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Lansford James Ingalls family

Pa’s brother and Laura’s uncle.

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by jingo!

A corruption of St. Gengoulph.

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Burke / Malone during the Little House years

Almanzo Wilder birthplace.

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Kitty

the Ingallses’ cat in Dakota Territory

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Walnut Grove during the Little House years

Village in Redwood County, Minnesota

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dug out / dugout

Dwelling built into the earth.

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writ of attachment

Legal document requiring action.

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Perry School

April 28 – June 27, 1884

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Christmas

Christian observation of the birth of Christ

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latch / latch-string

It’s always out!

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cornice

Molded roof or window projection.

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poultice

Applied to sores to help them heal.

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Little Town on the Prairie – historical perspective

De Smet D.T. in the 1880s.

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killdeer

Small aquatic bird.

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cradle scythe

Blade and handle used to cut oats.

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“Haste to the Wedding”

Traditional Irish fiddle tune.

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Indian camps

Look! Beads!

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Mary & Samuel Ray / Ellen & Amos Leonard

Sisters feuding over a lovely homeplace…and a man.

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Morocco leather

Fine goat leather.

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dragon-fly / dragonfly

Mosquito hunter.

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William O’Connell

Fictional Bill O’Dowd.

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“Golden Years are Passing By”

1879 Will Thompson song.

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“There is a Happy Land”

Whoop! How those eggs do smell!

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“My Sabbath Home”

Hymn #7, Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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Commentators on the Ac’s

Pa’s charade pun.

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yeast / yeast cakes

Bread-leavening organism.

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Army bugle

Brass military horn.

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“Camptown Races”

1850 Stephen Foster song.

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clove apple / clove-apple

Spice-preserved fruit decoration.

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justice / Justice of the Peace

Limited jurisdiction magistrate.

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These Happy Golden Years – historical perspective

De Smet, D.T., 1883-1885.

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“The Swan’s Nest”

Elizabeth Barrett Browning poem.

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starch

cloth stiffener

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William H. Reed

Teacher in Burr Oak school, 1876-1877.

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velvet

Silk or blend fabric with short shag surface.

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Dr. Alfred Starr

His wife wanted Laura.

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Declaration of Independence

Document renouncing U.S. subjection to Great Britain.

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Eliza Jane Wilder

Almanzo’s sister.

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dovekie

Arctic aquatic bird, Alle alle.

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calendar

What’s today’s date?

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icicle

Conical mass of ice, formed by water freezing as it flows downward.

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twin lakes

Lake Henry & Lake Thompson

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John H. Carroll

Early De Smet banker.

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H. W. Cooledge

De Smet photographer.

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“Give us this day our daily bread”

The City, a Mc Kee plain glassware pattern.

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bale

Specific bundle of goods packaged for transport.

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“Irish Washerwoman”

Traditional Scottish and Irish song/dance song.

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“nervous as a witch”

restless

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whiffle-tree / whiffletree

Bar to attach traces to.

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gloves / mittens / mitts

fingerless hand and wrist cover

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“Mountain of the Lord”

Hymn #52, Pure Gold for the Sunday School

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milk pan / milk-pan / milkpan

Where cream rises.

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Dr. Robert Hoyt

Husband of Mattie Masters.

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copperplate

Variable-width handwriting script made with a flexible, pointed nib.

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I

“I am Mrs. Jinks…” – “I wouldn’t marry a farmer”

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bake oven / bake-oven

Coals on top and below.

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wintergreen

Aromatic, creeping evergreen, Gaultheria procumbens, having bright red berries.

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“Bo-peep has lost her sheep”

Game of hiding and surprise to amuse a small child.

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“The Lotos Eaters”

Tennyson poem.

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The Athenians

Hartville, Mo. study club.

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Pioneer Press

St. Paul newspaper read by Charles Ingalls in De Smet

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A Tribute to the Early Day Teachers

Neva Whaley Harding tribute.

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twisting hay

makes a hot, quick fire

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sewing machine

“Such beautiful stitching!”

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Reverend Edwin H. Alden

Walnut Grove Congregational minister and missionary in Dakota.

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Silver Lake

Kingsbury County prairie pothole lake.

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photographs

There’s a little birdie in the camera, Rose.

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“The Gypsy’s Warning”

1864 Henry Coard song.

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Eleck Nelson family

Neighbors of the Ingalls family when living on their preemption claim north of Walnut Grove.

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Introspections of an Individualist

Norma Lee Browning article about Rose Wilder Lane.

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Supposed Speech of Regulus

From Independent Fifth Reader.

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catechism

Question & answer book of religious doctrine.

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Reverend Edward Brown

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

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building paper / tar paper

Crude building paper used for covering.

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Belgian horse

They’d pull a barn, if hitched to it.

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Protected: Alfred Ely

One of the younger boys in school.

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pork-pickle

Salt and sugar pork brine.

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windrow

Line of hay raked together.

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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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“The Heavens Declare the Glory”

From The Conqueror, page 144.

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nubia

A light scarf worn about the head and neck.

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“Old Dan Tucker”

Mr. Edwards sings it!

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Roman candle

Flaming stars and balls firework.

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Christopher Columbus

A native of Genoa, in Italy.

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Delos Perry family

The Perry School was on his homestead.

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“By Lo, Baby Bunting”

Mother Goose rhyme.

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flag

the banner

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butter

Edible fatty substance made by churning cream.

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“The Battle-Cry of Freedom”

We’ll Rally Round the Flag, Boys!

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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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galumphing

To move in a clumsy, ponderous, or noisy manner.

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wheelwright

One who makes wheels and carriages.

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coal / coal hod

Carbonized plant matter mined and used as fuel.

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“Pull for the Shore”

Sunshine for Sunday Schools hymn.

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De Smet Cemetery

Ma & Pa’s final resting place.

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“Little Annie Rooney”

1889 song by Michael Nolan.

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church

Place of Christian worship.

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mud hen / mudhen

American coot.

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elevator

Warehouse for seed and grain.

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Ross family

Neighbors in the Perry District.

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fichu

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

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A

aboveboard – axle

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yoke

Frame worn on the neck for lifting or drawing.

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Henry Ford’s Own Story

Industrialist and founder of Ford Motor Company.

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Mr. and Mrs. Scott

Indian Territory neighbors of the Ingallses.

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“Elizabeth, Elspeth, Betsy, and Bess”

Nursery rhyme wordplay on the name Elizabeth.

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Little Georgie Dwight

He could not learn his letters!

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Oscar Rhuel / Röhl

A romantic figure…

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riot / Tracy railroad strike

Tracy in June, not De Smet in September

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pieplant

Rhubarb.

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copper-toed shoes

Metal shoe protector.

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“The Rock of Ages”

Painting at Rev. Brown’s.

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winnow

Drive off chaff by wind.

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links

Helps you find what you’re looking for.

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stockade

Enclosure of posts or sticks.

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Dr. William H. York

Bender victim

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trundle bed

Low bed stored under higher bed.

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Little House in the Big Woods – historical perspective

Pepin Twp., Pepin Co. Wisconsin

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“When Johnny Comes Marching Home”

1863 Louis Lambert song.

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railroad camp / Silver Lake camp

Temporary dwellings for workers during surveying or construction.

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Women’s Christian Temperance Union

W.C.T.U.

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Laura’s Sorosis Club speech

“My Work”

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Charles Ingalls: The Civil War Years

Charles Ingalls: the Civil War Years

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tomahawk

War hatchet used by American Indians.

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Johnny Johnson

“Wake up and watch the cattle!”

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“Come In and Shut the Door”

Circa 1862 song by J.P.H.

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squirrel

Rodent mammal of the genus Sciurus.

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dumpling

Dough cooked in liquid.

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Stories of the Moorland

1869 book by Lizzie Bates about a young boy growing up in Scotland.

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Malone Hotels

Where the horse-buyer spent the night.

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ambition

Act of obtaining an object of desire.

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“Jingle Bells”

1857 James Pierpont song.

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cream of tartar / baking powder

Byproduct of wine-making process, used in baking as leavening agent.

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“all’s well that ends well”

A proverb.

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Florence Bell

Milliner and dressmaker in De Smet.

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handkerchief

Face and hand wiping cloth.

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Braille / New York Point

Used by Mary Ingalls.

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greenhorn / greeny

Immature, raw, awkward.

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kerosene / kerosine

Oil used for lighting.

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Waverly Novels

Sir Walter Scott books.

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mummy

Put. that. back.

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xanthophyll

I bet you can spell this word.

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Peter Riley Ingalls family

Uncle Peter & Aunt Eliza.

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Poverty Flat

Early De Smet residential area.

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H

hack – hypocrite

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forfeits

Game in which items are deposited and redeemable by a sportive fine.

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Big Sioux River / Sioux River

SD-IA tributary of Missouri River.

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fever ‘n’ ague / malaria

malaria

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gingerbread

Chocolate frosting adds to the goodness!

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drop the handkerchief / drop-the-handkerchief

Circle game.

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Martha Perry / Mrs. White

Laura helped her sew shirts.

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N

nailer – nutmeg

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copper

Cu

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Farmer Boy – historical perspective

1860s Burke / Malone NY.

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poke bonnet / poke-bonnet

the lining matched Laura’s eyes

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“The Star of Bethlehem”

When Marshalled on the Nightly Plane

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school section

Public land supporting schools.

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blizzard

In 1880-1881, a long, severe, blinding, and bitterly cold snowstorm.

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candle / tallow

Used to furnish light.

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post office / post-office

Where you send and receive mail.

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Millbank

1871 novel by Mary Jane Holmes.

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“Home, Sweet Home”

1823 Payne & Bishop song.

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Caroline Ingalls

Mother of Laura Ingalls. She lived 1839-1924.

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“To a Girl”

Poem used to describe Beatrice Sorchan.

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willow

Tree of the genus Salix.

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South Troy / Zumbro Falls during the Little House years

Ingallses lived here with Uncle Peter.

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sheep sorrel

Tastes like lemon… or springtime?

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Laura’s wedding silver

Wm. Rogers’ “Crown” silverplate.

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zebra

Part of Willie Oleson’s Noah’s Ark toy.

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Gather ye rosebuds while ye may…

From Robert Herrick poem.

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“Pop! Goes the Weasel”

Traditional American song.

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“Barbary Allen”

Old Scotch tune.

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wall-paper

Wall covering.

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“Highland Mary”

1799 Robert Burns songs, favorite of Mary Ingalls.

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Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography

Laura’s handwritten manuscript.

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orthography

The art of spelling words correctly.

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gosh!

that wicked word

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“Love’s Old Sweet Song”

1884 song by Bingham & Malloy.

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These Happy Golden Years – the fictional story

Laura teaches and falls in love.

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ice cream / ice-cream

Sweetened cream, congealed by freezing.

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Yankton, Dakota Territory

1879 land office town.

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spider

Legged cooking vessel.

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lime / whitewash

Oxide of calcium mixed with water and used for whitening.

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“De Boatmen’s Dance”

Away Down the RIver on the O-hi-o.

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parsnip

Pastinaca edulis, a white, spindle-shaped root vegetable.

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thunder-pumps

American bittern, a member of the heron family.

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Laura, the Prairie Girl

1975-76 animated series.

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“Gentle Words and Loving Smiles”

Hymn 139 in Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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“My Old Kentucky Home”

1853 Stephen Foster song.

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K

Kansas – knothole

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Horace / Homer Heath

Railroad-working brothers.

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John James Ingalls

Senator from Kansas.

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“Oh Boys, Carry Me Along”

Stephen Foster song.

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carpet-bag / carpetbag

Traveling-bag

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P A T

one seven seven ought

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buckwheat pancakes

Seeds of the flowering plant Eriogonum used as a grain.

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

1858 J. Warner song.

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“The New Year’s Come”

1842 “Why chime the bells so merrily?”

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patent / title

official property ownership document

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legal cap

legal document paper

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