freemason, so he probably had pseudo-professional connections in most of the places they landed, which is why he could pick up work virtually anywhere.) Like many folks today, he just wasn’t of the rat race persuasion.
If he had planted his family in one place and eked out a boring existence, his daughter would not have had anything to write about. It’s a lot more interesting to read books about being left alone on the prairie with alien cultures than it is to read about tending the counter at the family store every day until you die.
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Very true!
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My mom loved the books, but I only ever watched the TV show. Even then I always thought he was doing his best to support his family during a time when things seemed to be constantly changing and new opportunities were always around the corner. But I think the show made them seem more stable than they actually were.
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From reading the books in order, I’d say the show definitely painted him in a better light but I also think the books show a man who wasn’t perfect but did try hard to support his family. And he certainly seemed to love his girls.
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Pa’s decisions per frustrating and confusing. I have the feeling he was honestly a bit crazy. For example, he expressed no resentment or worry that the Indians robbed Caroline while he was away. Yet, when Laura feared for their lives, Pa was grave and furious that she contemplated releasing Jack the dog for self defense. They had a home and community ok Wisconsin. If he wanted adventure, I’m sure he could have traveled for work and left his family safe in Wisconsin. PA was a good hearted man, but entirely too haphazard and sometimes downright selfish with how he gambled with his family’s safety.
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I love these books so much! I reread them every year and would love to take a Little House “pilgrimage” as a trip one day. That being said – I think that even though this could be a very adventurous way to live, I could see not every member of the family enjoying it. Especially Ma. I am sure as a mother she may have craved stability for the girls and we know she wanted regular school days for them. I feel like Laura of all of them embraced the changes and challenges for she ultimately trusted and adored her father.
I have read some not great accounts of Charles Ingalls though, in biographies of the family. I had to stop reading them because they bothered me and were too much realism for me. I prefer to just believe the Little House books – they are a long time favorite and I don’t want that ruined, if it makes sense. Lol. That being said, have you read The Wilder Life? I loved that book!
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Jeez I was all about ” that being said” in my reply. 😂
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I do that a lot too or use a phrase over and over in one comment. I, honestly, didn’t notice it, though. Honestly, it slipped right by me. Honestly…ya’ know? 😉
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I’d be afraid to read the ones from the biographies. I don’t like when my childhood views of people are crushed. For instance, I am a huge Cary Grant fan. Never, ever, ever read about his personal life. Seriously. Just don’t do it. it’s depressing.
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Yes!! Me too! I definitely advise against it and I will never do it again. Lol.
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I have to read those books again. I remember reading the first one but I believe the TV series is clouding the book version. I will have to go back and read the whole series as an adult. Reminds me of my dad. We lived in North Dakota for awhile because my dad was able to find work there as well as Texas. Mostly he would work jobs around Arizona since this it was his birth state and where he always said his true home was. The hardest times were when he would quit a job a couple weeks before Christmas. He did this a couple times if I remember right.
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I think some men are simply roamers and wanderers. Not always a bad thing – it’s just how they are. The bad thing is if they wander away from their family and never come back.
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