In the Recollections of Susan (Fairbank) Whiting, Susan Whiting mentions Uncle Daniel and Aunt Rilla (Aurilla) and goes on to say that Uncle Daniel died in 1849 (Part 2: The Wisconsin Years, Paragraph 12), which agrees with the information I have on Daniel P. Whiting.  She also mentions Uncle Dorris in the same paragraph and Amos elsewhere in the account.  Amos and Dorris are brothers of her husband, Newell. This, along with BLM land records, shows that Daniel and Aurilla Whiting do have some connection to my Whitings.  It's a matter of narrowing it down more precisely!  I have a "theory" that the connection could be to Daniel Whiting, b. 1799, son of Caleb and Lucy (Ross) Whiting.  This Caleb is the son of Caleb M. Whiting, Revolutionary War soldier.  Any response to the theory would be appreciated.

It is also interesting to note that a brother of Charles Phillip Ingalls (Laura's father) and Peter Riley Ingalls (Alice and Ella's father) was George Whiting Ingalls, and the father of these three brothers was Lansford Whiting Ingalls. The fact that George and Lansford both bore the middle name Whiting is an indication that a past relative may have been a Whiting.

Sometimes a child was named after someone famous, such as a president. For instance, Andrew Jackson Whiting, father of Leslie and Arthur Whiting, may likely have been named after the president, Andrew Jackson. Also, it is possible that a name may have been used to honor a local celebrity or hero, or just a notable person in the community.

People often refer to second and third cousins, etc., as "cousin," a blanket coverage for a "relative."  She may have referred to Daniel and Rilla as Uncle and Aunt in the same sense as cousin.  Note that Susan had a sister also named Aurilla.  This is likely the Rilla mentioned in the very beginning of her Recollections. 

What follows is information I have on the family of Peter Riley Ingalls.

PETER RILEY INGALLS was born October 28, 1833 in Cuba Twp., Allegheny, New York, and died March 22, 1900 in Milaca, Mille Lacs, Minnesota; bur. Forest Hill Cemetery, Milaca. He married ELIZA ANN QUINER June 6, 1861 in Concord, Jefferson, Wisconsin. She was born April 21, 1842 in Brookfield Twp., Waukesha, Wisconsin, and died June 6, 1931 in Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, California; bur. Hemet, California.  See The Ingalls Inquirer, Vol. 5, No. 2 - July, 1988, for Eliza Ann (Quiner) Whiting's obituary.  Also see The Ingalls Inquirer, Vol. 9, No. 2 - July, 1992, for a short note concerning the grave of Peter Riley Ingalls at Milaca, Minnesota.

Some sources have given the place of death for Peter as Mazeppa, Minnesota. I checked Milaca and found this entry in a ledger at the registrar's office at the Mille Lacs County Courthouse (Book B, page 3, line 30): Bogus Brook (township), Name - Peter Riley Ingalls, Date of Birth - October 28 - 67 years, 5 months old, Died - March 22, 1900, Cause of Death - Fatty degeneration of the heart, Duration - 6 months, Occupation - Farmer, Born - New York, Father - Lansford Ingalls, Last Residence - Milaca, Parents' Birthplace - Canada. The entries in this book are original entries (entries made as the events occurred).

I located his grave at Forest Hill Cemetery, Milaca, on the west bank of the Rum River. It is just inside the gate (about four car-lengths) and on the river side, just before the water spigot. It's a flat stone within six feet of the lane. Judging from the style of the stone, it was likely placed there several years after Peter died in 1900.  A photo of his grave and a short bio has been posted on Find-A-Grave.

Children of PETER RILEY INGALLS and ELIZA QUINER are:
i. ALICE JOSEPHINE INGALLS, b. April 23, 1862; d. January 30, 1934. She married ARTHUR LELAND WHITING March 20, 1881 in Wabasha, Minnesota, son of ANDREW JACKSON WHITING and URANIA BROWN. He was born Abt. 1860 in Minnesota, possibly Wabasha.
ii. ELLA ESTELLA INGALLS, b. January 23, 1865; d. March 9, 1945. She married LESLIE LEE WHITING November 29, 1883 in Dakota Territory, son of ANDREW JACKSON WHITING and URANIA BROWN. He was born March 8, 1858 in Claremont, Dodge, Minnesota, and died June 3, 1927 in Riverside, Riverside, California.
iii. PETER FRANKLIN INGALLS, b. November 16, 1866; d. September 23, 1932. He married, September 13, 1891, MARY EDITH (MOLLY) MCGOWIN.  Children: Edith Elsie (February 1894), Alexander (November 1896), Florence E. (September 1897), Perlie Belle (May 1899), Freddie Franklin (1900), and Mary Emily (November 1905).
iv. LANSFORD NEWCOMB INGALLS, b. April 5, 1870; d. 1946, Rochester, Olmsted, Minnesota. He married MELISSA FUNK. She was born 1876, and died 1941. From the Atlas and Farmers' Directory of Mille Lacs County, Minnesota, Bogus Brook Township (copyright 1914): Ingalls, L. N. R2, sec 6, ac 80, sec 7, ac 80, wf Melissa, ch Alice, Arthur, Helen, Francis, Gerald, (1). [The (1) means they lived in the county 1 year.] Lansford and his father (Peter Riley Ingalls) probably lived somewhere else in the county when his father died in 1900. Some of Peter's descendants later located in Burnett County, Wisconsin, which is basically straight east of Milaca, just a few miles into Wisconsin.
v. EDITH FLORENCE INGALLS, b. June 29, 1872; d. July 13, 1951. She married HEIL NELSON BINGHAM June 9, 1892.
vi. EDMOND LLEWELLYN INGALLS, b. 1880. He married EDITH MAE ________.

Laura Ingalls Wilder, Frontier Girl, by Rebecca LeeAnne Irby and Phil Greetham, gives the following sketch on Peter and Eliza Ingalls.