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S

Sabbath – sycamore

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“The Evergreen Shore”

1861 William Hunter song.

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The House that Jack Built

…for two pieces of money.

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Charles & Martha Harrison / Patterson

Charles and Elizabeth May Rundle.

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wigwam

What Almanzo’s shocked oats looked like.

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Protected: James H. Clewett

De Smet teacher, January-March 1883

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apprentice

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

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Gather ye rosebuds while ye may…

From Robert Herrick poem.

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Walnut Grove during the Little House years

Village in Redwood County, Minnesota

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basket

Woven container.

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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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Farmer Boy – the fictional story

Almanzo Wilder’s childhood in Burke NY.

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“Ta-ra-ra-Boom-de-Ay”

1891 Henry J. Sayers song.

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Oh Whistle and I’ll Come to You, My Lad

1793 Robert Burns poem.

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How well do you know the Little House books?

a quiz for you!

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“Lend a Helping Hand”

Hymn #22, Pure Gold for Sunday School.

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Charles Trousdale

De Smet drayman and his performing sons.

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James Kennedy family

Walnut Grove farming family, originally from Canada.

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ante-over / anti-over / anteover

Game in which a ball is thrown over a structure.

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black bird / blackbird

Name given to various American birds.

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biscuits

A kind of un-fermented bread, formed into flat cakes, and baked.

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buttonhook

Curved metal tool for fastening shoes.

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“Polly Wolly Doodle”

Daniel Decatur Emmett song.

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turntable

Revolving railroad platform.

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pieplant

Rhubarb.

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Hattie Dorchester

Jake Zickrick’s skating partner.

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Burke / Malone during the Little House years

Almanzo Wilder birthplace.

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telegraph

Don’t let Jimmie shock you with it!

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Syndicate Hotel

Laura & Almanzo stayed there!

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dictionary

The words of a language.

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elephant

A very large quadruped.

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ice-house

Stores ice blocks in warm weather.

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Burr Oak during the Little House years

Town in Winneshiek County, Iowa.

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candy hearts

Mary’s had a candy poem on it!

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badger

Don’t poke it with a stick!

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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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President James Madison

4th President of the U.S.

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O

oak – oyster

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Old English letters

Variety of printing type.

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Henry O. Quiner family

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

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blueing bag

Whiter whites.

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what-not / whatnot

An étagère for books & ornaments.

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spinning wheel / spinning-wheel

Turns wool into yarn.

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Blanche Coday

Rose’s friend.

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door knob

Grab to open a door.

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pokeberry

For rosy doll cheeks.

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literary society

Instructional and entertaining gathering.

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“Rock Me to Sleep”

Elizabeth Allen poem.

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quarter section / quarter-section

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

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auger

hand drill

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Lizzie

the child bride

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spelling / speller

The order of letters in a word. / A book of exercises on the order of letters.

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“I Wish I Was Single Again”

1871 J.C. Beckel song.

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“Sing a Song of Sixpence”

Mother Goose rhyme.

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“Buffalo Gals”

1844 Virginia Minstrels song.

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worm / angleworm

common soil worm

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dickcissel / dickie-bird

A semi-nomadic finch, Spiza americana.

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Grace Pearl Ingalls

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

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smoke stack / smokestack

locomotive firebox chimney

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hair receiver / hair-receiver

Container to save strands of hair in.

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“Jingle Bells”

1857 James Pierpont song.

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willow

Tree of the genus Salix.

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yeast / yeast cakes

Bread-leavening organism.

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Laura’s Sorosis Club speech

“My Work”

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button lamp

Improvised grease lamp.

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zebra

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

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cornmeal mush / hasty pudding

Cornmeal and water, cooked.

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sheep sorrel

Tastes like lemon… or springtime?

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xanthophyll

I bet you can spell this word.

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yoke

Frame worn on the neck for lifting or drawing.

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emigrant car

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

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dumpling

Dough cooked in liquid.

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Pre-1906 and 1912 De Smet Panoramic Photos

A view in every direction.

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Laura & Lansford Ingalls

Grandpa & Grandma Ingalls

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Farmer Boy – historical perspective

1860s Burke / Malone NY.

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“The Tides” / The moon is at its full

1860 William Cullen Bryant poem.

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New Ulm, Minnesota

Town in Brown Co., MN.

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udder

Where the milk is before milking.

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clear, pure green sky

Sunlight separated into colored bands at sunset.

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oranges

Citrus fruit.

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cant-hook / cant-pole

Instrument used by lumbermen to move logs.

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South Troy / Zumbro Falls today

Little town along the Zumbro River.

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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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zenith

The point of the heavens directly overhead.

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Charlotte Quiner Holbrook

Caroline Ingalls’ mother

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John Ensign family

Quit crying, Howard.

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President George Washington

First President of the U.S.A.

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by jingo!

A corruption of St. Gengoulph.

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“Arkansas Traveler”

Traditional American folk song.

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“The May Queen”

Poem in three parts by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

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Uncle Sam

Figure symbolizing the United States.

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Timber Culture Act / tree claim

Passed by Congress, March 3, 1873.

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spring tonic

Bitter purifying medicine.

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stanchion

Support frame.

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slate

Stone used as tablet for writing upon.

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Mrs. Jarley’s Wax Works

Rise! Come forward!

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“For the Sake o’ Somebody”

1794 Robert Burns poem.

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Christopher Columbus

A native of Genoa, in Italy.

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“The Mulligan Guard” / “The Skidmore Guard”

Harrigan & Hart minstrel show.

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The Square in Malone

Where the band played.

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crocheted rag rug

Crocheted floor covering made of strips of cloth.

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milk pan / milk-pan / milkpan

Where cream rises.

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carved wooden bracket

Place for a china shepherdess.

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cranberry

Good ones bounce!

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“Jesus Holds My Hand”

Hymn #85, Pure Gold for the Sunday Schools

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“It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary”

1912 Judge & Williams song.

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carpet-bag / carpetbag

Traveling-bag

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Docia Ingalls / Hiram Forbes

Sister of Charles Ingalls married to railroad contractor.

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galluses / suspenders

Straps worn for holding up pants.

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trundle bed

Low bed stored under higher bed.

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Carrie Ingalls

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

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amen / amen corner

Expression used at the end of prayers.

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windlass

Device to move water or dirt from the bottom of a well to ground level.

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buffalo beans

Prairie ground plum.

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silver castor

Rotating condiment set.

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Dolly Varden

NIckname of Edith Ingalls, Laura’s cousin.

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handkerchief

Face and hand wiping cloth.

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mercury / thermometer

Used to measure air temperature.

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Christmas

Christian observation of the birth of Christ

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A Modern Musketeer

In which Rose becomes a great actress.

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

1858 J. Warner song.

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De Smet Cemetery

Ma & Pa’s final resting place.

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The Long Winter – the fictional story

Winter for seven months!

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“Oh! Susanna”

Stephen Foster song.

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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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bangs / lunatic fringe

hair across the forehead

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fever ‘n’ ague / malaria

malaria

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Spookendyke

Rose’s stubborn donkey

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powder horn / powder-horn

Animal horn in which gunpowder is carried.

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A Tribute to the Early Day Teachers

Neva Whaley Harding tribute.

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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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“Dakota Land”

1876 hymn, Beulah Land.

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“The Old Time”

Mr. Boast’s favorite song.

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Verdigris River

River that runs through Montgomery County, Kansas.

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winnow

Drive off chaff by wind.

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By the Shores of Silver Lake – the fictional story

The railroad comes to Dakota.

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Julia & Amasa Tower

Walnut Grove church friends.

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poultice

Applied to sores to help them heal.

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handcar

Don’t be left behind!

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batten / lath

Thin, narrow board for fastening or joining.

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Osage Indian Treaty

Legal agreement between nations or sovereigns.

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whiskey

Spirits distilled from grain.

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birthday

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

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“Bean Porridge Hot”

Bean porridge cold…

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chewing gum

Long white sticks of chewiness.

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kerosene / kerosine

Oil used for lighting.

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beard / whiskers

Facial hair.

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M

Ma – “My Sabbath Home”

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“Mary of the Wild Moor”

1845 song by Joseph W. Turner.

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tax

A certainty, as is death.

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whiffle-tree / whiffletree

Bar to attach traces to.

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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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Eliza Jane Wilder

Almanzo’s sister.

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Maude Blair

Walnut Grove friend of Laura’s

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“Paul Revere’s Ride”

Poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

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Congress

Legislative body of a country.

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Frogs at School

“Twenty froggies went to school…”

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Godey’s Lady’s Book

Women’s magazine, 1830-1898.

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Martha Perry / Mrs. White

Laura helped her sew shirts.

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James Glover family

Students in the Wilkin School.

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Poverty Flat

Early De Smet residential area.

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Mr. Clancy / Chauncey Clayson

Drygoods store owner, Chauncey Clayson

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bell

The noise-maker, not the milliner.

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twine

A strong twisted thread.

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axle grease

Lubricant for wagon wheels and other machinery.

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gaiters

Cloth ankle covering.

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Kingsbury County, D.T.

County in eastern South Dakota, organized in 1879.

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Alice & Arthur Whiting

Cousin Alice Ingalls Whiting’s family.

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twisting hay

makes a hot, quick fire

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Millbank

1871 novel by Mary Jane Holmes.

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Sam Owen

De Smet boot & shoe maker… and horseman!

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Q

quaker meeting – quinine

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Indian camps

Look! Beads!

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snow-fort

“Holler ’nuff!”

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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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mother-of-pearl

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

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Laura & Almanzo Wilder house in De Smet

Home of Almanzo, Laura, & Rose 1892-1894

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“Old Folks at Home”

Way down upon the Swanee River!

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chestnut / horse chestnut

A large nut, the fruit of a species of Æsculus.

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Jesse French

Butchered oxen during the Hard Winter.

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“Old Grimes”

1822 Albert Gorton Greene poem.

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“The Gypsy’s Warning”

1864 Henry Coard song.

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I

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

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Wilder feed store

Shhh. There’s wheat in the wall!

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gopher

Four don’t go fur…

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Chicago Inter-Ocean / Inter-Ocean

Republican political newspaper.

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butter

Edible fatty substance made by churning cream.

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Reverend Edward Brown

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

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Will Bennett

One of the younger De Smet schoolboys.

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Charles Philip Ingalls

Father of Laura Ingalls. He lived 1836-1902.

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flag, the flower

An aquatic flower, Iris versicolor.

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George Whiting Ingalls

Bugle-blowing, jigging uncle.

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surveyors’ house

railroad section house occupied by the Ingallses in 1879-1880

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P

Pa – pussy-in-the-corner

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ground-cherry

Variety of husk tomato.

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bushel / peck

Dry quart measurements.

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mosquito bar / netting

Woven cloth bug barrier.

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“Song of the Grass”

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

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