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spoon holder / spoon-holder / spoonholder

Any vessel used to hold and display spoons.

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The House that Jack Built

…for two pieces of money.

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starch

cloth stiffener

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tiger lily

Native spotted flower of tallgrass prairie.

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consumption

A wasting disease, pulmonary tuberculosis.

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Missouri Ruralist

The Missouri Ruralist. A twice-monthly Missouri farm periodical...

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Uncle Sam

Figure symbolizing the United States.

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Doxology

Old Hundred.

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school section

Public land supporting schools.

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“The Pied Piper”

Robert Browning poem.

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axle grease

Lubricant for wagon wheels and other machinery.

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“Uncle John”

Play song to the tune of Yankee Doodle.

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bangs / lunatic fringe

hair across the forehead

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Burr Oak during the Little House years

Town in Winneshiek County, Iowa.

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Fred Fields / Big Jerry

Railroad boss and his brother-in-law.

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crow

Large black bird of genus Corvus.

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Alice Maria Wilder

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

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killdeer

Small aquatic bird.

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dove-in-the-window / bear’s tracks

Patchwork pattern variations.

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F

Fair Grounds – furrow

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Belgian horse

They’d pull a barn, if hitched to it.

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Great American Desert

Varying area of North America, believed at times to be uninhabitable by civilized man.

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“My Old Kentucky Home”

1853 Stephen Foster song.

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“Marching Through Georgia”

Union song from American Civil War.

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roller towel

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

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John H. Carroll

Early De Smet banker.

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mud hen / mudhen

American coot.

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Florence Bell

Milliner and dressmaker in De Smet.

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copper

Cu

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legal cap

legal document paper

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The Floweret

1842 book of verse by Anna Maria Wells.

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“The Heavens Declare the Glory”

From The Conqueror, page 144.

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X

xanthophyll

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“The Girl I Left Behind Me”

17th century Irish tune.

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stone fences

Rock wall enclosure.

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udder

Where the milk is before milking.

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Alice & Arthur Whiting

Cousin Alice Ingalls Whiting’s family.

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le cadeau du cheval

mosaic painting featuring Almanzo’s Morgan horses

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lief

Gladly; willingly; freely.

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Peytona & Fashion

Currier & Ives print at Rocky Ridge Farm.

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china shepherdess / little china woman

Ingalls family figurine.

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“Jesus Holds My Hand”

Hymn #85, Pure Gold for the Sunday Schools

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“The Singing School”

1869 P. Benson song.

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Mary Power & Edwin Sanford

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

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watermelon-rind preserves

sugary jelly

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candle / tallow

Used to furnish light.

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cottage cheese

Curdled skim milk.

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William H. Reed

Teacher in Burr Oak school, 1876-1877.

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Little Town on the Prairie – the fictional story

Homesteading and town life.

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twisting hay

makes a hot, quick fire

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wigwam

What Almanzo’s shocked oats looked like.

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C

cabbage – cyclone

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Rev. Royal Gould Wilder

Almanzo’s uncle.

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forfeits

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

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Christmas

Christian observation of the birth of Christ

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“Give us this day our daily bread”

The City, a Mc Kee plain glassware pattern.

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literature

Knowledge and fancy preserved in writing.

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Julia & Amasa Tower

Walnut Grove church friends.

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Timber Culture Act / tree claim

Passed by Congress, March 3, 1873.

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Turkey red

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

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

1858 J. Warner song.

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Q

quaker meeting – quinine

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Reverend Edwin H. Alden

Walnut Grove Congregational minister and missionary in Dakota.

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biscuits

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

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by jingo!

A corruption of St. Gengoulph.

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“For the Sake o’ Somebody”

1794 Robert Burns poem.

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Maude Blair

Walnut Grove friend of Laura’s

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“The Lotos Eaters”

Tennyson poem.

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Jerome Beardsley family

De Smet hotel keeper.

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Becky Newhall / Rebecca Stewart

Classmate of Laura Ingalls in De Smet.

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“I Wish I Was Single Again”

1871 J.C. Beckel song.

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last

Mold of a foot, used in making shoes.

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turnip

Cruciferous plant grown for root and greens.

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quarter section / quarter-section

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

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ticket

All aboard!

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Thomas H. Ruth

President of Kingsbury County Bank in De Smet.

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Lansford James Ingalls family

Pa’s brother and Laura’s uncle.

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Indian camps

Look! Beads!

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milk pan / milk-pan / milkpan

Where cream rises.

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cornmeal mush / hasty pudding

Cornmeal and water, cooked.

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muskrat

Their houses predict winter weather.

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basque

Jacket-like part of a lady’s dress.

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kerosene / kerosine

Oil used for lighting.

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Mr. and Mrs. Scott

Indian Territory neighbors of the Ingallses.

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buffalo / bison

bison

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“The Star-Spangled Banner”

Our National Anthem; words by Francis Scott Key.

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snow-fort

“Holler ’nuff!”

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“Great is the Lord”

Singing school song from The Conqueror.

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St. Lawrence River

A streak of silver on the horizon.

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L

lace – lynx

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“The Treadmill Song”

Oliver Wendell Holmes poem set to music.

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“Elizabeth, Elspeth, Betsy, and Bess”

Nursery rhyme wordplay on the name Elizabeth.

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Hattie Dorchester

Jake Zickrick’s skating partner.

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Mary & Samuel Ray / Ellen & Amos Leonard

Sisters feuding over a lovely homeplace…and a man.

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“Don’t Leave the Farm, Boys”

Song from The Conqueror.

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roller skates / rink

Wheeled frame for the shoe.

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twin lakes

Lake Henry & Lake Thompson

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“Oft in the Stilly Night”

Song from Lalla Rookh.

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Mr. Clancy / Chauncey Clayson

Drygoods store owner, Chauncey Clayson

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“The Mulligan Guard” / “The Skidmore Guard”

Harrigan & Hart minstrel show.

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dumpling

Dough cooked in liquid.

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links

Helps you find what you’re looking for.

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locust

Buy this book.

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Caroline Ingalls

Mother of Laura Ingalls. She lived 1839-1924.

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sheep sorrel

Tastes like lemon… or springtime?

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Osage Indian Treaty

Legal agreement between nations or sovereigns.

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hair receiver / hair-receiver

Container to save strands of hair in.

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pullaway

Outdoor tagging game.

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“Coming Through the Rye”

Robert Burns tune.

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copper-toed shoes

Metal shoe protector.

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Adam / adam’s apple

The first man, the progenitor of the human race.

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The Long Winter – historical perspective

The Hard Winter of 1880-1881.

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P A T

one seven seven ought

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flag, the flower

An aquatic flower, Iris versicolor.

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checkers

Game played on a board of 64 squares.

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“Merry, Merry Christmas”

Hymn Number 150 in Pure Gold for Sunday Schools.

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amen / amen corner

Expression used at the end of prayers.

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sundogs

Bright spots on either side of the sun.

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whiskey

Spirits distilled from grain.

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Charles Mead

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

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John Armstrong

Kingsbury Co. courthouse caretaker

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Roman candle

Flaming stars and balls firework.

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powder horn / powder-horn

Animal horn in which gunpowder is carried.

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“Pop! Goes the Weasel”

Traditional American song.

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Godey’s Lady’s Book

Women’s magazine, 1830-1898.

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“Love’s Old Sweet Song”

1884 song by Bingham & Malloy.

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President James Madison

4th President of the U.S.

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riot / Tracy railroad strike

Tracy in June, not De Smet in September

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Willard Seelye

De Smet teacher, 1881-1882.

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Governor of Orleans / The American Remount Association

Registered stallion leased to Almanzo Wilder 1923-1925.

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Old Settler’s Day

De Smet annual reunion.

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“The Gypsy King”

Young Laura and Mary’s favorite song!

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“Song of the Grass”

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

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spring tonic

Bitter purifying medicine.

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dickcissel / dickie-bird

A semi-nomadic finch, Spiza americana.

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ante-over / anti-over / anteover

Game in which a ball is thrown over a structure.

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“Bean Porridge Hot”

Bean porridge cold…

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carding-machine

Straightens fibers by combing.

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crocheted rag rug

Crocheted floor covering made of strips of cloth.

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“My Sabbath Home”

Hymn #7, Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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the Cameron gang

fiat justitia, ruat caelum…

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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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herd

A number of large beasts assembled together.

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fever ‘n’ ague / malaria

malaria

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bison / “The Bison Track”

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

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“The Sculptor Boy”

Carrie recited it.

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bobolink

On Mary Power’s name card.

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nutmeg

Myristica moschata, used as a spice.

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Dr. William H. York

Bender victim

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popcorn

Heat makes it burst & it’s tasty.

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hoity-toity snip

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

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dried-raspberry sauce

Dried sauce good on biscuits.

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“By Lo, Baby Bunting”

Mother Goose rhyme.

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Charles H. Tinkham

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

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Pa’s “big green book”

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

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“nervous as a witch”

restless

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needle grass

Ouch! Something bit me!

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Good Templars Lodge

International temperance fraternal organization.

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“Miller Boy”

“Grab!”

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“De Boatmen’s Dance”

Away Down the RIver on the O-hi-o.

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Hide the Thimble

You’re getting warmer…

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canvas

Coarse hemp or flax cloth.

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“A Life on the Ocean Wave”

1847 Epes Sargent poem put to music.

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wonderful house / frame house

Wooden house built on Charles Ingalls’ Plum Creek preemption claim.

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mowing machine

Farm implement for cutting hay or grain.

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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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Volga, Dakota Territory

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

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Jacob Hopp

Printer and De Smet newspaper owner.

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Pioneer Press

St. Paul newspaper read by Charles Ingalls in De Smet

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“Life Let Us Cherish”

1796 Swiss song translated to English.

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anvil

Iron block to hammer upon.

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“Paddle Your Own Canoe”

1850s Harry Clifton song.

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“Uncle Ned”

One of the earliest Stephen Foster songs.

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Robbins children

“froze stark stiff”

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dragon-fly / dragonfly

Mosquito hunter.

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“Mary of the Wild Moor”

1845 song by Joseph W. Turner.

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Young Pioneers

David and Molly Beaton.

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lime / whitewash

Oxide of calcium mixed with water and used for whitening.

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emigrant car

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

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poll

No horns.

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tiger

Noah’s ark toy piece.

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dovekie

Arctic aquatic bird, Alle alle.

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apprentice

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

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Little House in the Big Woods – historical perspective

Pepin Twp., Pepin Co. Wisconsin

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ash withe / ash-withe

A flexible, slender twig or branch used as a band for tying.

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“Jingle Bells”

1857 James Pierpont song.

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button lamp

Improvised grease lamp.

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“Highland Mary”

1799 Robert Burns songs, favorite of Mary Ingalls.

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“The Ninety and Nine”

Elizabeth Clephane poem.

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Ingalls office / store in De Smet

NW and SE corners of Calumet and Second.

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railroad cut / fill

How you level a railroad grade.

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whalebone

Baleen used in corsets.

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windrow

Line of hay raked together.

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K

Kansas – knothole

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the children’s blizzard

January 12, 1888, blizzard.

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“Jerusalem the Golden”

Hymn from Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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tattoo

Sounds like beating drums!

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“Here’s to the Maiden”

1780 R.B. Sheridan drinking song.

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Reverend Edward Brown

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

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V

vain – vote

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