10 Interesting Items Revealed in Grace Ingalls Dow's Journal

Grace Ingalls Dow kept a small journal that coverd several years

Laura Ingalls Wilder isn't the only Ingalls family member to write down the family history. Grace Ingalls Dow, Laura's youngest sister, kept a journal.

Granted, the journal is not a work of great literature and there are so many grammatical and spelling errors it hurts one's eyes, but there's history here, people.

If you're like me and look for different information about the Ingalls family, information that goes beyond the books you overlook things like misspellings to dive into the deeper picture. Grace's journal is a goldmine.

What follows are some of the highlights of Grace Ingalls Dow's journal.

An interesting fact about the journal - it was found among Carrie Ingalls Swanzey's step daughter's possessions after she had passed away.

1. In February 1887, Charles Ingalls was Deputy Sheriff in DeSmet, SD

Excerpt:

Feb. 9th Wednesday
To day is very warm day, only the wind blow quite hard from the South, it is thawing. I haven’t been to school for a week and Carrie has, she stayed up to Mrs Masters, and went to school and in the eavning took care of the boys while Mis. Masters went to an entertainment, Carrie went to it on Saturday for 10 hrs, Yesterday Mr and Mr Boast and came over with Mrs Collins and her boy Mr George Collins and Mr Frank Peck, we had lot’s of fun and after dinner Mr Collins played the voilen and on  his mouth organ, aftr he had got threw playing  Carrie and I played the organ they went home in the evening. Pa is deputy sheriff now he went up town this morning for Mr. Feildby’s horses and critter. Mr. Feildby went away from town for something.

2. In May 1890, The Ingalls Family rented out their acreage:

Excerpt:

May 18, 1890
To day is sunday t has eather been raining or blowing all day. We got all ready to go up to Laura’s but it looked so like a storm we did not. They are going to Minn. Tuesday after next, going with a covered wagon and drive the stock they and Peter two  sol their flock of two hundred and twenty sheep to the butchers for five hundred dollars. They are all going in a covered wagon Peter, Manly, Laura and Rose they will have have it nice two  a bed set up all the time in the wagon Laura will have her  pretty poney to ride on part of the time. This is a cold spring even now the last of may it is so cold we can not take the stove of  the front room. The plum trees are all in bloom they can be smelled half a mile away. I don’t suppose we will get many plums the other folks  from town will though. We have rented twenty acres of the farm to Floyd at  dollar acre, and six to Smith, a man that lives east of our place, at the same price. Such dredful sand storm as we have here they come up just as a rain storm and it blows, and blows, all the time. Though it has rained some this spring.

3.  Grace hung out with boys and came home from a picnic after 9:00.

Not a scandal by any means, but it surprised me that the girls would stay out all day into the last evening. I don't know why I'm surprised. Maybe it was ok because there were other families around? Caroline Ingalls didn't seem to be the type of woman who liked her children galavanting at night (even summer nights).

August 17, 1890
I went to church this morning and hear the rev. Traut preach I do not like him very well. Laura went a long while ago they are not at Spring Valley. Carrie and myself went to a picnic at Lake Henry we had the three seated rig we wen to pick grapes. Drakes folks and Franks were the rest off the company we had. Joe Grey was the only boy he was just full of fun we sang all the way home and didn’t get back till half past nine I had the best time I ever had before we had piles of fun.

4. The Ingalls family never had a successful crop.

Which would explain why Charles took on other work as Deputy Sheriff, Justice of the Peace, and carpenter.

Excerpt:

DeSmet, June 23, 1891 Monday
It has been ten months since I wrote in this and  nothing of consequence has happened everything goes on just the same. The crops have failed ear after year in this place and are likely to this year. Carry still works down in the Leader office. We are to have a new teacher in  the spring Prof. Shannon. I guess Mr Owen will leave here. A lot  of us scholars went out to his house on the last day of school and had surprise party on him. We gave him a gold pen. Sam Dwight presented it we had some fun. I was fourteen years old the 23rd of May.

5. Mary had surgery in 1893 and Grace was ailing that year as well:

Apparently Mary was suffering from Neuralgia - facial pain caused by damaged nerves - no doubt caused by her earlier strokes.

Sept 3d 1893
Am now sixteen years old. We still live in DeSmet and Carrie works on the same paper in DeSmet. Laura and Manly went to Florida came back and now lives in DSmet. Peter went to Fla. a married a girl down in that country. The Prof. is a man by the name of Farell he is irish our old Prof. Shannon went to Chicago and got married. I have not been  well for almost a year have had Dr’s Rice and Ensign Mary went to Chicago  last summer had an operation for the neuralgia. Aunt Lillie and her two children, Aunt Eliza and Aunt Martha visited with us last summer. 

6. In 1887, Pa was sick for "a long while"

I will have to do a little more looking around to see if I can find out the cause and length of his illness.

Excerpt:

March 26, 1887, Saturday
To day is uite cold but all the snow has gone off. Laura has not been here for two weeks nor we their. Pa has been sick for a long while we had the doctor and he has just got well. Yesterday was speaking day we all went up to Mr. Owen’s room, when Annie Wright spoke she looked real pretty she was Pussy Willow and was fixed up to look like  it. Leana sturgeon spoke a place about mossle, she spoke slow at first, but at the end of it she pumped up and threw her arms up with a squeake, a little boy who sat on the front seat jumped out in front he was so scared, one of Mr. Owen’s boy’s spoke an old women that lied in the shoe. There was dialogue where  there a black women was Neva Whaley the piece was sailed the Irish love letter there was a good many other funny pieces.

7. Laura and Almanzo's son looked just like Almanzo:

The saddest entry of all.

Excerpt:

Tuesday August 27 1889
A great many things have happened since I last wrote in this book. Laura's little baby boy only a month old died a little while ago, he looked just like Manly. Rose will be three years old next december she is large for her age with golden hair and large blue eyes. Last friday Manly's house caught fire and burned to the ground. The furniture in the front room and in the bedroom and pantry was saved but nothing in the kitchen where the fire started.

8. Carrie earned one dollar each week as a typesetter

Excerpt:

Sunday, November 17, 1889
Well; Carrie is down in the Leader office learning to set tipe she gets a dollar a week now but after a while she will get more. 

9. Italians, and Beggars and Bears, Oh my!

Italians?

Poor bear.

Excerpt:

April 21, 1890
Summer is comming soon spring is her already, and Italians and beggars are her too a little while ago one of them came along with cinnamon bear a great ugly brute for ten cents he would preform , Mrs Brunell paid half and Pa paid the other. He danced turned springs and everything else. The man sang while the bear danced. 

10. There was a tragic prairie fire in DeSmet in April, 1889

Excerpt:

We are having an april shower today the first one of the season. It has been nearly a year since I wrote in this book and still am in Miss Dawley's room. There was a great wind storm last week, the dust was so thick the houses on the other side of the street could hardly be seen. The prairie got on fire and a great many people were burned out and some burned to death. I like Miss Dawley better than any of my other teachers.

Grace's diary isn't long but you can find it in it's entirety in William Anderson's Story of the Ingalls (Laura Ingalls Wilder Family Series).

Grace Ingalls Dow's Obituary: