Carrie Ingalls
Encyclopedia
Caroline Celestia "Carrie" Ingalls Swanzey (August 3, 1870 – June 2, 1946) was the third child of Charles
and Caroline Ingalls
, and was born in Montgomery County, Kansas
. She was a younger sister of Laura Ingalls Wilder
, who is known for her Little House
books.
. Wilder remarks in a later book that Carrie "was not recovering from the hard winter as she should" (Little Town on the Prairie
, chapter 12). Swanzey was not constantly ill, but she never did enjoy robust physical health during her life. She traveled to several places in her young adulthood seeking a more comfortable climate, but always returned to the harsh winter climate of South Dakota.
During her late teen years Swanzey was a typesetter for the De Smet News, and later other newspapers throughout the state.Carrie did not marry until the age of 41. On August 1, 1912, she married widower David N. Swanzey (1854–1938), who is best remembered for his part in the naming of Mount Rushmore
. She thus became stepmother to Swanzey's two children: Mary Swanzey (born in 1904, married Monroe Harris, 15 children) and Harold Swanzey (1908–1936). Harold Swanzey was one of the workers who helped carve Mount Rushmore and his name can be found on the granite walls below the monument. Harold was later killed in a car accident.
With her sister Grace
's help, Carrie took care of their sister Mary
after their mother's death in 1924.
Carrie was very enthusiastic about Wilder's books and helped her by sharing her childhood memories. Like her sisters Grace and Laura, she suffered from diabetes. She died of complications from diabetes in Keystone, South Dakota
on June 2, 1946, at the age of 75. She was buried in the De Smet Cemetery
. Swanzey outlived her youngest sibling Grace
(who also died of diabetes) by nearly five years. Swanzey's husband died in Keystone on April 9, 1938.
Laura Ingalls Wilder
was the longest lived Ingalls daughter by far, outliving Mary Ingalls
by 29 years, Carrie by 11 years, and Grace Ingalls
by 16 years. Laura Ingalls Wilder eventually also succumbed to diabetes at age 90 on February 10, 1957.
Charles Ingalls
Charles Phillip Ingalls was the father of Laura Ingalls Wilder, known for her Little House on the Prairie series of books...
and Caroline Ingalls
Caroline Ingalls
Caroline Ingalls, born Caroline Lake Quiner was the mother of Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the Little House books.-Biography:...
, and was born in Montgomery County, Kansas
Montgomery County, Kansas
Montgomery County is a county located in southeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 35,471. Its county seat is Independence, and its most populous city is Coffeyville. The Coffeyville Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Montgomery...
. She was a younger sister of Laura Ingalls Wilder
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder was an American author who wrote the Little House series of books based on her childhood in a pioneer family...
, who is known for her Little House
Little House on the Prairie
Little House is a series of children's books by Laura Ingalls Wilder that was published originally between 1932 and 1943, with four additional books published posthumously, in 1962, 1971, 1974 and 2006.-History:...
books.
Biography
As a child, Swanzey (according to Wilder) had been small, thin and frail, and of all the Ingalls family members, Carrie seems to have suffered the most through the deprivations of the long winterThe Long Winter (novel)
The Long Winter is a Newbery Honor novel by Laura Ingalls Wilder, first published in 1940. The story is set in South Dakota during the severe winter of 1880-1881, when Laura turned fourteen...
. Wilder remarks in a later book that Carrie "was not recovering from the hard winter as she should" (Little Town on the Prairie
Little Town on the Prairie
Little Town on the Prairie, by Laura Ingalls Wilder, was first published in 1941 and is the seventh of nine books written in her Little House series, also known as "The Laura Years." The book is set in De Smet, South Dakota...
, chapter 12). Swanzey was not constantly ill, but she never did enjoy robust physical health during her life. She traveled to several places in her young adulthood seeking a more comfortable climate, but always returned to the harsh winter climate of South Dakota.
During her late teen years Swanzey was a typesetter for the De Smet News, and later other newspapers throughout the state.Carrie did not marry until the age of 41. On August 1, 1912, she married widower David N. Swanzey (1854–1938), who is best remembered for his part in the naming of Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore near Keystone, South Dakota, in the United States...
. She thus became stepmother to Swanzey's two children: Mary Swanzey (born in 1904, married Monroe Harris, 15 children) and Harold Swanzey (1908–1936). Harold Swanzey was one of the workers who helped carve Mount Rushmore and his name can be found on the granite walls below the monument. Harold was later killed in a car accident.
With her sister Grace
Grace Ingalls
Grace Pearl Ingalls Dow was the fifth and last child of Caroline and Charles Ingalls. She was the youngest sister of Laura Ingalls Wilder, known for her Little House on the Prairie books.-Biography:...
's help, Carrie took care of their sister Mary
Mary Ingalls
Mary Amelia Ingalls was born near the town of Pepin, Wisconsin. She was the first child of Caroline and Charles Ingalls...
after their mother's death in 1924.
Carrie was very enthusiastic about Wilder's books and helped her by sharing her childhood memories. Like her sisters Grace and Laura, she suffered from diabetes. She died of complications from diabetes in Keystone, South Dakota
Keystone, South Dakota
Keystone is a town in the Black Hills region of Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 337 at the 2010 census. It had its origins in 1883 as a mining town, and has since transformed itself into a resort town, serving the needs of the millions of visitors to Mount...
on June 2, 1946, at the age of 75. She was buried in the De Smet Cemetery
De Smet Cemetery
De Smet Cemetery is a cemetery located southwest of the town of De Smet in Kingsbury County, South Dakota, USA.- Notable people buried in De Smet Cemetery :*Robert Boast, appeared in a number of the books by Laura Ingalls Wilder....
. Swanzey outlived her youngest sibling Grace
Grace Ingalls
Grace Pearl Ingalls Dow was the fifth and last child of Caroline and Charles Ingalls. She was the youngest sister of Laura Ingalls Wilder, known for her Little House on the Prairie books.-Biography:...
(who also died of diabetes) by nearly five years. Swanzey's husband died in Keystone on April 9, 1938.
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder was an American author who wrote the Little House series of books based on her childhood in a pioneer family...
was the longest lived Ingalls daughter by far, outliving Mary Ingalls
Mary Ingalls
Mary Amelia Ingalls was born near the town of Pepin, Wisconsin. She was the first child of Caroline and Charles Ingalls...
by 29 years, Carrie by 11 years, and Grace Ingalls
Grace Ingalls
Grace Pearl Ingalls Dow was the fifth and last child of Caroline and Charles Ingalls. She was the youngest sister of Laura Ingalls Wilder, known for her Little House on the Prairie books.-Biography:...
by 16 years. Laura Ingalls Wilder eventually also succumbed to diabetes at age 90 on February 10, 1957.
In the media
Carrie was portrayed in the television adaptations of Little House on the Prairie by :- Twins Lindsay and Sidney GreenbushLindsay and Sidney GreenbushRachel Lindsay Rene Bush and Sidney Robyn Danae Bush - former child actresses. Born to actor Billy Green Bush and Carole Kay Bush...
in the television series Little House on the PrairieLittle House on the Prairie (TV series)Little House on the Prairie is an American Western drama television series, starring Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert, about a family living on a farm in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, in the 1870s and 1880s. The show was an adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder's best-selling series of Little House books...
and its movie sequels, - Haley McCormickHaley McCormickHaley McCormick is an American film and television actress.- Filmography :*2005 - Urban Legends: Bloody Mary*2004 - Halloweentown High*2002 - Everwood*2001 - Little Secrets*2001 - The Poof Point...
in Beyond the Prairie: The True Story of Laura Ingalls WilderBeyond the Prairie: The True Story of Laura Ingalls WilderBeyond the Prairie: The True Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder and its sequel, Beyond the Prairie, Part 2: The True Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder, are television films which were presented in two parts, the first in 2000, and the second in 2002, which presented episodes from the later books in the...
part 1 movie.