Read more

copyright / permissions

Please do not plagiarize.

Read more

Read more

nutmeg

Myristica moschata, used as a spice.

Read more

Read more

snowplow

Clears the tracks.

Read more

Read more

engine / locomotive / iron horse

Vehicle powered by steam and run on tracks.

Read more

Read more

“The Star of Bethlehem”

When Marshalled on the Nightly Plane

Read more

Read more

Army bugle

Brass military horn.

Read more

Read more

“Kitty Wells”

1858 Sloan & Atherton song.

Read more

Read more

Ingalls office / store in De Smet

NW and SE corners of Calumet and Second.

Read more

Read more

William O’Connell

Fictional Bill O’Dowd.

Read more

Read more

“America”

1832 Reverend Samuel F. Smith song.

Read more

Read more

“Gentle Words and Loving Smiles”

Hymn 139 in Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

Read more

Read more

Little Georgie Dwight

He could not learn his letters!

Read more

Read more

Eleck Nelson family

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

Read more

Read more

shoe pegs

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

Read more

Read more

“Hail Columbia”

1789 Philip Phile march.

Read more

Read more

photographs

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

Read more

Read more

“Merry, Merry Christmas”

Hymn Number 150 in Pure Gold for Sunday Schools.

Read more

Read more

“In the Starlight”

1878 Glover & Carpenter song.

Read more

Read more

black-berry / blackberry

The berry of the bramble, Rubus fruticosous.

Read more

Read more

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

1858 J. Warner song.

Read more

Read more

Carrie Ingalls

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

Read more

Read more

Santa Claus / Santa Clause

Ho. Ho. Ho.

Read more

Read more

“The Girl I Left Behind Me”

17th century Irish tune.

Read more

Read more

Little Town on the Prairie – the fictional story

Homesteading and town life.

Read more

Read more

copperplate

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

Read more

Read more

cornmeal mush / hasty pudding

Cornmeal and water, cooked.

Read more

Read more

Reverend Edward Brown

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

Read more

Read more

“Bean Porridge Hot”

Bean porridge cold…

Read more

Read more

apprentice

One who is legally bound to another to learn a trade or art.

Read more

Read more

Will Bennett

One of the younger De Smet schoolboys.

Read more

Read more

Waverly Novels

Sir Walter Scott books.

Read more

Read more

cant-hook / cant-pole

Instrument used by lumbermen to move logs.

Read more

Read more

fichu

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

Read more

Read more

Roman candle

Flaming stars and balls firework.

Read more

Read more

“Golden Years are Passing By”

1879 Will Thompson song.

Read more

Read more

Jack Frost

A popular personification of frost.

Read more

Read more

“Billy Boy”

English folk song.

Read more

Read more

Little House on the Prairie – historical perspective

      The Ingalls and Quiner families...

Read more

Read more

Charleton Fuller / Gerald Fuller

Hardware store owner, partnered with his brother Gerald.

Read more

Read more

starch

cloth stiffener

Read more

Read more

bandana

Large handkerchief with white pattern on red or blue background.

Read more

Read more

Becky Newhall / Rebecca Stewart

Classmate of Laura Ingalls in De Smet.

Read more

Read more

Old Settler’s Day

De Smet annual reunion.

Read more

Read more

hair receiver / hair-receiver

Container to save strands of hair in.

Read more

Read more

Lost, between sunrise and sunset…

Horace Mann quotation from his Writings, published in 1872.

Read more

Read more

“I Wish I Was in Dixie’s Land”

1860 Daniel Decatur Emmett song.

Read more

Read more

Timothy Johnson family

De Smet Wagon Shop.

Read more

Read more

Horace / Homer Heath

Railroad-working brothers.

Read more

Read more

“Darling Nellie Gray”

1856 Benjamin Hamby song.

Read more

Read more

Timber Culture Act / tree claim

Passed by Congress, March 3, 1873.

Read more

Read more

George A. Williams

Superintendent of Schools, 1883.

Read more

Read more

album

Blank booklet for collecting autographs or photos.

Read more

Read more

Burke / Malone during the Little House years

Almanzo Wilder birthplace.

Read more

Read more

bangs / lunatic fringe

hair across the forehead

Read more

Read more

Farmer Boy – historical perspective

1860s Burke / Malone NY.

Read more

Read more

wheelwright

One who makes wheels and carriages.

Read more

Read more

poultice

Applied to sores to help them heal.

Read more

Read more

cupola

Dome-like vault on a public building.

Read more

Read more

wristlets

Knitted bands worn around the wrists for warmth.

Read more

Read more

“Nobody Ask’d You”

In the frosty mornings and the chilly evenings when they went...

Read more

Read more

The Athenians

Hartville, Mo. study club.

Read more

Read more

Alice Maria Wilder

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

Read more

Read more

pen / pen-wiper

An instrument used for writing. / Material used to clean it after writing.

Read more

Read more

“Old Dan Tucker”

Mr. Edwards sings it!

Read more

Read more

drop the handkerchief / drop-the-handkerchief

Circle game.

Read more

Read more

Osage Indian Treaty

Legal agreement between nations or sovereigns.

Read more

Read more

carved wooden bracket

Place for a china shepherdess.

Read more

Read more

the children’s blizzard

January 12, 1888, blizzard.

Read more

Read more

lantern

A light meant to be carried.

Read more

Read more

Marvin Hughitt

Officer and President of the Chicago & NorthWestern Railway Company.

Read more

Read more

“The Swan’s Nest”

Elizabeth Barrett Browning poem.

Read more

Read more

cottonwood tree

Wetland plains tree, Populus fremontii.

Read more

Read more

St. Lawrence River

A streak of silver on the horizon.

Read more

Read more

cradle scythe

Blade and handle used to cut oats.

Read more

Read more

Margaret Garland family / Cap Garland

Family living behind the Ingallses in De Smet.

Read more

Read more

claim

The land to which one has a right.

Read more

Read more

storm apron

Rain protection for buggy.

Read more

Read more

“Paul Revere’s Ride”

Poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Read more

Read more

Mrs. Jarley’s Wax Works

Rise! Come forward!

Read more

Read more

“Don’t Leave the Farm, Boys”

Song from The Conqueror.

Read more

Read more

Edelbert Harthorn family / Frank Harthorn & Mabel Burd

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

Read more

Read more

World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition

Destination of the Wilder brothers in the fall of 1884.

Read more

Read more

scones

“Mamabess is growing fat.”

Read more

Read more

powder horn / powder-horn

Animal horn in which gunpowder is carried.

Read more

Read more

“Auld Lang Syne”

Now is now. It can never be a long time ago.

Read more

Read more

Oscar Rhuel / Röhl

A romantic figure…

Read more

Read more

Mary & Samuel Ray / Ellen & Amos Leonard

Sisters feuding over a lovely homeplace…and a man.

Read more

Read more

“The Ninety and Nine”

Elizabeth Clephane poem.

Read more

Read more

Henry Ford’s Own Story

Industrialist and founder of Ford Motor Company.

Read more

Read more

“The Lotos Eaters”

Tennyson poem.

Read more

Read more

Julia & Amasa Tower

Walnut Grove church friends.

Read more

Read more

“Haste to the Wedding”

Traditional Irish fiddle tune.

Read more

Read more

“The Floating Scow of Old Virginia”

1847 Charles White song.

Read more

Read more

sundogs

Bright spots on either side of the sun.

Read more

Read more

“Oh! Susanna”

Stephen Foster song.

Read more

Read more

Pure Gold for the Sunday School

Hymnal owned by the Ingalls family.

Read more

Read more

Charles Philip Ingalls

Father of Laura Ingalls. He lived 1836-1902.

Read more

Read more

“Jerusalem the Golden”

Hymn from Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

Read more

Read more

George Whiting Ingalls

Bugle-blowing, jigging uncle.

Read more

Read more

“The Old Time”

Mr. Boast’s favorite song.

Read more

Read more

Rev. Royal Gould Wilder

Almanzo’s uncle.

Read more

Read more

anvil

Iron block to hammer upon.

Read more

Read more

Yankton, Dakota Territory

1879 land office town.

Read more

Read more

quarter section / quarter-section

One-fourth of a square mile, consisting of 160 acres.

Read more

Read more

cat hole / cat-hole

Jack will keep other animals from using it.

Read more

Read more

“On Jordan’s Stormy Banks”

Long Winter song

Read more

Read more

Silver Lake

Kingsbury County prairie pothole lake.

Read more

Read more

stone fences

Rock wall enclosure.

Read more

Read more

“The Good Old Way”

Hymn 18, Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

Read more

Read more

Ven Owen

Teacher and principal of the first graded school in De Smet

Read more

Read more

Little House in the Big Woods – historical perspective

Pepin Twp., Pepin Co. Wisconsin

Read more

Read more

whip

A lash tied to a handle.

Read more

Read more

Pa’s red & white checked mittens

Fair Isle pattern.

Read more

Read more

“Lend a Helping Hand”

Hymn #22, Pure Gold for Sunday School.

Read more

Read more

Lansford James Ingalls family

Pa’s brother and Laura’s uncle.

Read more

Read more

hogshead

100-140 gallon cask.

Read more

Read more

“Yankee Doodle”

Early song brought to America from Britain.

Read more

Read more

Caroline Ingalls

Mother of Laura Ingalls. She lived 1839-1924.

Read more

Read more

George Wilmarth family

Owner of early grocery store in De Smet.

Read more

Read more

“Keep the Horse Shoe Over the Door”

1880 Joseph Skelley song.

Read more

Read more

De Smet Cemetery

Ma & Pa’s final resting place.

Read more

Read more

Henry Burvee

One of the first settlers in Kingsbury Co.

Read more

Read more

Laura’s Bible references

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s hand-written list of Bible verses to be read in times of trouble or stress.

Read more

Read more

“The Star-Spangled Banner”

Our National Anthem; words by Francis Scott Key.

Read more

Read more

Wilkin School

April 20 – July 10, 1885.

Read more

Read more

Eskimo / igloo

Tribes of arctic America and Greenland. / Snow hut.

Read more

Read more

Charles Mead

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

Read more

Read more

Henry J. Stebbins

Railroad contractor who inspired a song.

Read more

Read more

“Home of the Soul”

1865 E.M.H. Gates hymn.

Read more

Read more

Frank Schaub

Early harness maker in De Smet.

Read more

Read more

churn

Cream agitator.

Read more

Read more

roller towel

Long towel with ends sewn together, hung on a rod.

Read more

Read more

sheep sorrel

Tastes like lemon… or springtime?

Read more

Read more

breast-pin / brooch

Ornament worn on clothing.

Read more

Read more

Declaration of Independence

Document renouncing U.S. subjection to Great Britain.

Read more

Read more

elevator

Warehouse for seed and grain.

Read more

Read more

fever ‘n’ ague / malaria

malaria

Read more

Read more

stanchion

Support frame.

Read more

Read more

blueing bag

Whiter whites.

Read more

Read more

Johnny Johnson

“Wake up and watch the cattle!”

Read more

Read more

David Thorp

Walnut Grove teacher 1877-78.

Read more

Read more

galumphing

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

Read more

Read more

rags for paper

rag. A piece of cloth torn off; a tattered fragment; a shred; a...

Read more

Read more

“When I Can Read My Title Clear”

1700s Isaac Watts hymn.

Read more

Read more

On the Banks of Plum Creek – historical perspective

Walnut Grove in the 1870s.

Read more

Read more

crocheted rag rug

Crocheted floor covering made of strips of cloth.

Read more

Read more

roller skates / rink

Wheeled frame for the shoe.

Read more

Read more

Ella & Robert Boast

Friends of the Ingalls family in De Smet.

Read more

Read more

blizzard

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

Read more

Read more

building paper / tar paper

Crude building paper used for covering.

Read more

Read more

“All the Blue Bonnets are Over the Border”

1829 Sir Walter Scott air.

Read more

Read more

Old English letters

Variety of printing type.

Read more

Read more

Orion E. Stearns

Caught by blizzard of ’88.

Read more

Read more

buffalo beans

Prairie ground plum.

Read more

Read more

Western Reserve

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

Read more

Read more

Belgian horse

A heavy draft horse originally from the Brabant region of...

Read more

Read more

equinoctial storm

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

Read more

Read more

Home Missionary Society

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

Read more

Read more

whalebone

Baleen used in corsets.

Read more

Read more

Docia Ingalls / Hiram Forbes

Sister of Charles Ingalls married to railroad contractor.

Read more

Read more

“nervous as a witch”

restless

Read more

Read more

hoity-toity snip

Thoughtless, giddy, haughty, flighty, gay, and noisy.

Read more

Read more

clinched nail

Bent at a right angle.

Read more

Read more

Bibliography

LIW / RWL books & articles

Read more

Read more

Freddy Ingalls

Laura’s brother (1875-1876)

Read more

Read more

President George Washington

First President of the U.S.A.

Read more

Read more

poor man’s fertilizer

Snow plowed into a field.

Read more

Read more

On the Banks of Plum Creek – the fictional story

Farming struggles in Minnesota.

Read more

Read more

spoon holder / spoon-holder / spoonholder

Any vessel used to hold and display spoons.

Read more

Read more

winnow

Drive off chaff by wind.

Read more

Read more

tea

A man’s drink in cold weather.

Read more

Read more

vanity cakes

Egg and flour batter fried in oil into golden brown puffs.

Read more

Read more

The Advance

Weekly family newspaper of the Congregational church.

Read more

Read more

“The Campbells are Coming”

Traditional Scottish jig.

Read more

Read more

herd

A number of large beasts assembled together.

Read more

Read more

“all’s well that ends well”

A proverb.

Read more

Read more

Ida Belle Wright

Laura’s best friend in De Smet

Read more

Read more

Charles H. Tinkham

Early undertaker and owner of the first furniture store in De Smet.

Read more

Read more

primer

Used to teach someone to read.

Read more

Read more

“Ben Bolt”

1842 Thomas Dunn English song.

Read more

Read more

copper

Cu

Read more

Read more

Edward H. Couse

Early hardware store owner in De Smet.

Read more

Read more

geranium

Winter windowsill flowers.

Read more

Read more

railroad cut / fill

How you level a railroad grade.

Read more

Read more

Delos Perry family

The Perry School was on his homestead.

Read more

Read more

De Smet today

Where I would like to be right now.

Read more

Read more

Introspections of an Individualist

Norma Lee Browning article about Rose Wilder Lane.

Read more

Read more

Alfred Thomas

He was MARRIED, people!!

Read more

Read more

poke bonnet / poke-bonnet

the lining matched Laura’s eyes

Read more

Read more

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

Quilt block pattern.

Read more

Read more

water alcove

Railroad car water for drinking.

Read more

Read more

parsnip

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

Read more

Read more

chewing gum

Long white sticks of chewiness.

Read more

Read more

spinning wheel / spinning-wheel

Turns wool into yarn.

Read more

Read more

Hill-Billy

1926 Rose Wilder Lane book.

Read more

Read more

“The May Queen”

Poem in three parts by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

Read more

Read more

“Uncle John”

Play song to the tune of Yankee Doodle.

Read more

Read more

starry papers

Hand-made shelf edging.

Read more

Read more

coal / coal hod

Carbonized plant matter mined and used as fuel.

Read more

Read more

“There is a Happy Land”

Whoop! How those eggs do smell!

Read more