Movies - Almanzo Wilder

Home > Listing Index > Movies > Almanzo Wilder

	Movies - Almanzo Wilder

Almanzo James Wilder (February 13, 1857 - October 23, 1949) was the husband of Laura Ingalls Wilder and father of Rose Wilder Lane, both noted authors. He was born the fifth child of successful farmers James and Angeline Day Wilder on their farm near Malone, New York on February 13, 1857. As part of her "Little House" series of autobiographical novels, Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote a book titled Farmer Boy about Almanzo's childhood in upstate New York.

Almanzo is a well-known character in the "Little House" books, and Laura writes about him, their relationship, and subsequent marriage in Little Town on the Prairie, The Long Winter, These Happy Golden Years, and The First Four Years. Almanzo was characterized as a quietly courageous, hardworking man who loved horses and farming. He was also an accomplished carpenter and woodworker.

Early life

Farmer Boy, the second book written in the "Little House" series, recounts events from when Almanzo was nine years old, in 1866. Among other things, he goes to school (when not needed at home for the farm work), learns to drive an oxen team, and enjoys a mid-19th century Fourth of July celebration in town. He also learns how to deal with being bossed around by his older siblings, particularly his strong-willed sister Eliza Jane.

Moving out West

The Wilders left Malone in 1871 due to crop failures, and settled in Spring Valley, Minnesota where they farmed. In 1879, Almanzo, his brother Royal, and sister Eliza Jane all moved further west to the newly established De Smet, South Dakota (then known as Dakota Territory). All three took claims, and it was in De Smet that Almanzo and Laura met.

Laura wrote of Almanzo's admirable character in The Long Winter, a book based on the hard winter that De Smet suffered in the early 1880's. The story tells how Almanzo and fellow townsman Cap Garland saved the town (including Laura's family) from starvation by making a risky journey over 20 miles through life-threatening blizzards to bring the town a load of wheat that provided food until supply trains arrived in the spring.

Marriage to Laura Ingalls

This act of bravery made quite an impression on Laura, and she and Almanzo eventually began to court. The ten-year difference in their ages was not uncommon in newly-established homesteading communities on the frontier. After three years of courting, they married on August 25, 1885. Almanzo, already an established homesteader, and Laura made their new home on his claim. On December 5, 1886 their daughter Rose was born.

During their first years of marriage, described in The First Four Years, the Wilders were plagued by bad weather, illness, large debts and other hardships. In spring of 1888, when Rose was still a baby, Almanzo and Laura suffered from diphtheria. Almanzo resumed work too soon, however, and suffered a relapse, causing an apparent stroke that left him partially paralyzed. Although he recovered from the paralysis, his legs and feet were permanently weakened, resulting in his needing a cane to walk. Almanzo's inability to perform the hard physical labor associated with wheat farming in South Dakota, combined with a lengthy drought in the late 1880s-early 1890s, further contributed to the Wilders' downward spiral into debt and poverty.

The year 1889 proved to be the breaking point for the Wilders. In early August, Laura gave birth to a son, who died after only a few days. That same month Laura and Almanzo lost their home to a fire and their crops to drought. In the words of Almanzo's daughter, Rose, "It took seven successive years of complete crop failure, with work, weather and sickness that wrecked his health permanently, and interest rates of 36 per cent on money borrowed to buy food, to dislodge us from that land."

Years of ill health and wandering

In 1890, Almanzo moved his family to Spring Valley, Minnesota, to stay with his parents on their prosperous farm. It was a time of rest and recovery for the weary family. Between 1891 and 1892, the Wilders moved to Westville, Florida in hopes that the warmer climate would help Almanzo regain his strength. Laura did not like the humid climate or the customs of the backwood locals, so they returned to De Smet in 1892, and purchased a small house in town. Between 1892 and 1894, Laura and Almanzo lived in De Smet, with Laura's family nearby. Rose was given special permission to start school early, and she soon proved to be an outstanding scholar. Laura worked as a seamstress in a dressmaker's shop, and Almanzo found work as a carpenter and day laborer. Together, they practiced extreme frugality and carefully saved money toward starting a new farm.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Almanzo Wilder ]

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article Almanzo Wilder; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.

Searches on eBay