First James, Then George, Then Grandpa

The story of “Grandpa’s Sled and the Pig” told in Little House in the Big Woods is a popular one. It’s interesting how stories about naughty children are so much more fun than stories about well-behaved ones.

But the story has puzzled me for a very long time — ever since I first became interested in doing Ingalls genealogy. You see, if my records are correct, I know who Grandpa is — but who are James and George?

Landsford — Pa’s father,  Laura’s Grandpa — was the youngest son of Samuel and Margaret Ingalls, born in 1812. His older brothers? Samuel Worthen, born in 1808.  John W, born in 1806. Benjamin, 1804. Aaron, 1802. Hiram M, 1800.  James, 1798. And Daniel, 1796.

We have a James, yes… but James is 14 years older than Grandpa.  Is it realistic to imagine a boy of that age — even if Landsford is as young as 5 or 6 years old in the story, that still makes James 19 or 20, a full grown man — sneaking out on Sunday afternoon to play with a sled and being whipped by his father? And which of these brothers, if any, might be our George?

It would make logical sense that if such an event occurred, it would have been the youngest three boys — John, Samuel, and Landsford. If these three boys were indeed the three brothers of Pa’s story, if Landsford was around 6 years old (we aren’t given any indicator of his age in the story, so I’m just choosing an age for reference), that would make Samuel 10 and John 12. That seems reasonable, doesn’ t it?  Can’t you easily imagine the three boys being 12, 10, and 6?  Or 14, 12, and 8?  The two older boys would be old enough to know how to make a sled, yet young enough to enjoy it.

But if our boys are John and Samuel, why does the story say James and George? Were the names changed? I can understand if the boys had a name like Landsford, why Laura might want to change it. But John and Samuel are every bit as ordinary as James and George, so why change them?

Perhaps Laura didn’t remember the names of the boys, so she made some up? That’s certainly possible, although with the names repeated in sequence so many times, one would think that if she remembered Pa telling the story, she would remember the names he used.

What about earlier manuscripts? Might that give us a clue as to their identities? But even in the earliest known version of Pioneer Girl, which preceded the Little House series and gives it its framework, the names James and George are used for Grandpa’s brothers in the telling of this story.

I admit, this is one question I simply can’t answer, and may never have an answer for. What do you think? Which of Grandpa’s brothers do you think are the characters that belong to the story?  Could it truly be James, despite his age? Might one of the other boys have the middle name of George, and gone by that name? Could there have been another son that has eluded genealogists? Or are the names invented for the story? Let’s hear your thoughts.