Caroline Lake Ingalls, née Quiner was the mother of Laura Ingalls Wilder of Little House on the Prairie fame. She was born on December 12, 1839 in Brookfield, Wisconsin, the fifth of seven children of Henry Quiner and Charlotte (Tucker) Quiner. She lost her father at the age of five. Her mother eventually married Frederick Holbrook, a farmer who lived nearby. At the age of sixteen, Caroline started working as a teacher. On February 1, 1860 she married Charles Ingalls. She eventually gave birth to five children, Mary, Laura, Carrie, Freddy and Grace. Freddy died as a baby. Caroline traveled a lot with her family, but finally settled in De Smet, South Dakota, a town named after Pierre-Jean De Smet, a Jesuit missionary. She died on April 20, 1924, at the age of 84, and was buried at De Smet Cemetery.

Caroline was played by: Karen Grassle (on tv-series), Lindsay Crouse (Beyond the Prairie), and Erin Cottrell (on new miniseries).

External Links

• Caroline Ingalls' biography
• Caroline Ingalls' burial record at Find A Grave

1839 births | 1924 deaths | Ingalls family

Caroline Lake Quiner | Caroline Ingalls