Laura Ingalls Wilder not only wrote her stories, she lived them.  Literally.  She was born in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, which was 7 miles north of Pepin, on Febuary 7, 1867.  About a year later, her parents moved to Chariton, Missouri with Laura and her sister Mary, who was three at the time.
  Like many other families, Laura's "Pa" was inspired by the Homestead Act of 1862 (the Homestead Act of 1862 offered 160 acres of free land to anyone who would farm it for five consectutive years).  The family once again moved, only this time to the praires.  The land they now lived on was about 12 miles from Independence, Kansas.
  In 1870, the family was forced to move (again). This was right after Laura was given a baby sister, Carrie.
  In 1874, the family headed west, trading for a small farm near Walnut Grove, Minnesota.  Pa grew a wonderful crop, but grasshoppers invaded the area and destroyed the crops.  Yes, grasshoppers can do that.  Pa tried again the next year, but the eggs left over from last year hatched and the whole thing happened all over again.
  On November 1, 1875, Laura was given yet another younger sibling, this time a brother, Charles Frederic.  Unfortunately, during the summer, while the family was at their Uncle Peter's farm, Freddy died.  The family was deeply saddened.  They moved to Burr Oak, Iowa where Pa's friend owned a hotel.  The family helped with the hotel for a while, but they didn't like the work.  Soon they moved into a little brick house outside the town.  While in Burr Oak, Laura was given yet another sister, Grace.
  In the summer of 1877, the family moved yet again, only this time it was to a town they had lived in previously, Walnut Grove.  Two years later, the oldest sister, Mary, suffered a stroke and was left blind.  That same year, the family made another, and final, move to Dakota Territory where Pa was offered a job by Aunt Docia as a railroad worker.  To be exact, the family was one of the first residents of the new town, De Smet.
  At age 15, Laura earned her teaching certificate.  She was hired by Bouchie School, where she first met Almanzo Wilder.  Almanzo Wilder had been helping Laura by bringing her to and from the Bouchie household, where she was staying.  At first Laura thought he was just doing a favor for her father, but gradually Laura let him into her affections and they married in on August 25, 1885.  Their daughter, Rose, was born a year later.  Their second child died soon after birth unnamed.
  Laura continued moving from one place to another, only this time with her daughter and husband.  These moves included: Spring Valley, Minnesota; Westville, Florida; back to De Smet; and finally to Mansfield, Missouri, where they purchased Rocky Ridge Farm.
  Almanzo died at the age of 92 in 1949, and Laura died eight years later at the age of 90.