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“Jerusalem the Golden”

Hymn from Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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velvet

Silk or blend fabric with short shag surface.

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“America”

1832 Reverend Samuel F. Smith song.

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John Ensign family

Quit crying, Howard.

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Congress

Legislative body of a country.

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“Three Blind Mice”

Popular nursery song, sung in rounds.

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“Give us this day our daily bread”

“The City, a Mc Kee plain glassware pattern.

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Eliza Jane Wilder

Almanzo’s sister.

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“The Battle-Cry of Freedom”

We’ll Rally Round the Flag, Boys!

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Farmer Boy – the fictional story

Almanzo Wilder’s childhood in Burke NY.

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Mary & Samuel Ray / Ellen & Amos Leonard

Sisters feuding over a lovely homeplace…and a man.

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“Haste to the Wedding”

Traditional Irish fiddle tune.

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peddler’s cart / wagon

A little store on wheels.

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Maude Blair

Walnut Grove friend of Laura’s

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“There is a Happy Land”

Whoop! How those eggs do smell!

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On the Banks of Plum Creek – the fictional story

Farming struggles in Minnesota.

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Laura’s wedding silver

Wm. Rogers’ “Crown” silverplate.

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spoon holder / spoon-holder / spoonholder

Any vessel used to hold and display spoons.

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bastion

A part of a main enclosure which projects toward the exterior.

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P A T

one seven seven ought

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Edward H. Couse

Early hardware store owner in De Smet.

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forfeits

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

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Waverly Novels

Sir Walter Scott books.

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Little House on the Prairie – the fictional story

The Ingallses in Indian Territory.

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census taker

Statistical registration of members of a country.

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alley / alleyway

Narrow passageway, distinct from public street.

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reindeer

Why didn’t they fly over the creek?

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John James Ingalls

Senator from Kansas.

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Jack Frost

A popular personification of frost.

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Henry Hinz

Owner of first saloon in De Smet and boarder at the Ingallses’.

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storm apron

Rain protection for buggy.

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William O’Connell

Fictional Bill O’Dowd.

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silver castor

Rotating condiment set.

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muff

A warm covering for receiving the hands.

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“Rock Me to Sleep”

Elizabeth Allen poem.

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Uncle Sam

Figure symbolizing the United States.

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Reverend Edwin H. Alden

Walnut Grove Congregational minister and missionary in Dakota.

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grippe

influenza

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dug out / dugout

Dwelling built into the earth.

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cottonwood tree

Wetland plains tree, Populus fremontii.

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literary society

Instructional and entertaining gathering.

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Thomas C. Wilkin family

Florence Wilkin’s father.

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Will Barnes

Walnut Grove acquaintance of the Ingallses’ in the 1870s....

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Walnut Grove during the Little House years

Village in Redwood County, Minnesota

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Charles Trousdale

De Smet drayman and his performing sons.

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Freddy Ingalls

Laura’s brother (1875-1876)

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Little Town on the Prairie – historical perspective

De Smet D.T. in the 1880s.

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Mary Power & Edwin Sanford

Laura’s friend and the new clerk at Ruth’s bank.

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Mother Goose

Fictionalized compiler of ancient nursery rhymes.

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lime / whitewash

Oxide of calcium mixed with water and used for whitening.

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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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nutmeg

Myristica moschata, used as a spice.

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The Long Winter – the fictional story

Winter for seven months!

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“I Wish I Was Single Again”

1871 J.C. Beckel song.

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New Ulm, Minnesota

Town in Brown Co., MN.

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ostrich tips / feathers

Short bobbing feather used for hat decoration.

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Horace Woodworth family

Family of first depot agent in De Smet.

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ice cream social

Laura and Almanzo didn’t enjoy it.

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“Song of the Grass”

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

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shoe pegs

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

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Henry O. Quiner family

Ma’s brother, married to Pa’s sister Polly.

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swimming hole

Watch out for ankle grabbers!

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“Oh Boys, Carry Me Along”

Stephen Foster song.

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“Coming Through the Rye”

Robert Burns tune.

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Grace Pearl Ingalls

Youngest sister of Laura Ingalls; she lived 1877-1941.

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Pioneer Girl

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s memoir.

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oranges

Citrus fruit.

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equinoctial storm

Severe wind and heavy rain that occurs at or near the time of an equinox.

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“The Mulligan Guard” / “The Skidmore Guard”

Harrigan & Hart minstrel show.

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“The Big Sunflower”

Pa’s trouble song.

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Frank Schaub

Early harness maker in De Smet.

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Becky Newhall / Rebecca Stewart

Classmate of Laura Ingalls in De Smet.

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Little House on the Prairie – historical perspective

      The Ingalls and Quiner families...

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brakeman

Person who stops the train.

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button

who’s got one?

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New England Supper

Fund-raising communal pot-luck meal.

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The Missouri Ruralist

Twice monthly Missouri farm periodical.

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twin lakes

Lake Henry & Lake Thompson

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Samuel O. Masters / William J. Masters families

Walnut Grove, Burr Oak, and De Smet family known by the Ingallses.

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legal cap

legal document paper

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pokeberry

For rosy doll cheeks.

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mercury / thermometer

Used to measure air temperature.

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herd

A number of large beasts assembled together.

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James McKee family

Early homesteader north of Manchester D.T. Laura Ingalls stayed with them during the spring of 1883.

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swan

Cygnus Americanus

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“Elizabeth, Elspeth, Betsy, and Bess”

Nursery rhyme wordplay on the name Elizabeth.

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handcar

Don’t be left behind!

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scour / scouring brick

To rub hard for the purpose of cleaning.

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mantel-shelf

Shelf above a fireplace.

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The Modern Musketeer

How Rose became a great actress.

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“Gentle Words and Loving Smiles”

Hymn 139 in Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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Fred Fields / Big Jerry

Railroad boss and his brother-in-law.

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spring tonic

Bitter purifying medicine.

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wheelwright

One who makes wheels and carriages.

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Dolly Varden

NIckname of Edith Ingalls, Laura’s cousin.

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“all’s well that ends well”

A proverb.

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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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Jim River / James River

A tributary of the Missouri River.

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dumpling

Dough cooked in liquid.

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fichu

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

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Peytona & Fashion

Currier & Ives print at Rocky Ridge Farm.

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“Marching Through Georgia”

Union song from American Civil War.

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“Merry, Merry Christmas”

Hymn Number 150 in Pure Gold for Sunday Schools.

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World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition

Destination of the Wilder brothers in the fall of 1884.

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Ida Belle Wright

Laura’s best friend in De Smet

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coal / coal hod

Carbonized plant matter mined and used as fuel.

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consumption

A wasting disease, pulmonary tuberculosis.

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Margaret Garland family / Cap Garland

Family living behind the Ingallses in De Smet.

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breast-pin / brooch

Ornament worn on clothing.

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“Tubal Cain”

Charles McKay poem.

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mummy

Put. that. back.

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

1858 J. Warner song.

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album

Blank booklet for collecting autographs or photos.

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pasteboard / lambrequin

Paperboard used as base for decorative edging.

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Edelbert Harthorn family / Frank Harthorn & Mabel Burd

Father and son owners of early drygoods store in De Smet.

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“The Whip-Poor-Will’s Song”

1865 Harrison Millard song.

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chewing gum

Long white sticks of chewiness.

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whiffle-tree / whiffletree

Bar to attach traces to.

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“What Shall the Harvest Be?”

1850 Emily Oakley poem.

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copyright / permissions

Please do not plagiarize.

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“Buy a Broom”

O Du Leiber Augustin.

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cant-hook / cant-pole

Instrument used by lumbermen to move logs.

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Mrs. Jarley’s Wax Works

Rise! Come forward!

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Doxology

Old Hundred.

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“Paul Revere’s Ride”

Poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

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apple pie / dried apple pie

Just like Ma used to make.

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“The Rock of Ages”

Painting at Rev. Brown’s.

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“Uncle Ned”

One of the earliest Stephen Foster songs.

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Caroline Ingalls

Mother of Laura Ingalls. She lived 1839-1924.

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“A Shelter in the Time of Storm”

Ira Sankey hymn.

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“The Sculptor Boy”

Carrie recited it.

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churn

Cream agitator.

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le cadeau du cheval

2008 horse mural composed of smaller paintings of horses,...

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“Bean Porridge Hot”

Bean porridge cold…

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Dr. Alfred Starr

His wife wanted Laura.

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roller skates / rink

Wheeled frame for the shoe.

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Wilder feed store

Shhh. There’s wheat in the wall!

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sewing machine

“Such beautiful stitching!”

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The Floweret

1842 book of verse by Anna Maria Wells.

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last

Mold of a foot, used in making shoes.

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Jacob Hopp

Printer and De Smet newspaper owner.

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elephant

A very large quadruped.

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Frogs at School

“Twenty froggies went to school…”

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The New York Ledger

Weekly story paper, published 1855-1898.

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Supposed Speech of Regulus

From Independent Fifth Reader.

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Charles Mead

Proprietor of the Exchange Hotel in De Smet, 1880-1882.

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“Camptown Races”

1850 Stephen Foster song.

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Burke / Malone during the Little House years

Almanzo Wilder birthplace.

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perforated paper embroidery

Stitched designs.

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lief

Gladly; willingly; freely.

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cat’s cradle

Game played with string twisted on the fingers.

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“Uncle John”

Play song to the tune of Yankee Doodle.

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huckleberry

Let’s have some pie!

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gosh!

that wicked word

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osage orange

no good to eat or for anything else

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“Don’t Leave the Farm, Boys”

Song from The Conqueror.

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Syndicate Hotel

Laura & Almanzo stayed there!

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black-berry / blackberry

The berry of the bramble, Rubus fruticosous.

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“The New Year’s Come”

1842 “Why chime the bells so merrily?”

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locust

Buy this book.

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cupola

Dome-like vault on a public building.

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ice-house

Stores ice blocks in warm weather.

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George Whiting Ingalls

Bugle-blowing, jigging uncle.

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Have you seen the comet?

Tebbutt’s Great Comet of 1881.

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“Darling Nellie Gray”

1856 Benjamin Hamby song.

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railroad cut / fill

How you level a railroad grade.

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“Pull for the Shore”

Sunshine for Sunday Schools hymn.

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gopher

Four don’t go fur…

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Quaker meeting

Parlor game in which players try to remain silent.

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“Irish Washerwoman”

Traditional Scottish and Irish song/dance song.

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Carrie Ingalls

Younger sister of Laura Ingalls; she lived 1870-1946.

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Alfred N. Waters

Attorney and land agent in De Smet.

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Alice Maria Wilder

Older sister and playmate of Almanzo Wilder. She lived 1853-1892.

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elevator

Warehouse for seed and grain.

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Ven Owen

Teacher and principal of the first graded school in De Smet

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pieplant

Rhubarb.

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gingerbread

Chocolate frosting adds to the goodness!

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“Beware!”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem.

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“Ta-ra-ra-Boom-de-Ay”

1891 Henry J. Sayers song.

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Julia & Amasa Tower

Walnut Grove church friends.

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Hill-Billy

1926 Rose Wilder Lane book.

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Rev. Royal Gould Wilder

Almanzo’s uncle.

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South Troy / Zumbro Falls today

Little town along the Zumbro River.

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Willard Seelye

De Smet teacher, 1881-1882.

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braid / plait

Entwined strands.

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oyster

A mollusk of the genus Ostrea, having a bivalve shell.

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dovekie

Arctic aquatic bird, Alle alle.

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Daniel Loftus

Early drygoods store owner in De Smet.

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copper

Cu

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“Lilly Dale” / “Lily Dale”

1852 song by H.S. Thomson.

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wild prairie rose

RWL was their namesake, my dear.

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icicle

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

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bison / “The Bison Track”

Bayard Taylor poem about Bos Americanus, found in Independent Fifth Reader.

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bangs / lunatic fringe

hair across the forehead

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pork-pickle

Salt and sugar pork brine.

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“To a Girl”

Poem used to describe Beatrice Sorchan.

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Missouri Pool

Smoked a pipe & grew pretty flowers.

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cornice

Roof overhang.

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axle grease

Lubricant for wagon wheels and other machinery.

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