Almanzo James Wilder (; February 13, 1857? – October 23, 1949) was the husband of Laura Ingalls Wilder and the father of Rose Wilder Lane, both noted authors. Biography Early life Almanzo James Wilder is said to have been born on February 13, 1857, at Wilder Homestead outside Malone, New York, as the fifth of six children born to farmers James Mason (1813–1899) and Angelina Albina (née Day) Wilder (1821–1905). His siblings included Laura Ann (1844–1899), Royal Gould (1847–1925), Eliza Jane (1850–1930), Alice Maria (1853–1892), and Perley Day Wilder (1869–1934). As part of her Little House series of semi-autobiographical novels, Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote a book titled Farmer Boy about Wilder's childhood in upstate New York; he would subsequently become a recurring character in the later Little House books in which his wife wrote about their courtship and subsequent marriage, in The Long Winter, Little Town on the Prairie, These Happy Golden Years, and The First Four Years respectively. He also appears briefly in chapter 28 ('Moving Day') of By the Shores of Silver Lake. Almanzo is characterized as a quietly courageous, hardworking man who loves horses and farming, and is also described as an accomplished carpenter and woodworker. Farmer Boy recounts events of Wilder's childhood, starting when he was weeks shy of his ninth birthday in 1866. Among other things, he begins attending school when not needed at home for farm work, learns to train and drive a team of oxen, attends a county fair, and enjoys a mid-19th century Fourth of July celebration in the town of Malone. Almanzo also learns to deal with being bossed around by his older siblings, particularly his strong-willed sister Eliza Jane, who would later become a schoolteacher of his future wife. Farmer Boy was the second book published in the Little House series. Hitting bookstore shelves in 1933, it was followed by Little House on the Prairie in 1935. The original order of publication was changed by publisher Harper with the subsequent release of the illustrated 1953 and 1971 editions. Moving to The West The Wilder family left Burke in 1870 due to crop failures. Moving west, they settled in Spring Valley, Minnesota, where they established a farm. In 1879, Wilder, his older brother Royal, and older sister Eliza Jane moved to the Dakota Territory, taking claims near what would later become the town of De Smet, South Dakota. Wilder settled on