Was the character Mrs. Oleson on "Little House on the Prarie" an actual person? Was her character, if fictional, based on any historical figure such as Mrs. Lincoln?

mementoflash

Here is a description of the character, it does not mention her being based on any actual or historic person like Mrs. Lincoln: http://www.tvland.com/shows/littleHouse/character7.jhtml Mar 16 06, 8:22 AM

lanfranco

Laura Ingalls Wilder was born in 1867 and did not begin publishing her "Little House" books until the 1930's. I can't think that Mary Lincoln (who died in 1882 in Illinois, while Wilder was a teenager in the Dakota territory) had any influence on her books. However, it is certain that many of the characters were based on people Wilder had known. She wasn't, for example, very kind to her sister-in-law, Eliza Jane Wilder, whose real name she used. Mrs. Oleson might well have been inspired by someone Wilder had met during her childhood. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Ingalls_Wilder Mar 16 06, 10:29 AM

jiloa777

she was a real person Dec 17 07, 3:57 AM