The Ingalls Inquirer e-newsletter
Vol. 1-10
March, 1984-November, 1993
Published by Arlene Ingalls Schrader
ISSN 1933-7329

Vol. 10, No.1 - March, 1993

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The page number system follows the volume number and issue number, with page numbers running consecutively.

REUNION SCHEDULE

Please send in your current reunion schedule for the July issue. This will assist people planning their summer vacations to include a reunion.

OBITUARIES

(Received with Jim & Natalie Vanden Toorn's Christmas card from Zapata, TX. Jim and Natalie have a summer home in Wyoming, MI)

NATALIE BROOK VANDEN TOORN 1977-1992

Natalie Brook Vanden Toorn was a descendant of SAMUEL INGALLS B-1576, and MARGARET DELANO, 15th generation of this line, in America. She was very active in school activities, as well as an All-A student. A very special arrangement and tribute to Natalie was a floral array of a volley ball and softball with team autographs and her Jersey, with the enclosed note.

Natalie:

The sadness we feel this week is hardly bearable. We coaches and parents, your classmates mourn you. We watch as our children mourn you. We wish you were here to smack that soft ball the way you did. We always had hope when you walked up to the batter’s box (and we have always needed runs!) "Oh, good, Nat's up." We could count on a base hit.

We counted on other things from you too Nat - things you never knew about. You were our solid rock on the team - not just because you smacked the ball. We have always been able to count on your character. You had an affect on all the others in class, in the halls, on the softball field, on the volleyball court, and way back to elementary school, on the playground.

You kept working hard, had an incredibly even temperament, and never whined about someone being unfair. You motivated all around you, including we adults. You have been the kind of child that we adults want "on the team".

Thank you for all you have given to all of us - you've made our lives stronger, more fun, more caring. You gave more in your 14 years than most give in a long lifetime.

We love you and miss you, but know God is holding you in His arms right now saying, "Thank you Natalie, you did a better job than most."

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OBITUARIES

NATALIE BROOK VANDEN TOORN, aged 14, passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday. She was born on July 22, 1977 in Grand Rapids to MARK and KATHY (TROUT) VANDENTOORN. She attended the White Cloud High School and was active in the White Cloud High School sports. She is survived by her parents, Mark and Kathy VandenToorn of Brohman; one brother, Malcolm B. VandenToorn of Brohman; paternal grandparents, James and Natalie VandenToorn of Wyoming; maternal grandparents, J. C. and Arlene Trout of Wyoming; paternal gr-grandparents, Walter and Nora Schmieding of Cedar Springs; several uncles, aunts and cousins. Funeral services Saturday, June 27 at 11:00 a.m. from the White Cloud United Methodist Church. Visitation Friday 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 from the Crandell Funeral Home in White Cloud.

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From Betty Robinson, Bellevue, WA. Rose White (Betty's mother) and Lola Flack were family researchers, and gathered a lot of material on their ancestral line - SAMUEL INGALLS and MARGARET DELANO (B-1576-7), which they shared with many persons trying to untangle their family line.

LOLA M. FLACK
1900-1992

Lola was more than interested in family history, she wanted the information to be as accurate as possible, not withstanding the family stories and records passed down verbally so she worked many years to set the record straight. With early settlement moving rapidly across the country, many families did not know their kin. The Laura Ingalls Wilder "Little House on the Prairie" books and television shows brought out a drama of what ordinary life was like at that time. She is listed in the preface of Donald Zorchert's book, "Laura, The Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder. This is a biography of her traces, for the things she touched, the places she passed, the life she actually lived...."

Lola knew from her mother, Lena E. Waldvogel Heikes, and grandmother, Laura Ladocia Ingalls, the family history. Aunt Docia and children, Lena and Jean are mentioned in the story, By the Shores of Silver Lake, "Docia when she stayed with us in the winter, smoked her cob pipe setting by the stove so the smoke went up." Lola was an avid gardener and enjoyed her home, and family. She will be greatly missed!

Lola M. Flack

SOUTH SIOUX CITY - Lola M. Flack, 92, of South Sioux City and formerly of Lincoln, Neb., died Monday, Nov. 9, 1992, at a South Sioux City nursing home.

Services will be 10 a.m. Thursday at Salem Lutheran at rural Dakota City with the Rev. Nathan Houfek officiating. Graveside services will be 3 p.m. Thursday at the Wyuka Cemetery in Lincoln. Visitation will be noon to 9 p.m. today, with the family present at 7 p.m., at Becker-Hunt Funeral Home in South Sioux City.

Mrs. Flack was born Aug. 12, 1900, in Dakota City, the daughter of Samuel A. and Lena E. (Waldvogel) Heikes. She was raised in Dakota County and graduated from the University of Nebraska. She married Milton L. Flack June 3, 1915, in Dakota City. The couple made their home in Lincoln where she was a teacher in the Lincoln Public School System. Mr. Flack died Nov. 24, 1944, in Omaha. She moved to South Sioux City in 1991.

Mrs. Flack was a member of Salem Lutheran Church, rural Dakota City, DAR, Lincoln Garden Club, DAC, Order of Eastern Star and Magna Charta.

Survivors include a daughter, Beverly, and her husband, Rodger Hubbard of Dakota City; a son, Bruce and his wife, Gerry of Tulsa, Okla.; four grandchildren, Lori Hubbard, Jim and his wife, Jane Hubbard, Cindy and Douglas Flack; and five great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by a son, John A.; three brothers, Vernon, Samuel I, and Warren; and four sisters, Blanche, Marion, Winnafred and Geraldine.

Pallbearers will be Warren Lueder, Jim and Kenneth Bliven, Chuck Beermann, Allan Heikes and Hoyt and Eric Nye.

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UNPLACED NAMES ACCORDING TO BURLEIGH SYSTEM

UNPLACED NAMES is a category given to family group sheets that do not fall UNDER the usual number system, as compiled in Burleigh's 1903 edition of The Ingalls Family in America. The following names are gathered from various sources but am including latest known address of a family member in the event someone may wish to contact same.

If you have more complete information or corrections/deletions, etc., Please contact the editor so these sheets may be updated.

****

ALMON(D) INGALLS b 2 July 1805 m 1828 d 1856 VT married BETSY SARGENT. Need parents info of Almon Ingalls. Son of MOSES?

John and Kathy Meyer, Hollywood FL:

Almond b 1805 m 1828 Betsy Sargent d 1856 VT
William Orrin INGALLS b 1843 in Canada m HELEN HORTON in Waltham MA 29 Sept 1869. He died 1 Feb 1893 in Cambridge, Cambridge, Lamoille, VT. He was Kathy's gr-grandfather.

Almon O. Ingalls, Flushing, MI:

Almon Ingalls b 1805 Farnham, Canada
Marcus Wellington Ingalls b 1849 Alburg VT d 1926 NY
Almon M. Ingalls b 1883 VT d 1931 MI
Almon 0. Ingalls b 1913 NY living MI

Freda Mason, Quebec, Canada:

Almon Ingalls b 1805
Cordilla b 1837 m Elim Humphreys
Avis Humphrey b 1869 m William Mason
Murray Mason
Freda Mason

****

Seeking more information on parents of HAZEN INGALLS b 1802 VT m 1833 Julia HUNTER d 1886 MI:

Geneva J. Keeble, Utica MI:

Hazen Ingalls b 1802 VT
Byron
Byron b 1890 MI d 1975 MI
Geneva Jo Ingalls b 1921 m 1941 George James Keeble, living

H. Page Nicholson, Pensacola FL:

Moses Ingalls
Hazen Ingalls b 1802 VT d 1886 MI
Hibbard Jededia Ingalls b 1847 NY d 1939 MN
Ina Irene b 1877 m Harry Lancelot Nicholson d 1938 MN
Harry Page Nicholson b 1913 MN m 1938, living

****

Need information on JOHN J INGALLS b 1822 VT m 1848 Maria M. NEWTON d 1906 MN; parents listed as DAVID INGALLS and POLLY DEMNING: Tom Torgerson, Eureka CA.

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UNPLACED NAMES

Need information on JOSEPH INGALLS/MARY FAY parents, siblings and children:

Leah Jordan Bisel, W. Bloomfield MI:

Joseph Ingalls
Charles Joseph, b 1864 NY d 1939 NY
Ray Charles b 1896
Lorraine C. m Glenn Edward Bisel
Glenn Edward Bisel m Leah S. Jordan

Roger W. Ingalls, Auburn NY:
Barbara M. Laxton, Auburn NY:

Joseph D. Ingalls b 1834 NY d 1894 m Mary A. Fay
Charles J. Ingalls b 1864 IO d 1939 NY m Alice May Bacon 1924
Leman Bacon Ingalls b 1904 NY d 1976, NY m Reatha L. Day 1924
Roger Walton Ingalls b 1941, living NY

****

Seeking proof that JOHN BROWN b 1755 MA d 1785 NH m SUSANNA INGALLS (INGALS) d 1809 NH was dau. of TIMOTHY (B-249?) and SARAH BROWN:

Anne Robinson, Redwood City, CA:

Susanna Ingalls d 1809 NH m John Brown
Sarah (Sally) b 1797 NH d 1878 CA m John Milliken
Susan Eliza b 1816 ME d 1855 CA m Alexander Campbell
Ellen Ober b 1843 NB Canada d 1930 CA m Wm. C. B. DeFremery
Mary "Poll" b 1879 CA d 1966 CA m David H. Atkins
Anne b 1921 CA m Edward Patrick Robinson, living

****

Seeking information on SAMUEL INGALLS d 1795 Cheshire, MA and SAMUEL (his son) d 1827 NY - was his son ADDISON INGALLS b 1806 MA d 1874 OH m Lucy Batchelor 1830?

John C. Ingles, Fenton MI:

Addison Ingalls b 1806
John Spencer Ingles b 1834 NY d 1905 MI m Jane D. McMaster 1858
Dana Earl Ingles b 1878 MI d 1965 MI m Maude Ellen Sheeley
John Charles Ingles b 1943 MI m 1966 Ann Bennett Gillespie

****

Need parents and siblings of NATHAN INGLE (ENGLE) of VA or PA. Nathan's son William b 1850-1862? was my grandfather. William was born in VA and moved to Perry Co KY. Oma Mae Roberts, Stilwell OK.

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Need parents of DANIEL INGALLS who m NANCY HEATH. They had 14 children, one was JOHN J. INGALLS b 1834 d 1908 PA:

Dennis R Davis, Erie, PA:

John J. Ingalls b 1834 d 1908 PA m 1) Martha McCray (3 ch) m 2) Julia McCray (no issue)
James William b 1867 PA d 1920 PA m Nellie Slye
Blanche Mae Ingalls b 1898 d 1979 PA m Arthur L. (McCray) Davis
Robert Arden Davis b 1936 m Anne M. Moravek
Dennis Russell Davis b 1959 PA

****

Need more information on JOSEPH INGELS, b ca 1790 and siblings, JAMES 1811 - 1831, WILLIAM b 1813 and SIDNEY 1815-1869:

Don Collins, Oshkosh WI:

Joseph b ca 1790
James b 1811 m Casandra Shelton
William b 1813 m Elizabeth Nash
Sidney b 1815 m Samuel Collins

All were likely born in PA, lived in Meigs Co, OH, Madison Co, IND and Nodaway/Sentry Cos in Missouri.

****

Need additional information on JAMES ALBERT MOYER b ca 1857 OH? married MARY ADELINE INGLE ca 1880, perhaps in ILL.

Chris Moyer Lacey, Gretna LA:

James Albert Moyer b 1857 d 1930 MO m MARY ADLINE INGLE
Albert Wilson Moyer b 1885 IL d 1942 MO m 1) Viola Belle Arendell 2) Nellie L. Smith
Marvin Doyle Moyer b 1912 MO d 1971 MO
Christine Moyer b 1944 MO m Hugh L. Lacey (div)

****

Need parents names and vital record info on JAMES INGALLS b 1802 NY and MALINDA SNOW both died in MI ca 1861 and 1868:

WALTER LAMOTTE, Burton MI:

James Ingalls b 1802 NY d 1861 MI m Malinda Snow d ca 1868 MI
William Ingalls b 1840 m Cora Johnson
Clarence Ingalls b 1869 MI d 1939 MI m Maggie McWatters
Anna May Ingalls b 1912 MI d 1983 MI m Walter J. LaMotte
Walter LaMotte b 1931 MI m Velma C. Canamore

J. M. INGALLS, Orlando FL:

James Ingalls b 1802 NY d 1862 MI m Melinda Snow b 1809 d 1871 MI
Henry Ingalls b 1845 d abt 1886 m Augusta Himebaugh
J. M. Ingalls I b 1885 MI d 1957 MI m Mae Agnes Schopf
Delbert Ingalls b 1916 MI m Celila I Crain, living
J. M. Ingalls III b 1936 MI m 1964 Charlene A. Petrie

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Need information on JAMES INGELL b 1783 MA d 1863 Ont m Esther LAMB. Listed as “unplaced” page 256 in Burleigh’s 1903 edition.

Virginia Ingell, N. Muskegon, MI:

James Ingell b 1783 d 1806 Ont
James A. Ingell b 1817 d 1863 MI m Christeen Walmsley
William Ingell b 1854 Ont d 1922 MI m Mathilda A. Gilman
Harry Alston Ingell b 1881 d 1947 MI m Elizabeth Anna Hagens
Virginia Ingell b 1916 MI

****

Seeking information on INGALLS connection on FRANK H. INGALLS b 1811 NY m 1843 Jefferson Co Mo Sarah N. W. Wideman (4 ch) Edward, Henry, Sophronia, William.

Eloise Mayle, Pacific MO:

Frank H. Ingalls b 1811 NY
Edward L. Ingalls (Engle) b 1857 MO d 1941 MO m Irene A. Lee
Fannie Irene Ingalls b 1897 d 1984 m Gus E. Mayle
Eloise Mayle b 1924 MO

****

Seeking parents of EDMUND INGALLS b 1810 NY d 1885 MI m 1953 CALISTA POTTS in WI.

Leonard H. Elwell, Portland, OR:

Edmund Ingalls d NY m Betsy MacDonald
Edmund E. Ingalls b 1810 NY d 1885 MI
Mary Elizabeth Ingalls b 1857 MI d 1882 MI m Hubert Elwell
Lester Elwell b 1884 MI d 1923 MI m Georgiana B. Eyre
Leonard H. Ellwell b 1913 MI m Minnie Adeline Dewey

****

Need proof of parents of ASHEL CLAPP INGALLS b 1814 Middlebury VT or 1818 d 1906 MN m 1840 Lucinda W. Conley VT, moved to Wisconsin 1852, later to MN 1860.

Maxine Ingalls Thomas, St. Paul, MN:

Ashel (Aschel) Clapp Ingalls b 1814 or 1818 d 1906 MN
John Toby Ingalls b 1858 WI
Maxine Ingalls b 1900 Elmore MN m ---Thomas

****

Need proof of parents of Hannah Ingalls m Samuel Worthen b 1749 – was she a dau. of Jonathan Ingalls B614, p 93, who married a Worthen?

Annabel McKee, Abilene TX:

Samuel Worthen b 1787 m Hannah Ingalls
Moses b 1787 m Nancy Sanborn
Eliza Tilton Worthen b 1818 m Amos Davis Sargent
Dana Amos Sargent b 1854 m Mary Donlin
John Frank Sargent b 1893 m Bess Butler
Anabel Sargent b 1927 m Pleas M. McKee

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Need parents and siblings of MARY ANN INGALLS/INGLES, married Dr. Harris Johnson in 1820 PA d 1884 OH, had six children by Harris, remarried Benjamin Mosely Fairchild and had 3 children with him. Joanne Moulton, Alberta, Canada.

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Still seeking information on Eunice Ingalls WHO MARRIED Solomon Drullard. Their daughter, EUNICE E. DRULLARD was born 1841 in Albany NY. Martha West, Coeur D’Alene ID.

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Seeking information on INGALLS connection if any with INGALL. George Augustus Ingall b 1815 England d 1904 MI m Mary Ann Hopkins.

Lawrence E. Ingall, Stuart FL:

Geo. August Ingall b 1815 Eng d 1904 MI
Frederick James Ingall b 1855 MI d 1944 MI m Martha E. Dewey
Harlow Dewey Ingall b 1884 MI d 1969 MI m Agnes Jewell Gallup
Lawrence Ellsworth Ingall b 1913 MI m Eleanor Grace Staub

James P. Ingall, Edmore MI:

Charles Ingall
George Augustus b 1815 d MI
Frederick James
Morton Hopkins
James P. Ingall

****

From Betty Robinson, WA - an item from Rose Ellen White's files -ca 1983. Does anyone have information on MORRIS LEE INGALLS? Who were his parents, siblings, children? Respond to the editor - AIS

WOMAN OBSERVES 108th BIRTHDAY IN ARMOUR, SD

ARMOUR (S. Dakota)- When Custer made his last stand at the Little Big Horn in 1876, Edna Clemets Ingalls of Armour was one year old.

And though Custer has been gone for more than 100 years, Ingalls is still here. She is a resident at the Colonial Manor nursing home, Armour.

Possibly the oldest living person in the state, she recently celebrated her 108th birthday on July 10 in Armour.

Born in Token, Dan County, Wisc., in 1875, she later married Morris Lee Ingalls in 1897.

In 1902, both the Clements and Ingalls families moved to Geddes by train.

Her husband died in 1948 and Ingalls moved to Armour.

Her three children are included among her 78 descendants.

“US Grant was president when I was born,” she said, when making a tape recording of her life eight years ago. Her hearing, sight and memory have failed her in the last two years.

“There were 37 states in the Union (at the time of her birth); three-fourths of the population lived in farms.” she continued.

“I have seen 21 presidents in the White House; the start of rural free delivery; the Statue of Liberty erected in New York harbor when I was 10 years old; later the Washington and Lincoln monuments and then the carving of Mt. Rushmore.”

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QUERIES

From David Wise Thomson III, Wilmington, VT: Seeking more information on MARY INGALLS born in Scotland and died abt 18-- in Ansonville-Jordan Twp, Clearfield County, PA. She married JOHN W. THOMSON b 1 Jun 1779 in Scotland d 1 Jun 1872 Ansonville-Jordan Twp, Clearfield County, PA. MARY INGALLS was the INGALLS immigrant in my family. Of course, I would be thrilled if anybody has information regarding her family.

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From Marilyn Allen, Nathrop, CO: Seek parents and ancestors of PHEBE INGALLS who m. JAMES PARKER, 12 Aug 1731 in Andover, MA. Son ROBERT PARKER m PENELOPE CARLTON of Andover.

Marilyn is seeking additional information about the Andover, MA line...can anyone help her?

****

BITS & PIECES

Received a letter from Darlene M. Moore, Florence, OR and she had responded to Paul Larson's query (Nov issue, 1992) re HARRIET INGALLS MITCHELL/SOVEREIGN. Hope this turns out to be a good clue for you, Darlene! Also, wondered if anyone hears from Paula Talbot .. she had not heard from her in awhile.

****

From John and Norma Ingalls, Jacksonville Beach, FL: "The article you included in one of the editions of the Inquirer on the Homestead in Virginia inspired us so that we decided to include a stay there during our October vacation.

We enjoyed ourselves very much - several of our friends frequent the hotel and we always said we'd go one day.

Thanks for the article that motivated us...." Thanks, Norma, for your encouraging note!

****

Connecticut Divorces, Superior Court Records, New London, Tolland, Windham, 1719-1910. Grace Knox & Barbara Ferris. Heritage Books, Bowie MD 1987

p. 200 Tolland Co: Maria of Stafford m. Albert Ingolls of Stafford 2-5-1854. Desertion intemperance cruelty. April 1868. Child Esther.

p. 281 Windham Co: Lucien B. Butler, Putnam, m. Elizabeth Ingalls 11-25-1861. desertion. Petition 10-20-1868

p. 300 Windham Co: Hannah M. Ingalls, Ashford, m. Darius Darling, Ashford 7-26-1857. Desertion, cruelty. Petition 10-21-1862

p. 413 Windham Co: James Wetherly, Thompson, m. Elizabeth Ingalls, Thompson, 12-27-1847 at Providence Rhode Island. Cruelty. 9-2-1850.

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Extracted from Ford New Holland News March, 1993

(photos omitted: Laura Ingalls Wilder during her writing career; Pa and Ma Ingalls, Charles and Caroline, Laura's parents; Laura's and Almanzo's farm home for many years in Mansfield, Missouri; Rose Wilder Lane, Laura's and Almanzo's daughter, who was also a well-known writer; Larua at age 40; Laura and Almanzo the winter after they were married in 1886; Laura and Almanzo in the mid-40’s))

Laura Ingalls Wilder; The Pleasures of Pioneering
by Linda Leake

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Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of "Little House on the Prairie," was 65 years old before she wrote her now-famous books. Her highly personal and detailed accounts of pioneer life on the prairie have captured the adoration of an entire generation of readers.

The award-winning children's stories are based on her own childhood and newlywed years spent in prairie settlements throughout six states. She never masks the hardships, but focuses instead on the joys and simple pleasures that created lasting happy memories.

Laura remembers her childhood as a time filled with music and laughter, travel and adventure. Her beloved "Pa"...hard-working farmer, fun-loving fiddle player, and dreamer of dreams ... was a restless man, so the Ingalls moved a lot. They rolled across untamed prairies in a covered wagon, always searching for greener pastures and a better life.

As a child, Laura lived with her parents and three sisters Mary, Carrie, and Grace in Wisconsin, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, and South Dakota.

Vast fields of wild flowers in every color of the rainbow and lush tracts of tall prairie grasses extending farther than the eye could see were the playgrounds that Laura shared with noisy crickets, playful dogs, and spotted cows.

She grew into an early womanhood and became a school teacher at age 15. She married her first love, Almanzo Wilder, when she was 18. Manly, as Laura called her husband, was ten years her senior.

Laura, Almanzo, and their daughter, Rose, endured many hardships and tragedies during their early years together in DeSmet, South Dakota. Their home burned to the ground, their crops perished in a blistering drought, and Almanzo suffered a debilitating stroke. Their second child, a son, lived only twelve days.

"No one who has not pioneered can understand the fascination and the terror of it," strong-willed Laura once wrote.

A covered wagon carried the Wilders to Mansfield, Missouri, in 1894. They bought land and worked hard to build a prosperous farm and a happy life. They milked cows and raised chickens. They tended a garden and orchard. Laura and Almanzo fashioned a lovely home from materials gathered on their rustic Ozark property. They were active in local affairs and built strong friendships in their community.

During her years of active farming, long before she started penciling "Little House" manuscripts on "Big Chief" tablets, Laura was a regular columnist for several rural

continued on page 18

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"Ingalls" continued from page 15

newspapers and magazines. She wrote about the things she knew and loved ... farming, homemaking, and world affairs. Profound articles about life and living were inspired by Laura's childhood memories and they glorified family values and the simple pleasures of a country lifestyle.

July 1917: "The man of the place bought me a bouquet of wildflowers this morning. It has been a habit of his for years. He never brings me cultivated flowers but always the wild blossoms of field and woodland, and I think them much more beautiful."

August 1923: "Out in the meadow, I picked a wild sunflower, and as I looked into its golden heart. Such a wave of homesickness came over me that I almost wept. l wanted Mother, with her gentle voice and quiet firmness. I longed to hear Father's jolly songs and to see his twinkling blue eyes. I was lonesome for the sister whom I used to play with in the meadow picking daisies and wild sunflowers ... The real things of life that are the common possessions of all of us are of the greatest value and our whole store of these wonderful riches may be revealed to us by such a common, beautiful thing as a wild sunflower."

Laura and Almanzo lived at their scenic Rocky Ridge Farm for over 55 years. Almanzo gathered wildflowers for his sweet bride during 63 years of wedded bliss. Irrepressible Rose became a famous author and respected foreign correspondent. When Laura was 65, she started writing the books that were destined to preserve her life story and her values for generations to come.

Laura lived well into the 20th century and died on February 10, 1957 at the age of 90. Almanzo had preceded her in 1949 when he was 92. Rose joined her parents in 1968, just five weeks short of her 82nd birthday. Laura, Almanzo, and Rose are buried in the Mansfield, Missouri cemetery, not far from their beloved Rocky Ridge Farm.

Laura's legacy and influence live on in her timeless personal code for living, surviving, and thriving; "It is best to be honest and truthful, to make the most of what we have, to be happy with simple pleasures, and to be cheerful and have courage when things go wrong."

note: Quotes from "Little House In The Ozarks, A Laura lngalls Wilder Sampler - The Rediscovered Writings. "edited by Stephen W. Hines, 1991.

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s

GINGERBREAD

1 cup brown sugar blended with
1/2 cup shortening.
1/2 cup molasses mixed well with this.
2 tsp baking soda in 1 cup of boiling water. (Be sure cup is full of water after foam runs off into cake batter). Mix all well.

To 3 cups of flour add: 1 tsp each of the following spices: ginger, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, and 1/2 tsp salt. Sift all into the mixture and mix well. Add lastly two well beaten eggs.

The mixture should be quite thin. Bake in a moderate oven for thirty minutes. Raisins or candied fruit may be added and a chocolate frosting adds to the goodness.

A favored recipe of the beloved author of the Little House Books.

ROCKY RIDGE SHOP
LAURA INGALLS WILDER
Mansfield, Mo. 65704

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(From Michigan Farmer, Mid-February Sesquicentennial 1843-1993 issue)

HOMESTEAD FARM IN TIRRELL FAMILY 152 YEARS

Diversify the farm to keep family member interest
BY DEAN PETERSON

We have specialized. We have 500-cow dairy herds and 1000-sow hog operations. Specialization makes us efficient. It can also take away some choices.

"We want options. We have a lot of different enterprises," says Jack Tirrell, a farmer from Charlotte, Mich. Jack and his wife, Marian, along with sons, Keith and Duane, and daughter-in-laws, Jan and Pat, have dairy cows, sheep, a beef feedlot, strawberries, and cash crops. "Something will always be making money," Jack says. "We're not going to lose on everything all at the same time."

The original homestead has been in the Tirrell family for 152 years. New factories are visible over nearby corn fields.

"Being this dose to town has made us a little hesitant to sink a lot of money into facilities," Keith says. That's why the Tirrells milk 45 dairy cows. The capital requirements needed for expansion have kept the herd small. "We fed more cattle rather than getting big in the dairy business," Keith says.

Existing facilities are used to their fullest. High moisture corn is stored in an old, upright silo. All silage is stored in a bunker silo, and then fed to the sheep, beef, or dairy animals. "Silage all goes into the silo the same way," Keith says, "but when it comes out it can go several different ways."

"We can utilize everything," Jack says. "We had some hay rained on last summer. It was baled and fed to beef cattle."

"We've got some low ground here," Marian says. The sheep and cattle make good use of it.

A diverse operation is also good when several families are involved. It allows individuals to select an enterprise they like and be in charge of it. "I don't really like to milk cows," Duane says. "I'll help out, but I really don't care to do it."

Duane and his wife, Pat, work primarily with the sheep and strawberries. They have 250 ewes and buy feeder lambs to finish out.

Rotational grazing allows the Tirrells to maximize sheep production without investing a lot in facilities. "We're looking at unique marketing methods," Pat says, "like direct marketing woolen products."

The Tirrell's strawberries are sold U-pick and picked. The strawberries work well because of the Tirrells' excellent location within one mile of town.

Keith and his wife, Jan, work primarily with the feedlot and

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dairy cattle. Jack and Keith do the actual milking. The Tirrells do not have any hired help. "We work together, but each family has their own area," Jan says. "It's important to work together when you're farming this close to town."

Erastus Robinson didn't know the land he bought in 1841 would ever be this popular. Neither did his son-in-law, John Fletcher Tirrell. Robinson came to Eaton County, Mich., from New York. Tirrell came to Michigan from New Hampshire.

"Urban sprawl came so gradually that I never thought much about it," says 90-year-old Dorothy Tirrell, Jack's mother and sole surviving member of the fourth generation. Dorothy still resides on the homestead, in the house that her husband, Kenneth, built in 1925.

Keith and Jan's children, Peter, Chelsea, Jeffrey, and Grant, and Duane and Pat's children, Ben, Becky, and Abby, are the seventh generation of Tirrells to live on the farm. "I like the freedom of not being in the city," says 12-year-old Peter. "Most of the time, you can do what you want." All of the children have sheep as 4-H projects.

"The children help with the chores and it really helps," Jan says.

The Tirrells have farmed near Charlotte for 152 years.

A long history can be reassuring. It reminds you that others have been here before you and made it.

A long history can also make tough decisions even harder. What if you're the one who has to mortgage the home farm?

"When Duane and I bought property from grandmother, we had to put a lien on the original farm," Keith says. "When we looked at the old abstract, it had liens put on it several times over the years and then paid off. That was land that you'd have thought had no debt."

Farmers may change, but farming seldom does.

****

Erastus Robinson purchased the original homestead in 1841 and his son-in-law, JOHN FLETCHER TIRRELL purchased the farm owned by his wife Maria’s parents and moved to that farm known as the TIRRELL farm.

JOHN FLETCHER TIRRELL’S mother was POLLY INGALLS b 1795 NH daughter of JONATHAN INGALLS and ABIGAIL CLEVELAND (B1584-7). She married JOHN B. TIRRELL Oct 10 1812 NH d  21 Nov 1883 Portland, MI. The family came to Michigan in 1837.

JONATHAN INGALLS was the only soldier of the Revolutionary War buried in Sebewa, Ionia Co MI. He was buried on the old TIRRELL farm. JOHN F. TIRRELL also was a Revolutionary War soldier from NH. POLLY INGALLS TIRRELL’S grave is marked as a “Real Daughter” of the DAR.

LAURA INGALLS WILDER and KENNETH TIRRELL were third cousins.

*****

NO FOOTPRINTS ON
THE SANDS OF TIME:

or,

Oh, for a Court Record
on Great- Great-Great-Great
Great-Great-Grampa

By VIRGINIA SCOTT MINER