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copyright / permissions

Please do not plagiarize.

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rags for paper

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

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claim

The land to which one has a right.

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Hattie Dorchester

Jake Zickrick’s skating partner.

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“Nobody Ask’d You”

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

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Bibliography

LIW / RWL books & articles

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“A Motto for Every Man”

1868 Harry Clifton song.

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tiger

Noah’s ark toy piece.

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barrel

Round vessel or cask made of wooden staves.

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“Song of the Grass”

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

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Ross family

Neighbors in the Perry District.

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tea

A man’s drink in cold weather.

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Lost, between sunrise and sunset…

Horace Mann quotation from his Writings, published in 1872.

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Turkey red

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

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“Irish Washerwoman”

Traditional Scottish and Irish song/dance song.

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Osage Indian Treaty

Legal agreement between nations or sovereigns.

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bangs / lunatic fringe

hair across the forehead

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John D. Peirson

Early De Smet liveryman.

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George Whiting Ingalls

Bugle-blowing, jigging uncle.

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Ingalls office / store in De Smet

NW and SE corners of Calumet and Second.

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locust

Buy this book.

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“Great is the Lord”

Singing school song from The Conqueror.

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muff

A warm covering for receiving the hands.

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cat’s cradle

Game played with string twisted on the fingers.

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Pure Gold for the Sunday School

Hymnal owned by the Ingalls family.

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Pioneer Girl

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s memoir.

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Big Green Animal Book

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

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Thomas H. Ruth

President of Kingsbury County Bank in De Smet.

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cream of tartar / baking powder

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

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Frogs at School

“Twenty froggies went to school…”

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wall-paper

Wall covering.

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“Little Annie Rooney”

1889 song by Michael Nolan.

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“Darling Nellie Gray”

1856 Benjamin Hamby song.

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George A. Williams

Superintendent of Schools, 1883.

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the Cameron gang

fiat justitia, ruat caelum…

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buckwheat pancakes

Seeds of the flowering plant Eriogonum used as a grain.

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drop the handkerchief / drop-the-handkerchief

Circle game.

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Laura, the Prairie Girl

1975-76 animated series.

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parsnip

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

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“My Jenny Jerusha Jane”

1868 A.G. Chase song.

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“The Swan’s Nest”

Elizabeth Barrett Browning poem.

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“The Silver Moon”

Sail on, silver moon…

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whiskey

Spirits distilled from grain.

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jewel box / jewel-box

Nice place to keep a breast-pin.

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peddler’s cart / wagon

A little store on wheels.

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blacking / stove-blacking / boot blacking

Preparation used to make things black.

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Will Barnes

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

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bacon

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

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“The May Queen”

Poem in three parts by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

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New England States

ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, & CT.

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“All the Blue Bonnets are Over the Border”

1829 Sir Walter Scott air.

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ostrich tips / feathers

Short bobbing feather used for hat decoration.

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The New York Ledger

Weekly story paper, published 1855-1898.

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Introspections of an Individualist

Norma Lee Browning article about Rose Wilder Lane.

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picket rope / pin / line

n. A stake sharpened or pointed, used in fortification and...

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sewing machine

“Such beautiful stitching!”

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“The Gypsy’s Warning”

1864 Henry Coard song.

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“Gaily Now Our Boat is Sailing”

Laura loved singing school. It began with singing scales to...

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killdeer

Small aquatic bird.

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The Story of Art Smith

1915 Rose Wilder Lane serial about an aviator.

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anvil

Iron block to hammer upon.

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needle grass

Ouch! Something bit me!

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Morocco leather

Fine goat leather.

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shoe pegs

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

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P A T

one seven seven ought

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Doxology

Old Hundred.

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Come Into the Garden, Maud

1855 poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

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“Sweet By and By”

Pa’s favorite hymn.

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Dr. Alfred Starr

His wife wanted Laura.

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buttonhook

Curved metal tool for fastening shoes.

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Timber Culture Act / tree claim

Passed by Congress, March 3, 1873.

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Mr. Edwards

Was he Edmund Mason?

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reindeer

Why didn’t they fly over the creek?

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Alice Maria Wilder

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

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Reverend Edward Brown

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

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bracket lamp

Affixed lighting fixture.

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lantern

A light meant to be carried.

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Amos Whiting family

Superintendent of Schools, De Smet.

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dictionary

The words of a language.

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galumphing

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

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tomahawk

War hatchet used by American Indians.

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Little House on the Prairie – historical perspective

      The Ingalls and Quiner families...

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Burr Oak during the Little House years

Town in Winneshiek County, Iowa.

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mantel-shelf

Shelf above a fireplace.

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breast-pin / brooch

Ornament worn on clothing.

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Ella & Robert Boast

Friends of the Ingalls family in De Smet.

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windrow

Line of hay raked together.

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xanthophyll

I bet you can spell this word.

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“Coming Through the Rye”

Robert Burns tune.

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minstrel show

songs, dances, and skits usually performed in blackface

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“The Girl I Left Behind Me”

17th century Irish tune.

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“Bo-peep has lost her sheep”

Game of hiding and surprise to amuse a small child.

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“Bean Porridge Hot”

Bean porridge cold…

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fichu

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

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Orion E. Stearns

Caught by blizzard of ’88.

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“Lend a Helping Hand”

Hymn #22, Pure Gold for Sunday School.

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awl

pokes holes

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crow

Large black bird of genus Corvus.

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Thomas C. Wilkin family

Florence Wilkin’s father.

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watermelon-rind preserves

sugary jelly

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the children’s blizzard

January 12, 1888, blizzard.

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tableland

Elevated flat land; a plateau.

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Will Bennett

One of the younger De Smet schoolboys.

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“I Wish I Was Single Again”

1871 J.C. Beckel song.

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Adam / adam’s apple

The first man, the progenitor of the human race.

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census taker

Statistical registration of members of a country.

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fanning-mill

Machine for winnowing.

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writ of attachment

Legal document requiring action.

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dumpling

Dough cooked in liquid.

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“Uncle Sam’s Farm”

1848 Jesse Hutchinson, Jr. song.

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mother-of-pearl

Hard, silvery, brilliant, internal layer of several kinds of shells, particularly oysters.

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“The Treadmill Song”

Oliver Wendell Holmes poem set to music.

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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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Alfred N. Waters

Attorney and land agent in De Smet.

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Thomas Huleatt family

Neighbors of Ingalls family in Pepin Co.

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batten / lath

Thin, narrow board for fastening or joining.

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Old Military Tract

Franklin Co. NY map reference

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“The Ninety and Nine”

Elizabeth Clephane poem.

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turntable

Revolving railroad platform.

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Wilder feed store

Shhh. There’s wheat in the wall!

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“On Jordan’s Stormy Banks”

Long Winter song

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“The Star-Spangled Banner”

Our National Anthem; words by Francis Scott Key.

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carding-machine

Straightens fibers by combing.

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elevator

Warehouse for seed and grain.

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Charleton Fuller / Gerald Fuller

Hardware store owner, partnered with his brother Gerald.

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“Sing a Song of Sixpence”

Mother Goose rhyme.

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emigrant car

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

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Burke / Malone during the Little House years

Almanzo Wilder birthplace.

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engine / locomotive / iron horse

Vehicle powered by steam and run on tracks.

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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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pieplant

Rhubarb.

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Laura Remington

Mrs. Phillip Aubrey Lawrence

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tax

A certainty, as is death.

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roller towel

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

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“The Campbells are Coming”

Traditional Scottish jig.

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bear grease

Bear fat hair dressing.

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Have you seen the comet?

Tebbutt’s Great Comet of 1881.

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Burr Oak today

Only Ingalls home in original location.

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“Haste to the Wedding”

Traditional Irish fiddle tune.

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ice cream / ice-cream

Sweetened cream, congealed by freezing.

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mummy

Put. that. back.

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“The Battle-Cry of Freedom”

We’ll Rally Round the Flag, Boys!

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“Gentle Words and Loving Smiles”

Hymn 139 in Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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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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ice-house

Stores ice blocks in warm weather.

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“The Old Time”

Mr. Boast’s favorite song.

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“Home of the Soul”

1865 E.M.H. Gates hymn.

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wintergreen

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

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George C. Bradley

Early De Smet druggist.

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Jacob Hopp

Printer and De Smet newspaper owner.

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oranges

Citrus fruit.

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Army bugle

Brass military horn.

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spring tonic

Bitter purifying medicine.

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buffalo beans

Prairie ground plum.

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copper

Cu

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Johnny Johnson

“Wake up and watch the cattle!”

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gable

Triangular end of a building under the roof.

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Supposed Speech of Regulus

From Independent Fifth Reader.

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“Kitty Wells”

1858 Sloan & Atherton song.

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twin lakes

Lake Henry & Lake Thompson

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Charles Ely

Early lumber man in De Smet.

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kerosene / kerosine

Oil used for lighting.

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Eliza Jane Wilder

Almanzo’s sister.

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“The Tides” / The moon is at its full

1860 William Cullen Bryant poem.

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elephant

A very large quadruped.

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orthography

The art of spelling words correctly.

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apple pie / dried apple pie

Just like Ma used to make.

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“By Lo, Baby Bunting”

Mother Goose rhyme.

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“Jesus Holds My Hand”

Hymn #85, Pure Gold for the Sunday Schools

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poke bonnet / poke-bonnet

the lining matched Laura’s eyes

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Marvin Hughitt

Officer and President of the Chicago & NorthWestern Railway Company.

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Almanzo Wilder

The Man of the Place

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“Ta-ra-ra-Boom-de-Ay”

1891 Henry J. Sayers song.

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“Camptown Races”

1850 Stephen Foster song.

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Charlotte Holbrook

Laura’s “Aunt Lotty”

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James Glover family

Students in the Wilkin School.

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china shepherdess / little china woman

Ingalls precious family figurine.

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A Tribute to the Early Day Teachers

Neva Whaley Harding tribute.

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“Uncle John”

Play song to the tune of Yankee Doodle.

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Delos Perry family

The Perry School was on his homestead.

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birthday

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

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Peter Pfeiffer family

John May’s son-in-law.

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Daniel Loftus

Early drygoods store owner in De Smet.

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cat hole / cat-hole

Jack will keep other animals from using it.

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cant-hook / cant-pole

Instrument used by lumbermen to move logs.

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oyster

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

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Charles Lamson

Almanzo’s cousin.

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bison / “The Bison Track”

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

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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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velocipede

Carriage propelled by pedals or feet.

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Belgian horse

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

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literature

Knowledge and fancy preserved in writing.

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harvest moon

Full moon nearest autumnal equinox

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“The Gypsy King”

Young Laura and Mary’s favorite song!

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The Modern Musketeer

How Rose became a great actress.

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velvet

Silk or blend fabric with short shag surface.

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Alfred Ely

One of the younger boys in school.

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“Love’s Old Sweet Song”

1884 song by Bingham & Malloy.

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scones

“Mamabess is growing fat.”

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Tennyson’s Poems

Collection of works by Written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson,...

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“Merry, Merry Christmas”

Hymn Number 150 in Pure Gold for Sunday Schools.

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