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Introspections of an Individualist

Norma Lee Browning article about Rose Wilder Lane.

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Little House in the Big Woods – the fictional story

Once upon a time, 60 years ago…

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The House that Jack Built

…for two pieces of money.

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“What Shall the Harvest Be?”

1850 Emily Oakley poem.

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“All the Blue Bonnets are Over the Border”

1829 Sir Walter Scott air.

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Charles Trousdale

De Smet drayman and his performing sons.

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poor man’s fertilizer

Snow plowed into a field.

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“all’s well that ends well”

A proverb.

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“The Floating Scow of Old Virginia”

1847 Charles White song.

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kerosene / kerosine

Oil used for lighting.

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crow

Large black bird of genus Corvus.

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Bloody Benders

Serial killers in 1870s Kansas.

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“For the Sake o’ Somebody”

1794 Robert Burns poem.

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Spat them Out

Clapping (and kissing) game.

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batten / lath

Thin, narrow board for fastening or joining.

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basket

Woven container.

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pen / pen-wiper

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

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literature

Knowledge and fancy preserved in writing.

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ice cream / ice-cream

Sweetened cream, congealed by freezing.

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grippe

influenza

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The Missouri Ruralist

Twice monthly Missouri farm periodical.

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pokeberry

For rosy doll cheeks.

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Quiner graves

Abandoned cemetery off Playhouse Road.

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dragon-fly / dragonfly

Mosquito hunter.

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clove apple / clove-apple

Spice-preserved fruit decoration.

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“Arkansas Traveler”

Traditional American folk song.

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flag, the flower

An aquatic flower, Iris versicolor.

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apple pie / dried apple pie

Just like Ma used to make.

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chewing gum

Long white sticks of chewiness.

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Wilder feed store

Shhh. There’s wheat in the wall!

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Waverly Novels

Sir Walter Scott books.

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bushel / peck

Dry quart measurements.

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buttonhook

Curved metal tool for fastening shoes.

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“The Silver Moon”

Sail on, silver moon…

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Adam / adam’s apple

The first man, the progenitor of the human race.

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composition

The act of forming a written piece.

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wintergreen

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

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spider

Legged cooking vessel.

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milk pan / milk-pan / milkpan

Where cream rises.

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Becky Newhall / Rebecca Stewart

Classmate of Laura Ingalls in De Smet.

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Almanzo Wilder

The Man of the Place

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Hiram Ingalls

Pa’s brother.

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galumphing

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

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Delos Perry family

The Perry School was on his homestead.

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John James Ingalls

Senator from Kansas.

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Volga, Dakota Territory

Town on the Dakota Central R.R. between Brookings and Arlington, platted in 1879.

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“Uncle John”

Play song to the tune of Yankee Doodle.

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Rev. Royal Gould Wilder

Almanzo’s uncle.

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freeze drying

sublimation!

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apprentice

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

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Grace Pearl Ingalls

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

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clear, pure green sky

Sunlight separated into colored bands at sunset.

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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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cabin / log house

A small cottage; a hut or small house.

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sheep sorrel

Tastes like lemon… or springtime?

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birthday

As near as I can figure, E.J. was right.

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brakeman

Person who stops the train.

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writ of attachment

Legal document requiring action.

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hair receiver / hair-receiver

Container to save strands of hair in.

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literary society

Instructional and entertaining gathering.

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Daniel Loftus

Early drygoods store owner in De Smet.

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jumping jack / jumping-jack

Jointed acrobat toy.

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On the Banks of Plum Creek – the fictional story

Farming struggles in Minnesota.

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Sale of School Lands on the Osage Diminished Reserve

LHOP cabin was on Section 36

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“To a Girl”

Poem used to describe Beatrice Sorchan.

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tax

A certainty, as is death.

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cannon

Military engine used for throwing balls and other instruments of death by the force of gunpowder.

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muff

A warm covering for receiving the hands.

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Henry O. Quiner family

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

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parsnip

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

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Florence Bell

Milliner and dressmaker in De Smet.

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David Thorp

Walnut Grove teacher 1877-78.

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Minnie Johnson

Laura’s schoolmate in De Smet

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The Youth’s Companion

Weekly instructional magazine for children, first published in 1827.

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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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huckleberry

Let’s have some pie!

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emigrant car

Railroad car used to move a settler and/or a settler’s goods.

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“The Sculptor Boy”

Carrie recited it.

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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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button lamp

Improvised grease lamp.

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ground-cherry

Variety of husk tomato.

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“Pop! Goes the Weasel”

Traditional American song.

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lime / whitewash

Oxide of calcium mixed with water and used for whitening.

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Will Barnes

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

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Martha Perry / Mrs. White

Laura helped her sew shirts.

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Farmer Boy – historical perspective

1860s Burke / Malone NY.

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“Lend a Helping Hand”

Hymn #22, Pure Gold for Sunday School.

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Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Birthday

Happy Birthday, Laura!

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forfeits

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

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amen / amen corner

Expression used at the end of prayers.

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cant-hook / cant-pole

Instrument used by lumbermen to move logs.

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lantern

A light meant to be carried.

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apron

Garment protector.

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Mother Goose

Fictionalized compiler of ancient nursery rhymes.

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Congress

Legislative body of a country.

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“Auld Lang Syne”

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

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hoity-toity snip

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

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spinning wheel / spinning-wheel

Turns wool into yarn.

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twisting hay

Pioneer method by which dried grass is formed into compact...

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Jacob Hopp

Printer and De Smet newspaper owner.

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“My Sabbath Home”

Hymn #7, Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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tiger

Noah’s ark toy piece.

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“Jerusalem the Golden”

Hymn from Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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Ella & Robert Boast

Friends of the Ingalls family in De Smet.

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chapel

Place of worship.

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locust

Buy this book.

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reindeer

Why didn’t they fly over the creek?

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Little Town on the Prairie – historical perspective

De Smet D.T. in the 1880s.

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“Camptown Races”

1850 Stephen Foster song.

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mustache

Hair above the lip.

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“The May Queen”

Poem in three parts by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

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“America”

1832 Reverend Samuel F. Smith song.

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“Sing a Song of Sixpence”

Mother Goose rhyme.

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silver castor

Rotating condiment set.

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thunder-pumps

American bittern, a member of the heron family.

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gaiters

Cloth ankle covering.

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“Wait for the Wagon”

Buckley and Knauff song.

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“Uncle Sam’s Farm”

1848 Jesse Hutchinson, Jr. song.

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Silas Rood

Rude by name & nature?

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“Jingle Bells”

1857 James Pierpont song.

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carved wooden bracket

Place for a china shepherdess.

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stockade

Enclosure of posts or sticks.

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“Ta-ra-ra-Boom-de-Ay”

1891 Henry J. Sayers song.

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black-berry / blackberry

The berry of the bramble, Rubus fruticosous.

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ice cream social

Laura and Almanzo didn’t enjoy it.

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“Irish Washerwoman”

Traditional Scottish and Irish song/dance song.

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Indian camps

Look! Beads!

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“It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary”

1912 Judge & Williams song.

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quarter section / quarter-section

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

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beet

Succulent root vegetable.

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“Bonny Doon”

1792 Robert Burns song.

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lief

Gladly; willingly; freely.

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“Captain Jinks”

1868 comedic opera song.

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what-not / whatnot

An étagère for books & ornaments.

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“Gentle Words and Loving Smiles”

Hymn 139 in Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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Frank M. Cooley family

On the Way home travelers.

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starry papers

Hand-made shelf edging.

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“Kitty Wells”

1858 Sloan & Atherton song.

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Dr. Alfred Starr

His wife wanted Laura.

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slate

Stone used as tablet for writing upon.

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Maude Blair

Walnut Grove friend of Laura’s

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“By Lo, Baby Bunting”

Mother Goose rhyme.

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De Smet during the Little House years

The Ingalls family moved here in 1879.

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Jack Frost

A popular personification of frost.

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Nellie Oleson Meets Laura Ingalls

Heather Williams book.

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Mrs. Jarley’s Wax Works

Rise! Come forward!

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peddler’s cart / wagon

A little store on wheels.

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Morocco leather

Fine goat leather.

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pullaway

Outdoor tagging game.

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“The Treadmill Song”

Oliver Wendell Holmes poem set to music.

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scones

“Mamabess is growing fat.”

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galluses / suspenders

Straps worn for holding up pants.

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Eliza Jane Wilder

Almanzo’s sister.

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Timber Culture Act / tree claim

Passed by Congress, March 3, 1873.

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These Happy Golden Years – the fictional story

Laura teaches and falls in love.

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Lansford James Ingalls family

Pa’s brother and Laura’s uncle.

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needle grass

Ouch! Something bit me!

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Commentators on the Ac’s

Pa’s charade pun.

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“There is a Happy Land”

Whoop! How those eggs do smell!

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The Story of Art Smith

1915 Rose Wilder Lane serial about an aviator.

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twilight

Light when the sun is 0-18 degrees below the horizon.

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Ida Belle Wright

Laura’s best friend in De Smet

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“A Shelter in the Time of Storm”

Ira Sankey hymn.

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Oscar Rhuel / Röhl

A romantic figure…

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“The Tides” / The moon is at its full

1860 William Cullen Bryant poem.

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Ross family

Neighbors in the Perry District.

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Missouri Pool

Smoked a pipe & grew pretty flowers.

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cat hole / cat-hole

Jack will keep other animals from using it.

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by jingo!

A corruption of St. Gengoulph.

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Little Town on the Prairie – the fictional story

Homesteading and town life.

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starch

cloth stiffener

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hogshead

100-140 gallon cask.

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Ernest & Minnie Green

This is not Mary & Edwin Sanford!

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jewel box / jewel-box

Nice place to keep a breast-pin.

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“Sweet By and By”

Pa’s favorite hymn.

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Laura’s Bible references

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

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George Whiting Ingalls

Bugle-blowing, jigging uncle.

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copper-toed shoes

Metal shoe protector.

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Wilkin School

April 20 – July 10, 1885.

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bangs / lunatic fringe

hair across the forehead

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tableland

Elevated flat land; a plateau.

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“Paul Revere’s Ride”

Poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

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Marvin Hughitt

Officer and President of the Chicago & NorthWestern Railway Company.

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“Ben Bolt”

1842 Thomas Dunn English song.

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Charlotte Holbrook

Laura’s “Aunt Lotty”

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Laura’s Sorosis Club speech

“My Work”

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whiffle-tree / whiffletree

Bar to attach traces to.

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Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography

Laura’s handwritten manuscript.

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Kingsbury County, D.T.

County in eastern South Dakota, organized in 1879.

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“The Sleighing Glee”

Singing school song.

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pieplant

Rhubarb.

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zebra

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

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Pa’s red & white checked mittens

Fair Isle pattern.

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black bird / blackbird

Name given to various American birds.

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last

Mold of a foot, used in making shoes.

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checkers

Game played on a board of 64 squares.

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Amos Whiting family

Superintendent of Schools, De Smet.

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links

Helps you find what you’re looking for.

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gingerbread

Chocolate frosting adds to the goodness!

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Dolly Varden

NIckname of Edith Ingalls, Laura’s cousin.

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