Mary Amelia Ingalls (January 10, 1865 – October 20, 1928) was born near the town of

Pepin, Wisconsin Pepin is a village in Pepin County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 837 at the 2010 census. The village is located within the Town of Pepin. History By the mid-17th century, the French had begun to send expeditions into Wisconsin v ...

. She was the first child of Caroline and

Charles Ingalls Charles Phillip Ingalls (; January 10, 1836June 8, 1902) was the father of Laura Ingalls Wilder, known for her '' Little House'' series of books. He is depicted as the character "Pa" in the books and the television series. Early life and famil ...

and older sister of author

Laura Ingalls Wilder Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder (February 7, 1867 – February 10, 1957) was an American writer, mostly known for the ''Little House on the Prairie'' series of children's books, published between 1932 and 1943, which were based on her childhood ...

, known for her '' Little House'' book series.

Biography

Mary Ingalls was born January 10, 1865. At age 14, Ingalls suffered an illness – allegedly

scarlet fever Scarlet fever, also known as Scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'' a Group A streptococcus (GAS). The infection is a type of Group A streptococcal infection (Group A strep). It most commonly affects childr ...

– thought at the time to cause her blindness. A 2013 medical study concluded that

viral encephalitis Viral encephalitis is inflammation of the brain parenchyma, called encephalitis, by a virus. The different forms of viral encephalitis are called viral encephalitides. It is the most common type of encephalitis and often occurs with viral meningiti ...

actually stole 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. Between 1881 and 1889, Ingalls attended the

Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School The Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School was a state-operated school for the blind. It was replaced by the Iowa Educational Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Vinton, Iowa, hosted the school and continued as host of the state agency t ...

Vinton, Iowa Vinton is a city in Benton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 4,938 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, a decrease from 5,102 in 2000 United States Census, 2000. It is also part of the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Cedar Rapids Ceda ...

. 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 De Smet is a city in and the county seat of Kingsbury County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,089 at the 2010 census. History Located in the area of South Dakota known as "East River" (east of the Missouri River, which diagona ...

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 Grace Pearl Ingalls Dow (; May 23, 1877 in Burr Oak, Iowa – November 10, 1941 in Manchester, South Dakota) was the fifth and last child of Caroline Ingalls, Caroline and Charles Ingalls. She was the youngest sister of Laura Ingalls Wilder, k ...

Manchester, South Dakota Manchester was a small unincorporated community in Kingsbury County in the east-central part of the U.S. state of South Dakota. On June 24, 2003, the town was annihilated by a large F4-rated tornado, and has since become a ghost town. In 2004, th ...

. She then traveled to

Keystone, South Dakota Keystone is a town in the Black Hills region of Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 240 at the 2020 census. It had its origins in 1883 as a mining town, and has since transformed itself into a resort town, serving ...

to live with her second youngest sister Carrie Ingalls Swanzey. There she suffered from a stroke, and on October 20, 1928, she died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

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 De Smet Cemetery is a cemetery located southwest of the town of De Smet in Kingsbury County, South Dakota, United States. Numerous family members from the Laura Ingalls Wilder ''Little House'' books are buried there. People buried in De Smet Cem ...

In popular culture

Ingalls was portrayed in the television series ''

Little House on the Prairie The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books is a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adolescence in the Midwestern United States, American M ...

'' by actress

Melissa Sue Anderson Melissa Sue Anderson (born September 26, 1962) is an American-Canadian actress. She began her career as a child actress after appearing in several commercials in Los Angeles. Anderson is known for her role as Mary Ingalls in the NBC drama seri ...

. The television version of Mary Ingalls became a teacher in a school for the blind and married a blind fellow teacher, Adam Kendall, who was portrayed by

Linwood Boomer Linwood Boomer (born October 9, 1955) is a Canadian-American television producer, writer, and former actor. He is known for playing the role of Adam Kendall on the drama '' Little House on the Prairie'', and for creating the Fox sitcom ''Malc ...

. The real Mary Ingalls never became a teacher nor married, but returned to De Smet to live with her parents after graduating from Vinton.

References

External links

"Mary Ingalls Era 1877-1889."
Vinton School for the Blind. *
About the Ingalls Family (Sarah S. Uthoff)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ingalls, Mary 1865 births 1928 deaths American people of English descent American blind people Cowgirl Hall of Fame inductees Delano family Deaths from pneumonia in South Dakota Ingalls family People from De Smet, South Dakota People from Pepin, Wisconsin People from Vinton, Iowa

Biography

In popular culture

References

Further reading

External links