Elder sister of author Laura Ingalls Wilder
Mary Amelia Ingalls
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![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/96/MaryIngalls_1.jpg/220px-MaryIngalls_1.jpg) Mary Amelia Ingalls
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Born
| Mary Amelia Ingalls
(
1865-01-10
)
January 10, 1865
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Died
| October 20, 1928
(1928-10-20)
(aged 63)
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Parents
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Relatives
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Mary Amelia Ingalls
(January 10, 1865 ? October 20, 1928) was born near the town of
Pepin, Wisconsin
. She was the first child of
Caroline
and
Charles Ingalls
and older sister of writer
Laura Ingalls Wilder
, known for her
Little House
book series.
Biography
[
edit
]
Mary Ingalls was born January 10, 1865, on her father's 29th birthday.
At age 14, Ingalls suffered an illness ? allegedly
scarlet fever
? thought at the time to cause her blindness.
[1]
A 2013 medical study concluded that
viral encephalitis
actually disrupted her eyesight, based on evidence from first-hand accounts and newspaper reports of her illness, as well as relevant school registries, and epidemiologic data on blindness and infectious diseases.
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
Between 1881 and 1889, Ingalls attended the
Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School
in
Vinton, Iowa
.
The historical record doesn't show why Ingalls did not attend school during one year of that time, but she did finish the seven-year course of study in 1889 and graduated. She then returned home to her parents in
De Smet, South Dakota
and contributed to the family income by making
fly nets
for horses.
After her father died in 1902, she and her mother rented out a room in their home for extra income. Following her mother's death in April 1924, she lived for a time with her sister,
Grace Ingalls Dow
in
Manchester, South Dakota
.
She then traveled to
Keystone, South Dakota
to live with her second youngest sister
Carrie Ingalls Swanzey
. There she suffered a stroke, and on October 20, 1928, she died of
pneumonia
at age 63. Her body was returned to De Smet, where she was buried in the Ingalls family plot next to her parents at
De Smet Cemetery
.
[6]
Ingalls family plot,
De Smet Cemetery
, South Dakota
Mary Ingalls' headstone at De Smet Cemetery, South Dakota
In popular culture
[
edit
]
Ingalls was portrayed in the television series
Little House on the Prairie
by actress
Melissa Sue Anderson
. The television version of Mary Ingalls became a teacher in a school for the blind and married a blind fellow teacher. The real Mary Ingalls never became a teacher nor married, but returned to De Smet to live with her parents after graduating from Vinton.
[7]
[8]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Benge, Janet and Geoff (2005).
Laura Ingalls Wilder: A storybook life
. YWAM Publishing. p. 180.
ISBN
1-932096-32-9
.
- ^
Allexan, Sarah S.; Byington, Carrie L.; Finkelstein, Jerome I.; Tarini, Beth A. (2013).
"Blindness in Walnut Grove: How did Mary Ingalls lose her sight?"
.
Pediatrics
. peds.2012-1438.
- ^
dell'Antonia, K.J. (February 4, 2013).
"Scarlet fever probably didn't blind Mary Ingalls"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
February 4,
2013
.
- ^
Serena, Gordon (February 4, 2013).
"Mistaken infection 'On the Prairie'?"
.
U.S. News & World Report
. Retrieved
February 4,
2013
.
- ^
"Dispelling a myth: Scarlet fever did not make Mary Ingalls blind"
.
Fox News
(fox2now.com)
. February 11, 2013.
- ^
"Rites held at De Smet for pioneer of county".
The Daily Argus-Leader
. October 21, 1928.
- ^
Holloway, Diane (November 30, 1980). "Sight for sore eyes".
Austin American-Statesman
.
- ^
McGlynn, Ann (September 3, 2001). "Blind school's budget slashed".
Quad-City Times
.
Further reading
[
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]
External links
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]