Mr. Edwards

Mr. Edwards seems to be the most well-loved of all the minor characters in Laura's books. The Ingalls family first meets Mr. Edwards in Indian Territory, where he helps Pa build the family's cabin and brings the girls Christmas presents from Independence through a dreadful storm.

Mr. Edwards does not appear again in the "Little House" books until By the Shores of Silver Lake, when he enables Pa to file on the last homestead claim in the De Smet area by holding back some other men who desired the property. Mr. Edwards later comes to visit the family in De Smet before heading to Oregon. After all the kind things he has done for the family over the years, Mr. Edwards says his goodbyes and secretly slips a $20 bill into Mary's lap.

No one is sure who Mr. Edwards really is, or if that is even his name. He may be a composite of several people Laura and her family knew. The identity of Mr. Edwards is a mystery that likely will never be solved.