The Ingalls family had moved to Burr Oak, Iowa with the hope of improving on their hard times in Walnut Grove. They wanted to put it all behind them and move on with life. But their plans didn't pan out. So, within about eight months of her birth, they moved back to Walnut Grove. But they went back with a special gift from God, little Grace. "Her hair was golden like Mary's and her eyes were blue and bright like Pa's" remarked Laura. Beyond a few words of mention about their time in Burr Oak, Laura seemed to want to forget their time in the "dark and dirty" old town. The birth of Grace brightened things up for the family until in February, 1879, Mary went blind. Laura wrote, "The last thing that Mary ever saw was the bright blue of Grace's eyes."
Grace was a good student and became a teacher, like her other sisters, Carrie and Laura; a trait passed on to them by their mother. She taught school in Manchester, South Dakota; met and married Nathan Dow. They lived on a farm till his health prevented it. They moved into town, where they cared for Grace's elderly mother and blind sister, Mary.
Grace died at age 64, preceding her husband by three year, and is buried in the De Smet Cemetery.
The Old Man in the Bib Overalls
3 comments:
Unfortunatelly we know very little about her. She seemed to be more happy and noisy then the others. Unfortunately diabetis at that time was very cruel.
I've always felt a bit of a kinship with Grace. Maybe because we were both the "baby of the family".
I've always wished to know more about this youngest sister. Rose remembered her as "a big, jolly girl," so it sounds like she knew how to have a good time.
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