More Little House Wanderings
On our first Saturday in Rochester, Minnesota, we explored the Little House sites in Spring Valley, Minnesota. This past Saturday, we drove over to Zumbro Falls and South Troy to see scenes from a heartbreaking season in the lives of the Charles and Caroline Ingalls family, a time so difficult that Laura did not include it in her Little House books.
The Ingalls’ only son, Charles Frederick “Freddie” was born on November 1, 1875, in Walnut Grove, Minnesota. The family left Walnut Grove the following summer to operate a hotel in Burr Oak, Iowa. The move followed a second season of wheat crop failures due to grasshoppers.
On the way to Burr Oak, the Ingalls visited Peter and Eliza Ingalls and their children who were living along the Zumbro River near present-day Zumbro Falls and South Troy. Peter Ingalls was Charles’ brother, and Eliza Quiner Ingalls was Caroline’s sister, making their children and Mary, Laura, and Carrie double first cousins. The exact location of Peter and Eliza’s land is unknown.
Freddie, who had always been a weak child, got sick while they were with their relatives. He passed away on August 27, 1876. Freddie was nine months old. He was buried in an unknown location on Peter and Eliza’s property or in the vicinity.
We visited three sites in the area.
Pleasant Prairie Cemetery
It is possible that Freddie was buried in Pleasant Prairie Cemetery. Some people wonder if the plain marker below could mark his grave. However, there is no real evidence that this is Freddie’s gravesite or even that he is buried in the cemetery.
As you can see from this photo of farmland behind the cemetery, rural Minnesota is beautiful. We enjoyed this sunny Saturday with temperatures in the mid-70s.
Zumbro River at the Town of Zumbro Falls
Memorial to Freddie Ingalls at South Troy
We don’t know the story behind this memorial or why it stands beside an 1856 schoolhouse which is beside the South Troy Wesleyan Church, but since we are interested in all things Laura Ingalls Wilder, we visited it.
My heart aches for all of you who have experienced a similar loss in your family. Each heart bears its own sorrow, but I do have some understanding and much empathy for you. Our son John and his wife lost their son, our precious first grandson, Avery, when he was only 16 months old; and Ray and I lost our precious Bethany when she was 43. Because of Jesus, we can face anything and keep on keeping on. Of the many blessings we all have received through the resurrection of Jesus is the hope of resurrection for all who belong to Him.
Praise God for being near to the brokenhearted.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
And saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34:18
And praise God for victory in Jesus Christ.
But in all these things
we overwhelmingly conquer
through Him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death,
nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor things present, nor things to come,
nor powers, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other created thing,
will be able to separate us from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:37-39