Remembering Baby Lane: A Place in Our Family Story

Some family stories are well known. Others are represented by only a few traces left behind.

Baby Lane, the son of Rose Wilder Lane, was Laura and Almanzo Wilder’s only grandchild. His life was brief, but his place within our family story remains meaningful.

Today, his grave remains unmarked. As the Society of the Ingalls Family begins the work of turning our mission into action, we are honored that one of our first preservation projects is helping change that.

We are assisting historian and author Sallie Ketcham in the effort to place a memorial marker at Baby Lane’s grave, creating a permanent acknowledgement that he was here and that his place in the family will be remembered.

This project represents so much of what we hope to accomplish through the Society. Preserving our history is not only about the people whose stories became famous. It is also about remembering the quieter stories, protecting what remains, and ensuring that the people who are part of our family history are not forgotten.

For us, this is one small but meaningful way to begin doing exactly that.