Garfield's Family Tree exhibit at James A. Garfield NHS
NPS
If you’ve ever seen the exhibits in our Visitor Center at James A. Garfield National Historic Site, you may have seen the name Mehitable Ingalls, grandmother of the president, on the Garfield’s Family Tree. Many visitors will ask, “I wonder if there is any relation to Laura Ingalls Wilder?” Laura Ingalls Wilder was born February 7, 1867 in Wisconsin. She became an author and wrote many books. Little House on the Prairie became her most famous. After some research into Laura and our Mehitable, a connection was made! President James A. Garfield and Laura Ingalls Wilder were sixth cousins twice removed. Their common relative was named Edmund Ingalls, who was born June 26, 1586 in England. Edmund was the president’s great-grandfather 5 times removed. He was Laura’s great-grandfather 7 times removed. This connection may be broad, but we now can answer this visitor question of our exhibit with confidence!
