Folk and Literary Figure. Born in Montgomery County, Kansas, the third child of Charles and Caroline Ingalls, she was known throughout her life as Carrie. After finishing school, she became a typesetter for the De Smet News, then The Keystone Recorder and The Hill City Star. Like her father, she was afflicted with a wanderlust that led her to visit Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Missouri before settling briefly in Boulder, Colorado. Though unusual for a single woman, she then filed on a homestead claim in Top Bar, South Dakota. She met and married mine owner David N. Swanzey, a widower with two children in 1912. Her husband was one of the committee that recommended Mount Rushmore to sculptor Gutzon Borglum. Her stepson would be one of the many excavators on the project. She was an enthusiastic supporter of her sister Laura's efforts to write her ‘Little House' series of books, and helped by sharing memories of their childhood. She died in Pennington County, South Dakota at the age of 75, and was interred in the family plot in De Smet.

Folk and Literary Figure. Born in Montgomery County, Kansas, the third child of Charles and Caroline Ingalls, she was known throughout her life as Carrie. After finishing school, she became a typesetter for the De Smet News, then The Keystone Recorder and The Hill City Star. Like her father, she was afflicted with a wanderlust that led her to visit Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Missouri before settling briefly in Boulder, Colorado. Though unusual for a single woman, she then filed on a homestead claim in Top Bar, South Dakota. She met and married mine owner David N. Swanzey, a widower with two children in 1912. Her husband was one of the committee that recommended Mount Rushmore to sculptor Gutzon Borglum. Her stepson would be one of the many excavators on the project. She was an enthusiastic supporter of her sister Laura's efforts to write her ‘Little House' series of books, and helped by sharing memories of their childhood. She died in Pennington County, South Dakota at the age of 75, and was interred in the family plot in De Smet.

Bio by: Iola