A Soapy Mess Laura Ingalls Wilder Tales: 2023

James Mason Wilder, known as "Father" in the second "Little House" book Farmer Boy, was born on January 26, 1813, to Abel and Hannah Wilder near Milton, Vermont. Four years later, the family moved two miles from Malone, New York, where James met and married Angeline Albina Day of nearby Chateaugay on August 6, 1843. Angeline, born in 1821, was the daughter of Justin and Diadema Day.

James and Angeline Wilder had six children, four of whom play a role in one or more of the "Little House" books. Their first child, Laura Ann, was born on June 15, 1844, and was therefore grown by the time of the events of Farmer Boy, which took place around 1866. Laura married Harrison Howard in 1874, had four children, and died in Crowley, Louisiana, in 1899.

The next four Wilder children, Royal, Eliza Jane, Alice, and Almanzo, are the main characters of Farmer Boy. Only Alice does not appear in the later books. She was born September 3, 1853, and married Albert Baldwin in 1879 in Spring Valley, Minnesota. Albert and Alice had two children, Myrtle and Leland. Alice died in Georgiana, Florida, in 1892.

The sixth child of James and Angeline Wilder was Perley Day, born June 13, 1869, in Malone, New York. Perley grew up in Spring Valley, Minnesota, and moved to Crowley, Louisiana, in 1895. He married Elsie Merritt in 1897 and had six children. He later opened a general store in Kinder, Louisiana, and died in 1934.

James and Angeline left their Malone farm around 1875, and moved to Spring Valley, Minnesota. In 1898, they moved to Crowley, Louisiana, at the insistence of Eliza Jane, where they failed at rice farming. James died in 1899, and Angeline died in 1905.

Laura Ann Wilder Howard

Birthdate: June 15, 1844

Birthplace: Franklin, New York, United States

Death: 1899 (54-55)

Place of Burial: Crowley, Acadia, Louisiana, United States

Immediate Family:

Daughter of James Mason Wilder and Angeline Albina Wilder

Wife of Harrison Lomanzo Howard

Mother of Angelina Esther Howard; Harrison J. James Howard; Josephine Howard and Ralph Waldo Howard

Sister of Alice Maria Wilder; Royal Gould Wilder; Eliza Jane Thayer; Almanzo James Wilder and Perley Day Wilder

Born 15 Jun 1844 in Burke, Franklin County, New York, United States

Daughter of James Mason Wilder and Angeline Albina (Day) Wilder

Sister of Royal Gould Wilder, Eliza Jane (Wilder) Thayer, Alice Maria (Wilder) Baldwin, Almanzo James Wilder and Perley Day Wilder

Wife of Harrison Lamanzo Howard — married 31 Dec 1874 in Fillmore, Minnesota, United States

[children unknown]

Died 16 Apr 1899 at age 54 in Crowley, Acadia Parish, Louisiana, United States

Biography

Laura Wilder Howard was the sister of Almanzo Wilder.

Laura was never mentioned in the Little House' 'books as to not confuse the readers with the author, Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Burial

Old Crowley Cemetery, Crowley, Acadia Parish, Louisiana

Royal Gould Wilder

Birthdate: February 20, 1847

Birthplace: Franklin Co., New York, United States

Death: April 21, 1925 (78)

Spring Valley, Fillmore, Minnesota, United States

Place of Burial: Spring Valley, Fillmore, Minnesota, United States

Immediate Family:

Son of James Mason Wilder and Angeline Albina Wilder

Husband of Electa M. Averill

Father of Angelina Bernice Wilder; baby girl Wilder and Susan E. Wilder

Brother of Laura Ann Wilder; Alice Maria Wilder; Eliza Jane Thayer; Almanzo James Wilder and Perley Day Wilder

Occupation: farmer

Born 20 Feb 1847 in Burke, Franklin, New York, United States

Son of James Mason Wilder and Angeline Albina (Day) Wilder

Brother of Laura Ann (Wilder) Howard, Eliza Jane (Wilder) Thayer, Alice Maria (Wilder) Baldwin, Almanzo James Wilder and Perley Day Wilder

Husband of Electa Marie (Averill) Wilder — married 16 Mar 1893 in Spring Valley, Fillmore, Minnesota

Father of Bernice Angeline (Wilder) Granger

Died 21 Apr 1925 at age 78 in Spring Valley, Fillmore, Minnesota, United States

Biography

Birth

Royal Wilder was born February 20, 1847 to James Wilder and Angeline Day in Burke, New York.

Siblings

Royal's older sister Laura Ann (Wilder) Howard was born in 1844. Royal was the first son born to his parents three years later. After his birth, his parents had four more children: Eliza Jane (Wilder) Thayer-Gordon, Alice Maria (Wilder) Baldwin, Almanzo James Wilder (husband of the famous Laura Ingalls Wilder), and Perley Day Wilder.

In 1879, Royal went with his brother Almanzo James Wilder and sister Eliza Jane (Wilder) Thayer-Gordon to what is now De Smet, South Dakota, where he filed on a homestead and owned a feed store. He later returned to Spring Valley, Minnesota to live near his parents.

Marriage

In 1893, Royal married Electa (Averill) Hutchinson, a widow with four children from her first marriage. Together they had three more children, but only one (Bernice) survived beyond infancy.

Business

Royal owned and operated a store in Spring Valley, Minnesota.

Books and Film

Royal's brother Almanzo’s story is told in the books "Farmer Boy," "By the Shores of Silver Lake," "The Long Winter," "Little Town on the Prairie," and "These Happy Golden Years." These books were all written by Royal's sister-in-law Laura Ingalls Wilder. Royal is also referenced and talked about many times in these books. Royal also is talked about in the "Little House on the Prairie" TV series, and in the books that were written about Laura Ingalls Wilder's daughter Rose's growing up years.

Death

Royal died on April 21, 1925 in Spring Valley, Minnesota and was buried in the Spring Valley Cemetery, in Spring Valley, Minnesota.

Eliza Jane Wilder Thayer

Birthdate: January 01, 1850

Birthplace: Malone, Franklin, New York, United States

Death: June 01, 1930 (80)

Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana, United States

Place of Burial: Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana, United States

Immediate Family:

Daughter of James Mason Wilder and Angeline Albina Wilder

Wife of Thomas Jefferson Thayer and Maxwell Gordon

Mother of Walcott Wilder Thayer

Sister of Laura Ann Wilder; Alice Maria Wilder; Royal Gould Wilder; Almanzo James Wilder and Perley Day Wilder

Eliza Jane was born in 1850, possibly the first or third of the year, to James and Angeline Wilder. Eliza Jane was likely named after the wife of her father’s brother, Eliza Jane Smith.

Eliza Jane became a school teacher in Malone, New York. When the Wilder’s moved west from Malone to Spring Valley, Minnesota Eliza Jane followed and taught in the Spring Valley school during 1877 and 1878.

In 1879 Eliza Jane accompanied her brothers Royal and Almanzo to De Smet, South Dakota where they all took claims. While tending her claim, Eliza Jane taught the school term which Laura writes about in Little Town on the Prairie.

Later, she relocated to Washington D.C. where she became a “Government Girl” working for the Department of the Interior.

At the age of 42, Eliza Jane married Thomas Jefferson Thayer, a twice-married Spring Valley merchant with six children. In June of 1894, Walcott Thayer was born, named after the father of Thomas, whom was nicknamed Wilder. In 1899, Thomas died, with his estate being left to Etta, his daughter from a previous marriage.

It was at this time when Rose stayed with Eliza Jane to continue school in Crowley, Louisiana. In 1904, Eliza Jane married Maxwell Gordon, whom she later separated from. Eliza Jane died on June 1, 1930 in Lafayette, Louisiana, and is buried there.

Alice Maria Wilder Baldwin

Birthdate: September 03, 1853

Birthplace: Burke, Malone, Franklin, New York, United States

Death: February 22, 1892 (38)

Georgiana, Brevard, Florida, United States

Place of Burial: Merritt Island, Brevard, Florida, United States

Immediate Family:

Daughter of James Mason Wilder and Angeline Albina Wilder

Wife of Albert A. Baldwin

Mother of Myrtle Baldwin and Leland Edward Baldwin

Sister of Laura Ann Wilder; Royal Gould Wilder; Eliza Jane Thayer; Almanzo James Wilder and Perley Day Wilder

Alice Maria Wilder was born to James Mason And Angeline Albina Day Wilder on September 3, 1853 near Malone, New York. She is the sister of Almanzo Wilder.

Alice features heavily in Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder, as one of Almanzo’s siblings. At the start of the book, Alice is 10 and Almanzo is almost 9, and their closeness in age means that they spent a lot of time together in the book. The last mention of Alice in Farmer Boy is during the chapter Christmas.

Driving home that night, they all felt good. Alice’s woolwork had won first prize, and Eliza Jane had a red ribbon and Alice had a blue ribbon for jellies. Father said the Wilder family had done itself proud, that day.

After the time period of Farmer Boy, Alice moved with her parents to Spring Valley, Minnesota.

Alice later married Albert Asa Baldwin in 1878 at age ~25 in Spring Valley, Minnesota, where the Wilder family had settled.

Alice and Albert had two children, Myrtle Emmeline (Baldwin) Brown born in 1880 and Leland Edward Baldwin born in 1885.

Alice died on February 22, 1892 at only 38 years of age. She is buried on Merritt Island in Florida.

Perley Day Wilder

Also Known As: "Perly", "Purley"

Birthdate: June 13, 1869

Birthplace: Malone, Franklin, New York, United States

Death: May 10, 1934 (64)

Kinder, Allen, Louisiana, United States

Place of Burial: Kinder, Allen, Louisiana, United States

Immediate Family:

Son of James Mason Wilder and Angeline Albina Wilder

Husband of Elsie Lillian Wilder

Father of James Wilder; Gladys Wilder; Harold Wilder; Perley Day Wilder, Jr.; Dorothy A. Pittman and 1 other

Brother of Laura Ann Wilder; Alice Maria Wilder; Royal Gould Wilder; Eliza Jane Thayer and Almanzo James Wilder

Occupation: owner/general store

Youngest son of James and Angeline Day Wilder. He was born in Malone NY, but grew up in Spring Valley, Minnesota. He moved to Crowley, Louisiana, in 1895, married Elsie Merritt in 1897 and had six children. He later opened a general store in Kinder, Louisiana.

NOTEABLE HISTORY: Perley is the brother in law of LAURA INGALLS WILDER the author of the "LITTLE HOUSE" books. Perley's brother Almanzo was married to Laura. You can read about Perley, Almanzo and life on the farm in Laura Ingalls Wilder's book "FARMER BOY"

Sunday, May 21, 2023

Chapter 15: Laura Ingalls Wilder's By the Shores of Silver Lake on TPKs Stories

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/valerie-harvey/episodes/Chapter-15-Laura-Ingalls-Wilders-By-the-Shores-of-Silver-Lake-e24eh4k

Thursday, May 18, 2023

Chapter 14: Laura Ingalls Wilders 's By the Shores of Silver Lake on TPKs Stories

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/valerie-harvey/episodes/Chapter-14-Laura-Ingalls-Wilders-By-the-Shores-of-Silver-Lake-e247phn

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

Chapter 13: Laura Ingalls Wilder's By the Shores of Silver Lake on TPKs Stories

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/valerie-harvey/episodes/Chapter-13-Laura-Ingalls-Wilders-By-the-Shores-of-Silver-Lake-e245mf5

Wednesday, May 10, 2023

Chapter 12: Laura Ingalls Wilder's By the Shores of Silver Lake on TPKs Stories

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/valerie-harvey/episodes/Chapter-12-Laura-Ingalls-Wilders-By-the-Shores-of-Silver-Lake-e23r09u

Tuesday, May 2, 2023

Chapter 11: Laura Ingalls Wilder's By the Shores of Silver Lake on TPKs Stories

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/valerie-harvey/episodes/Chapter-11-Laura-Ingalls-Wilders-By-the-Shores-of-Silver-Lake-e23cosl

Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Chapter 10: Laura Ingalls Wilder's By the Shores of Silver Lake on TPKs Stories

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/valerie-harvey/episodes/Chapter-10-Laura-Ingalls-Wilders-By-the-Shores-of-Silver-Lake-e232leo

Saturday, April 22, 2023

Nellie Oleson

Nellie Oleson is a fictional character in the Little House series of autobiographical children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder. She was portrayed by Alison Arngrim in the NBC television show Little House on the Prairie (1974 to 1983), where her role is much expanded. Three different girls from Laura Ingalls Wilder's childhood — Nellie Owens, Genevieve Masters and Stella Gilbert — were the basis for the fictional Nellie Oleson.

Character sources

Nellie Owens

Nellie Winfield (Owens) Kirry

Born August 2, 1869

Walnut Grove, Minnesota, U.S.

Died November 2, 1949 (aged 80)

Forest Grove, Oregon, U.S.

Owens was born on August 2, 1869, two years after Laura Ingalls. Nellie's parents, William (1836–1920) and Margaret (1836–1908) Owens did, as Ingalls describes, run the local mercantile in Walnut Grove, Minnesota.

Later in her life, around 1883, the Owens family moved to California; probably via the Oregon Trail. In 1891 they went to Tillamook, Oregon, where Nellie taught school and in 1893 married Henry Francis Kirry (1869–1951). They moved to Bay City, Oregon and had three children; Zola (1894–1986), Lloyd (1896–1961) and Leslie (1900–1931). Soon, the Kirrys changed their home again by moving to Rainier, Oregon in 1899. Her brother Willie went blind from a firecracker explosion, attended a school for the blind, married, and also had three children.

There seems to be no indication that Laura ever saw Nellie Owens again after Laura's family left Walnut Grove in 1879. Nellie died on November 2, 1949 in Oregon and is buried in Forest View Cemetery in Forest Grove, Oregon.

Genevieve Masters

Genevieve Maude (Masters) Renwick

Born November 12, 1867

Hornby, New York, U.S.

Died November 7, 1909 (aged 41)

Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

The second girl, Genevieve Masters, was born November 12, 1867 in Hornby, Steuben County, New York and was the spoiled daughter of Laura's former teacher. Genevieve wore beautifully tailored clothes and had striking blonde curly hair, just as "Nellie Oleson" had. Genevieve boasted continually about how much more proper and "civilized" things were in the "East". With her superior attitude, Genevieve was far nastier than Nellie Owens had been, and Laura and Genevieve became keen rivals, both academically and socially.

Gennie's family moved to De Smet not long after the Ingalls family, but the Owens family did not move. Therefore, the "Nellie" of Little Town on the Prairie is most likely Genevieve Masters. In her "Letter to Children" written late in her life (a sort of form letter sent to the hundreds of children who wrote her monthly), Laura stated: "Nellie Oleson . . . moved back East, and did not live many years." Laura was evidently referring to Genevieve Masters in this letter as Nellie Owens lived to the age of 80. Masters married William Graham V. Renwick (1864-1924) and had one daughter, Margaret (1900-1982).

Genevieve died of pneumonia November 7, 1909 in Chicago, just 5 days before her 42nd birthday. Her remains were brought back to De Smet, South Dakota and buried in the local cemetery.

Stella Gilbert

Estella M. (Gilbert) Merrill

Born May, 1864

Lake City, Minnesota, U.S.

Died September 16, 1944 (aged 80)

Yakima, Washington, U.S.

The third girl, Stella Gilbert, born in May 1864, lived on a claim north of the Ingallses in De Smet. She was reportedly very attractive and was very interested in Almanzo Wilder. She was possibly the girl who convinced him to take her on several buggy rides, which were described in These Happy Golden Years. Almanzo, who was not aware of a conflict between Stella (Nellie in the books) and Laura, eventually became aware of Stella's fear of horses (which disgusted him). In addition, Laura eventually gave Almanzo an ultimatum regarding Stella, and Almanzo's invitations to Stella to join them on the rides stopped. This was the last appearance of a "Nellie Oleson" in the series.

Stella's older brother was Dave Gilbert, the brave 17-year-old who made the very risky run to Lake Preston, Dakota Territory, on his horse-drawn sled between blizzards to take the outgoing mail and bring back the incoming mail, as described by Laura in The Long Winter.

Stella died in 1944 at the age of 80 years.

Fictional Nellie

Little House books

Nellie Oleson appeared in three of the Little House novels: On the Banks of Plum Creek (1937), Little Town on the Prairie (1939), and These Happy Golden Years (1943) — the fourth, seventh, and eighth in the series. Laura is 13 to 15 years old in the two intervening novels. On the Banks of Plum Creek alone is set in Minnesota, near Walnut Grove where the long-running television series is set. In that novel Laura is 7 to 9 years old.

Oleson also stars in Nellie Oleson Meets Laura Ingalls, a book by Tui T. Sutherland (as Heather Williams), published by HarperCollins in 2007. The Library of Congress catalog summary is "Wealthy, spoiled Nellie Oleson is only happy when she is the center of attention, and so she feels angry and left out when Laura Ingalls, a poor country girl, moves to Walnut Grove and is embraced by Nellie's friends and schoolteacher." Nellie Oleson Meets Laura Ingalls is one among dozens of Little House series extensions published beginning in the 1990s.

Little House on the Prairie television series

Nellie Oleson: Alison Arngrim

The Little House books were later adapted into a long-running television series. Played by actress Alison Arngrim, Nellie Oleson was a manipulative, witty, sharp-tongued character on the NBC television show, Little House on the Prairie. Her parents, Nels and Harriet Oleson, owned the mercantile in the small town of Walnut Grove, set in post-Civil War Minnesota. Early in the series, the character of Nellie closely resembled her counterpart from the books - mainly as portrayed in On the Banks of Plum Creek. She had long, elaborately curled hair, acted very prissy and spoiled - yet underneath, she could display a vicious and manipulative personality. Nellie took after her doting mother Harriet (Katherine MacGregor), while father Nels (Richard Bull) tended to be sterner with his two children and had little tolerance for Nellie's often cruel antics. Nels and Harriet frequently conflicted on the rearing of both Nellie and Willie (Jonathan Gilbert); Harriet's assertiveness frequently won out, although Nellie was not always allowed to get away with her behavior. For example, on the episode called "The Cheaters", Mrs. Oleson finds out Nellie has cheated and started hitting Nellie with her jacket, while chasing her out of the schoolyard.

Arngrim's character grew in importance during the series (as did the roles of the entire Oleson family) as she served as a perfect antagonist to honest, tomboyish Laura Ingalls, played by Melissa Gilbert. Nellie and Laura feuded during their school years together, which was at times comically paralleled with quarreling between the two girls' mothers, Harriet Oleson and Caroline Ingalls (Karen Grassle).

After Nellie graduated from school, her mother Harriet bestowed her with her own restaurant and hotel. At first, Nellie balked, showing great incompetence in the hospitality business. Eventually, Nels and Harriet hired Percival Dalton (played by Steve Tracy) to help Nellie learn how to cook and run the restaurant. During this time, Nellie began maturing and mellowing — thanks to Percival's work with her and Nels' values partially winning out over Harriet's — and fell in love with Percival. The two eventually married, and Nellie gave birth to twin children (Benjamin and Jennifer).

Nellie becomes friendly with Laura in her adult years and Laura attended her wedding. Before Nellie takes off for her honeymoon, she throws the bouquet to Laura. In the episode "Come Let us Reason Together", Laura's mother Caroline helped deliver Nellie's twin babies.

Arngrim left the series at the end of the seventh season. Nellie's resulting departure was explained by having her move with Percival and their twins to New York to run the family business when Percival's father falls ill; the move is made permanent when Percival's father dies. After Nellie's departure became permanent, the Olesons adopted a daughter named Nancy (played by Allison Balson), who bore a striking resemblance to Nellie, although she had a nastier and meaner disposition than Nellie. Nellie—who retained her pleasant personality seen in her later years—returned in the ninth season and met Nancy, who briefly ran away from home when she (mistakenly) believed that her adoptive parents loved Nellie more than her. When Nellie first meets Nancy and sees how she acts, she asks her parents in shock: "I know I was temperamental at her age, but I wasn't that bad... was I?" They all start to laugh, and then they realize she was as bad.

Compared to the book On the Banks of Plum Creek, the series presented Nellie Oleson as a much more prominent character. In the books, Nellie's family members are very minor characters, whereas the Olesons became major figures on the series, with several episodes focusing on Nellie or her family. Eventually, the "villainous duo" of mother Harriet and daughter Nellie proved to be very popular with viewers for their often evil, yet humorous, antics.

Other screenings

Although the character of Nellie does not appear in any of the Beyond the Prairie: The True Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder movies, Part 1 features a character, Patsy Robbins (played by Jenny Dare Paulin), who is clearly reminiscent of Nellie.

In the Little House on the Prairie musical, Nellie Oleson was played by Sara Jean Ford and Kate Loprest.

Cultural impact

The sketch comedy group The Nellie Olesons took their name after the character.