Who is Almanzo "Manly" James Wilder from On the Way Home: The Diary of a Trip from South Dakota to Mansfield, Missouri, in 1894 and what is their importance?

Almanzo James Wilder (1857 - 1949), usually referred to as "Manly" in the text, is the husband of Laura Ingalls Wilder and the father of Rose Wilder Lane. He was about ten years older than Wilder at their marriage—a custom age disparity common enough as the time to be unremarkable. Through various circumstances largely unaddressed within the book, Almanzo's fortunes are not good and he borders on insolvency in De Smet, South Dakota. Even though surrounded and supported by Wilder's natal family, Almanzo desires to make a fresh start in a better place and fixes upon Mansfield, Missouri, as offering extended promise.