Caroline Celestia Ingalls Swanzey ( , August 3, 1870 – June 2, 1946) was the third child of

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

and Caroline Ingalls, and was born in Montgomery County, Kansas. She was a younger sister of

Laura Ingalls Wilder Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder (February 7, 1867 – February 10, 1957) was an American writer, teacher, and journalist. She is best known as the author of the children's book series ''Little House on the Prairie'', published between 1932 and 1 ...

, who is known for her '' Little House'' books.

Biography

Carrie Ingalls Swanzey was described as small, thin and frail, and, according to Laura's books, suffered the most of all the Ingalls family members through the deprivations of the hard winter of 1880–1881. Ingalls was not constantly ill, but she never enjoyed robust physical health during her life. She traveled to several places in her young adulthood seeking a more comfortable climate, including

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

and

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

. During her late-teen years Ingalls was a typesetter for the ''De Smet News'' and, subsequently, other newspapers throughout the state for Edward Louis Senn. She settled in Keystone, South Dakota in 1911. In 1912, she married widower David N. Swanzey, who is best-remembered for his part in the naming of Mount Rushmore. She became stepmother to Swanzey's two children: Mary and Harold. Harold was one of the workers who helped carve Mount Rushmore, and his name can be found on the granite walls below the monument. He was later killed in a

car accident A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. T ...

in Keystone, South Dakota on April 16, 1939, a year after his father's death. With her sister Grace's help, Swanzey took care of their blind sister Mary after their mother's death in 1924. Like Grace and Laura, Swanzey suffered from

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

, and died of complications from the disease at a hospital in

Rapid City, South Dakota Rapid City is the county seat of Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. It is located on the eastern slope of the Black Hills in western South Dakota and was named after Rapid Creek (South Dakota), Rapid Creek, where the settlement deve ...

, on June 2, 1946, at age 75. She was buried in the De Smet Cemetery.

In the media

Carrie was portrayed in the television adaptations of Little House on the Prairie by: * Twins Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush in the television series ''

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

'' and its movie sequels * Haley McCormick in '' Beyond the Prairie: The True Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder''

References

External links

Carrie Ingalls page
*
About the Ingalls Family (Sarah S. Uthoff)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ingalls, Carrie 1870 births 1946 deaths American people of English descent Deaths from diabetes in the United States Ingalls family Delano family People from Montgomery County, Kansas People from Pennington County, South Dakota Cowgirl Hall of Fame inductees People from De Smet, South Dakota