Maggie & George Masters: The Ingalls Houseguests During The Hard Winter

In "The Long Winter ," Laura Ingalls Wilder shared the hardships endured by her family during an especially brutal season. The family faced starvation in cramped quarters. In fact, there wasn't even any fire wood and Charles Ingalls and family had to twist hay and huddle - all of them- around the stove for warmth. What Mrs. Ingalls omitted from her story was that the family actually had houseguests - Maggie & George Masters and their baby.

In fact, to hear Mrs. Wilder tell it, they were the houseguests from hell. At least George was.

So who were George and Maggie Masters and why did the Ingalls family take them in during the hard winter?

Read on, Laura Ingalls Wilder fans, it's a tawdry tale of a child conceived before marriage, Ma's generous spirit, and the man who took advantage of that generosity.

The Ingalls and Masters Families

The Masters Hotel in Burr Oak, IA

The name "Masters" comes up quite often in the true life tale of the young Laura Ingalls. For example, it was the Masters Hotel in Burr Oak, IA, that the Ingalls family managed after their first stint living On the Banks of Plum Creek in Walnut Grove, MN.

Double in fact: Genevieve Masters was one of the mean girls responsible for the shaping of Nellie Olsenn character in several of the "Little House" books. (We're going to discuss the many faces of Nellie Olsen in an upcoming post.) And remember that guy who tried to his way with Laura when she was a live in babysitter after moving back to Walnut Grove after the who hotel thing didn't work out? Yep. A Masters.

There was also Sam Masters the school teacher, Nannie Masters who hired Laura to watch her child, Matie Masters "a fine lady who never helped with the housework," and I can go on. Needless to say, The Ingalls family had a long relationship with the Masters Family.

Who Were George and Maggie Masters?

The Ingalls family's patience was severely tested that winter. 

Who were George and Maggie Masters and how did they come to spend that long, crowded, winter in a single room in Pa's cramped store that fateful season?

Well, the story goes like this:

In 1880 George Masters was a 27 year old railroad clerk and son of Laura's former school teacher Sam Masters. While he was working for the railroad at that time, he asked the Ingalls family if his wife Maggie could stay with the family as she was pregnant and he wanted her to be closer to where he was staying.  Though the Ingalls family didn't like George Masters, they did enjoy Maggie Masters' company and agreed to let her stay on. 

Now, it should be noted that Caroline Ingalls didn't fall off the turnip truck yesterday, it wasn't just that Maggie needed to be closer, it's that she had no where else to go. Caroline Ingalls knew her math.

When a very pregnant Maggie came to stay with the Ingalls family it didn't escape Ma that Maggie had been with child for a much longer time than she was married. When Maggie admitted she felt it would shed her own parents in a bad light if she had her baby daddy's baby born at her own house, Ma took pity on the poor fool and let her stay with them. As Laura noted in "Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography" Ma "felt sorry" for Maggie, and the baby was born in the upstairs room with Ma and Mrs. Garland giving the assist.

Now.  Charles and Caroline Ingalls assumed once George Masters was done with the railroad he'd pick up his wife and child and head on their merry way. Except they didn't because George kept putting off his travel.  Finally the blizzards struck and it was too late to put the Masters family out into the cold. (I'll tell you what, I would have been tempted.)

Laura  Ingalls Wilder said in "Pioneer Girl,"We had not asked or wanted them to stay with us, but they were out of money and had no where to go, so they just stayed on. " How nice of them.

The Houseguest From Hell

Any sane family would find their patience tested what with the constant barrage of blizzards, being cooped up in the house for so long, low provisions and having to twist hay all the time, but when you add George Masters to the mix, well, I would have kicked them to the town's hotel after his first week staying, poor or not. I do not have Caroline Ingalls' gracious spirit.

Anyway.

Of course Maggie had just given birth and had a baby to deal with, but George didn't help out with anything at all. He didn't help Charles with the chores, nor did he twist hay or grind wheat. He just sat his butt down near the fire and kept warm while everyone else did their best to ensure his survival. He didn't offer anyone else his warm seat either. I wonder if his wife was mortified by it all. I know I would have been.

When meal times came, George Masters was first to sit at the table and helped himself to most of the food. The Ingalls family made sure that Maggie had enough good food to eat because she was also feeding the baby, but George Masters showed his wife no such consideration.

While Charles Ingalls was up getting the house warmed up first thing in the morning and taking care of business, George Masters was sleeping in until breakfast. It's no wonder Pa escaped to the hardware store across the way to hang out around the stove with the other men -including the Wllder brothers. I'm sure the women in the house were quite envious of his having somewhere to go.

You can bet when Spring came around the Ingalls were probably happier to get rid of the Masters family than they were to air what most have been a really stinky room George offered to pay the Ingalls for their room and board, but apparently when the family finally left very little was offered in the way of compensation.  Good riddance, George!

Spring never looked so promising for the Ingalls family!