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Pioneer Girl

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s memoir.

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name card / name-card

Pasteboard identification.

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ambition

Act of obtaining an object of desire.

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“Barbary Allen”

Old Scotch tune.

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bear grease

Bear fat hair dressing.

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Henry J. Stebbins

Railroad contractor who inspired a song.

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Malone Hotels

Where the horse-buyer spent the night.

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engine / locomotive / iron horse

Vehicle powered by steam and run on tracks.

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Wilder feed store

Shhh. There’s wheat in the wall!

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bangs / lunatic fringe

hair across the forehead

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lief

Gladly; willingly; freely.

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sundogs

Bright spots on either side of the sun.

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Arthur Sherwood

Brother of Carter Sherwood.

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“On Jordan’s Stormy Banks”

Long Winter song

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Laura & Almanzo Wilder house in De Smet

Home of Almanzo, Laura, & Rose 1892-1894

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South Troy / Zumbro Falls today

Little town along the Zumbro River.

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Silas Rood

Rude by name & nature?

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Wilkin School

April 20 – July 10, 1885.

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gaiters

Cloth ankle covering.

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surveyors’ house

railroad section house occupied by the Ingallses in 1879-1880

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“Beware!”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem.

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Brownsville, Texas 1906

Did Eliza Jane sell fruit to these soldiers?

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Burr Oak today

Only Ingalls home in original location.

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Mary Amelia Ingalls

First child of Caroline and Charles Ingalls, 1865-1928; she lost her sight at age 15.

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china shepherdess / little china woman

Ingalls family figurine.

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“Give us this day our daily bread”

The City, a Mc Kee plain glassware pattern.

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“Arkansas Traveler”

Traditional American folk song.

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Home Missionary Society

Group organized to raise money to start churches and Sunday schools in the west where there were none.

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U

udder – upland

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honey

Bee-made sweetness.

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sewing machine

“Such beautiful stitching!”

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Poverty Flat

Early De Smet residential area.

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flag, the flower

An aquatic flower, Iris versicolor.

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Roman candle

Flaming stars and balls firework.

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Visscher Barnes

Probate Judge, VP of Temperance Society, and first director of De Smet school board.

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harvest moon

Full moon nearest autumnal equinox

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“Irish Washerwoman”

Traditional Scottish and Irish song/dance song.

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composition

The act of forming a written piece.

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“Highland Mary”

1799 Robert Burns songs, favorite of Mary Ingalls.

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Timber Culture Act / tree claim

Passed by Congress, March 3, 1873.

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water alcove

Railroad car water for drinking.

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Mary Blanche Howard

Mary’s roommate in Vinton.

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poll

No horns.

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wheelwright

One who makes wheels and carriages.

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Peter Riley Ingalls family

Uncle Peter & Aunt Eliza.

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“Camptown Races”

1850 Stephen Foster song.

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F

Fair Grounds – furrow

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William O’Connell

Fictional Bill O’Dowd.

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milk pan / milk-pan / milkpan

Where cream rises.

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popcorn

Heat makes it burst & it’s tasty.

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N

nailer – nutmeg

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“Three Blind Mice”

Popular nursery song, sung in rounds.

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Hill-Billy

1926 Rose Wilder Lane book.

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fever ‘n’ ague / malaria

malaria

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Western Reserve

Land in Ohio, given to Connecticut upon agreement to give up claim to lands in Pennsylvania.

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nine-patch / Laura’s double nine-patch Irish chain quilt

Quilt block pattern.

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Joseph Bouchie family

Fictional Brewster family in THGY.

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alley / alleyway

Narrow passageway, distinct from public street.

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Dolly Varden

NIckname of Edith Ingalls, Laura’s cousin.

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“Nellie was a Lady”

…last night she died

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These Happy Golden Years – the fictional story

Laura teaches and falls in love.

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shoe pegs

A small, pointed piece of wood, used in fastening.

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New Ulm, Minnesota

Town in Brown Co., MN.

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Little House Songs

Prairie Song Companion

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cat hole / cat-hole

Jack will keep other animals from using it.

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gloves / mittens / mitts

fingerless hand and wrist cover

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swimming hole

Watch out for ankle grabbers!

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Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Birthday

Happy Birthday, Laura!

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Hide the Thimble

You’re getting warmer…

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wigwam

What Almanzo’s shocked oats looked like.

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barber

Shave and a haircut, two bits!

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Mary & Samuel Ray / Ellen & Amos Leonard

Sisters feuding over a lovely homeplace…and a man.

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“Great is the Lord”

Singing school song from The Conqueror.

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Will Knight

Walnut Grove revival singer.

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hardtack

Unleavened hard bread made from flour and water.

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“Mary of the Wild Moor”

1845 song by Joseph W. Turner.

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checkers

Game played on a board of 64 squares.

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ice cream / ice-cream

Sweetened cream, congealed by freezing.

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fichu

Light pointed cape worn by ladies, usually made of lace.

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Pa’s red & white checked mittens

Fair Isle pattern.

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Silver Lake

Kingsbury County prairie pothole lake.

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Thomas Quiner

Ma’s brother and Laura’s uncle

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J

jabot – Justice of the Peace

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garnet

Deep orange-red gemstone.

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“Song of the Grass”

Song from Leslie and Randall’s The Conqueror, page 16.

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Come Into the Garden, Maud

1855 poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

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By the Shores of Silver Lake – historical perspective

Dakota Central comes to De Smet.

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rubber

Used for waterproofing.

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tomahawk

War hatchet used by American Indians.

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blacking / stove-blacking / boot blacking

Preparation used to make things black.

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Margaret Garland family / Cap Garland

Family living behind the Ingallses in De Smet.

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Ida Belle Wright

Laura’s best friend in De Smet

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Amos Whiting family

Superintendent of Schools, De Smet.

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Waverly Novels

Sir Walter Scott books.

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Spin-offs and Adaptations of the Little House Books

Not by LIW, but kindred publications.

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herd

A number of large beasts assembled together.

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calendar

What’s today’s date?

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Thomas P. Power family

De Smet tailor.

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“Love’s Old Sweet Song”

1884 song by Bingham & Malloy.

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Turkey red

Durable red color, dyed with madder upon calico or woolen cloth.

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Caroline Ingalls

Mother of Laura Ingalls. She lived 1839-1924.

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Protected: James H. Clewett

De Smet teacher, January-March 1883

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Horace / Homer Heath

Railroad-working brothers.

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dovekie

Arctic aquatic bird, Alle alle.

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Walnut Grove during the Little House years

Village in Redwood County, Minnesota

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Jack Frost

A popular personification of frost.

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Henry Burvee

One of the first settlers in Kingsbury Co.

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“Buffalo Gals”

1844 Virginia Minstrels song.

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Jacob Hopp

Printer and De Smet newspaper owner.

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what-not / whatnot

An étagère for books & ornaments.

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Peter Pfeiffer family

John May’s son-in-law.

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lantern

A light meant to be carried.

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“The Evergreen Shore”

1861 William Hunter song.

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“By Lo, Baby Bunting”

Mother Goose rhyme.

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“There is a Happy Land”

Whoop! How those eggs do smell!

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chapel

Place of worship.

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muff

A warm covering for receiving the hands.

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Pa’s “big green book”

George Hartwig’s The Polar and Tropical Worlds: A Description of Man and Nature.

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Missouri Ruralist

The Missouri Ruralist. A twice-monthly Missouri farm periodical...

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black bird / blackbird

Name given to various American birds.

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starry papers

Hand-made shelf edging.

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winnow

Drive off chaff by wind.

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bacon

Hog’s flesh salted or pickled and dried, usually in smoke.

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Burr Oak during the Little House years

Town in Winneshiek County, Iowa.

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crocheted rag rug

Crocheted floor covering made of strips of cloth.

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mowing machine

Farm implement for cutting hay or grain.

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Hiram Ingalls

Pa’s brother.

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scones

“Mamabess is growing fat.”

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“The Blue Juniata”

1841 Marion Dix Sullivan song.

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Jesse French

Butchered oxen during the Hard Winter.

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Yankton, Dakota Territory

1879 land office town.

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The Long Winter – the fictional story

Winter for seven months!

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osage orange

no good to eat or for anything else

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orthography

The art of spelling words correctly.

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buffalo beans

Prairie ground plum.

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nutmeg

Myristica moschata, used as a spice.

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M

Ma – “My Sabbath Home”

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picket rope / pin / line

animal tether

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button

who’s got one?

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biscuits

A kind of un-fermented bread, formed into flat cakes, and baked.

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Governor of Orleans / The American Remount Association

Registered stallion leased to Almanzo Wilder 1923-1925.

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C

cabbage – cyclone

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Have you seen the comet?

Tebbutt’s Great Comet of 1881.

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James McKee family

Homesteader north of Manchester D.T.

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“Come In and Shut the Door”

Circa 1862 song by J.P.H.

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auk

Extinct sea bird used to describe dovekie found by Charles Ingalls.

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needle grass

Ouch! Something bit me!

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“Coming Through the Rye”

Robert Burns tune.

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census taker

Statistical registration of members of a country.

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Hamlin Garland

…and his first Christmas tree!

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Z

zebra – Zion City

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August Hanson

The Ingallses’ next door neighbor in De Smet.

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ice cream social

Laura and Almanzo didn’t enjoy it.

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B

bachelor – “by the pale, silver light…”

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whiffle-tree / whiffletree

Bar to attach traces to.

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bandana

Large handkerchief with white pattern on red or blue background.

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links

Helps you find what you’re looking for.

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Reverend Edward Brown

Minister of the First Congregational Church of De Smet, 1880-1884.

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Big Tracy Cut

“100 feet deep & tapering off for 1/4 mile”

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“Darling Nellie Gray”

1856 Benjamin Hamby song.

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willow-ware

Blue-and-white tableware with Chinese story paintings.

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wristlets

Knitted bands worn around the wrists for warmth.

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“America”

1832 Reverend Samuel F. Smith song.

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Supposed Speech of Regulus

From Independent Fifth Reader.

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“The Old Time”

Mr. Boast’s favorite song.

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Dr. E. Gomer Davies

First doctor in De Smet.

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X

xanthophyll

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Charles Ingalls: The Civil War Years

Charles Ingalls: the Civil War Years

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Julia & Amasa Tower

Walnut Grove church friends.

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Mr. Edwards / Edmund Mason

Was he Edmund Mason?

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mantel-shelf

Shelf above a fireplace.

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Perry School

April 28 – June 27, 1884

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Kingsbury County, D.T.

County in eastern South Dakota, organized in 1879.

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Charles Philip Ingalls

Father of Laura Ingalls. He lived 1836-1902.

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Florence Bell

Milliner and dressmaker in De Smet.

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George C. Bradley

Early De Smet druggist.

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“nervous as a witch”

restless

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hair receiver / hair-receiver

Container to save strands of hair in.

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justice / Justice of the Peace

Limited jurisdiction magistrate.

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bureau

A dresser / chest of drawers.

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John James Ingalls

Senator from Kansas.

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Singing School

Choral music classes

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“Down in Alabam'” / “The Old Gray Mare”

1858 J. Warner song.

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freeze drying

sublimation!

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carved wooden bracket

Place for a china shepherdess.

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greenhorn / greeny

Immature, raw, awkward.

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Carrie Ingalls, Homesteader

W-NW & W-SW 9-4N-20E of Black Hills Meridian

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pullaway

Outdoor tagging game.

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mustache

Hair above the lip.

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badger

Don’t poke it with a stick!

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accordion

musical instrument

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Spat them Out

Clapping (and kissing) game.

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railroad cut / fill

How you level a railroad grade.

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“Wait for the Wagon”

Buckley and Knauff song.

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“The Silver Moon”

Sail on, silver moon…

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Thomas C. Wilkin family

Florence Wilkin’s father.

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slate

Stone used as tablet for writing upon.

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lone cottonwood / lone tree

The big one between the lakes.

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buffalo / bison

bison

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willow

Tree of the genus Salix.

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