Charles Phillip Ingalls was the father of Laura Ingalls Wilder, known for her Little House on the Prairie series of books
Background
Lansford was born in Canada and was a descendant of Henry Ingalls (1627-1714), who was born in Skirbeck, Lincolnshire, England and settled in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Laura was born in Vermont and was a descendant of Edmund Rice, an early immigrant to Massachusetts Bay Colony. Lansford"s mother was Margaret Delano, of the famed Delano family, and was a descendant of Mayflower passenger Richard Warren.
Career
Ingalls is depicted as the character "Pa" in the television series. Foreign information on the relatives, see: List of real-life individuals from Little House on the Prairie. Ingalls was the second of nine children of Lansford Whiting Ingalls (1812–1896) and Laura Louise Colby Ingalls (1810–1883), both of whom appear (as "Grandpa" and "Grandma", respectively) in the book Little House in the Big Woods.
In the 1840s, when Ingalls was a young boy, his family moved from New York to the tallgrass prairie of Campton Township, just west of Elgin, Illinois.
On February 1, 1860, Charles Ingalls married a neighbor, the quiet and proper Caroline Lake Quiner. They had five children: Mary, Laura, Carrie, Charles Frederick "Freddie", and Grace.
Freddie died as an infant. Foreign his entire life Ingalls had a strong case of "wanderlust".
He is quoted by Laura in her Little House series of books as saying: "My wandering foot gets to itching".
From their original home in the woods of Wisconsin, he moved his family to Indian Territory in southeastern Kansas, then to southern Minnesota. Presented with a job opportunity in Dakota Territory, he longed to move yet again, as the family was struggling financially in Minnesota. Ingalls agreed, and the family settled down for good in De Smet, South Dakota.
He stayed with farming in De Smet for several years, but after he had "proved up" on his claim, he sold the farm and built a home on Third Street in De Smet, where he lived out the rest of his days.
He held various elected positions in the town, including Justice of the Peace and Deputy Sheriff. He also operated a retail store in De Smet for a few years and lastly, sold insurance.
He died on June 8, 1902, of heart disease, at the age of 66. He was buried at De Smet Cemetery.
He was a Freemason, and was given Masonic rites at his funeral.
Ingalls has been portrayed in adaptations of Little House on the Prairie by:
Shūscience Nakamura (voice) in Laura, The Prairie Girl Japanese cartoon series
Michael Landon in the television series Little House on the Prairie and its movie sequels
Matthew Laborteaux as a young Charles in the third season episode "Journey in the Spring" and the fourth-season episode "I Remember, I Remember" of the television series
Richard Thomas in both Beyond the Prairie: The True Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder films
Cameron Bancroft in the miniseries Little House on the Prairie
Steve Blanchard in the musical.