But the Ingalls were not people of power or wealth. Generation after generation, they traveled light, leaving things behind. Looking for their ancestry is like looking through a glass darkly, images flickering in obscurity. As far as we can tell, from the moment they arrived on this continent they were poor, restless, struggling, constantly moving from one place to another in an attempt to find greater security from hunger and want.
-- Caroline Fraser (chapter 1 paragraph 2)

Importance: The author describes the difficult process of historical research conducted on poor people. While the rich leave behind extensive records, the poor, who are often constantly on the move in search of a better life, do not. Historians such as Fraser must instead look for clues about their existence. Early in the book, Fraser establishes one of the main themes that would run though the lives of Laura Ingalls Wilder's childhood and adulthood--the constant quest for economic security. Like...