Almanzo James Wilder (1857 - 1949)

Born 13 Feb 1857 in Burke, Franklin, New York, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Laura Elizabeth (Ingalls) Wilder — married 25 Aug 1885 in DeSmet, Dakota Territory

Descendants

Died 23 Oct 1949 at age 92 in Mansfield, Wright, Missouri, United States

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This profile is part of the Franklin County, New York One Place Study.

Biography

Almanzo Wilder is Notable.

Almanzo Wilder was born to James and Angeline Day Wilder on 13 February 1857, on the family farm in Burke, near Malone, New York.^[1] Almanzo was the fifth of six children.

The family moved to Spring Valley, Minnesota, in 1875. Almanzo and his older brother Royal stayed in Malone to take care of the farm. Royal, Almanzo and his sister Eliza Jane then set out for DeSmet, South Dakota. They were among the first settlers in the town. Almanzo settled on his claim with the intent of farming wheat.

In 1883 Almanzo began courting Laura Ingalls who was ten years his junior. He started driving her the 12 miles between DeSmet and the town in which she was teaching. Three years later, on 25 August 1885, they were married.

Almanzo and Laura had two children. A daughter, Rose, was born on 5 December 1886. A son was born 11 July 1889. He died after only 27 days on 7 August 1889.

After suffering many hardships including diphtheria, fire, and drought, the family moved to Spring Valley, Minnesota to stay with Almanzo's parents. After about a year the family moved to Westville, Florida.

The family returned to DeSmet in 1892. Almanzo worked as a carpenter and day laborer.

On 17 July 1894 the Wilder family left for Missouri traveling by covered wagon. They arrived on August 31st and bought forty acres of undeveloped land with a $100.00 down payment. Laura named it Rocky Ridge Farm.

Over the next 20 years they slowly built a home with ten rooms and expanded the farm to include 200 acres. They produced poultry, dairy items and fruit. They also kept Morgan horses and a large herd of cows and goats.

Almanzo Wilder died at the age of 92 on 23 October 1949, after suffering two heart attacks. He is buried in the Mansfield Cemetery in Mansfield, Missouri with his wife and daughter.

Sources

1. ↑ Malone New York page on the Almanzo Wilder homestead https://www.visitmalone.com/attractions/almanzo-wilder-homestead Official Website for the homestead https://almanzowilderfarm.com/ and nice report from Patti Aliventi who visited the homestead in 2020 https://thoughtsfromthemountaintop.com/2020/09/11/visiting-almanzo-wilders-boyhood-home-in-malone-ny/

• Pioneer Girl: Fact and Fiction of Laura Ingalls Wilder, website created by Nancy Cleaveland, Almanzo James Wilder page

• United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCHY-MGR : 14 December 2017), Almanzo J Wilder in entry for James Wilder, 1860.
• "New York State Census, 1875," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VTDM-FG3 : 12 March 2018), Almanzo Wilder in household of James Wilder, Burke, Franklin, New York, United States; citing p. 21, line 44, State Library, Albany; FHL microfilm 878,020.
• "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M882-37Y : accessed 28 October 2018), Almanzo J Wilder, Pleasant Valley, Wright, Missouri, United States; citing ED 154, sheet 4B, line 78, family 85, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 966; FHL microfilm 1,820,966.
• "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K7WY-7H6 : 14 March 2018), Almanzo Wilder, Pleasant Valley Township, Wright, Wright, Missouri, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 115-17, sheet 5B, line 51, family 104, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 2164.
• Find A Grave, database and images (accessed 14 February 2019), memorial page for Almanzo James Wilder (13 Feb 1857–23 Oct 1949), Find A Grave: Memorial #3949, citing Mansfield Cemetery, Mansfield, Wright County, Missouri, USA ; Maintained by Find A Grave.

See Also:

• Ingalls Family Genealogy, archive version of inactive website created by Deb Houdek Rule