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windrow

Line of hay raked together.

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Charles Philip Ingalls

Father of Laura Ingalls. He lived 1836-1902.

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chestnut / horse chestnut

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

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“The Big Sunflower”

Pa’s trouble song.

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Godey’s Lady’s Book

Women’s magazine, 1830-1898.

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basque

Jacket-like part of a lady’s dress.

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Mr. Edwards / Edmund Mason

Was he Edmund Mason?

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ground-cherry

Variety of husk tomato.

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fever ‘n’ ague / malaria

malaria

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custard / ice-cream

Sweetened milk and eggs, cooked.

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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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fanning-mill

Machine for winnowing.

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“The Star of Bethlehem”

When Marshalled on the Nightly Plane

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De Smet bird’s-eye view

1883 Henry Wellge drawing of De Smet

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primer

Used to teach someone to read.

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water alcove

Railroad car water for drinking.

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Laura, the Prairie Girl

1975-76 animated series.

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“Nobody Ask’d You”

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

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locust

Buy this book.

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ostrich tips / feathers

Short bobbing feather used for hat decoration.

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breast-pin / brooch

Ornament worn on clothing.

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Turkey red

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

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jumping jack / jumping-jack

Jointed acrobat toy.

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“Pull for the Shore”

Sunshine for Sunday Schools hymn.

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Commentators on the Ac’s

Pa’s charade pun.

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surveyor

One who measures land and delineates the same on paper.

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Perry School

April 28 – June 27, 1884

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“It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary”

1912 Judge & Williams song.

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clinched nail

Bent at a right angle.

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watermelon-rind preserves

sugary jelly

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cant-hook / cant-pole

Instrument used by lumbermen to move logs.

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Fred Fields / Big Jerry

Railroad boss and his brother-in-law.

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wild prairie rose

RWL was their namesake, my dear.

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mosquito bar / netting

Woven cloth bug barrier.

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surveyors’ house

railroad section house occupied by the Ingallses in 1879-1880

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“What Shall the Harvest Be?”

1850 Emily Oakley poem.

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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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“Bonny Doon”

1792 Robert Burns song.

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bandana

Large handkerchief with white pattern on red or blue background.

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“Paddle Your Own Canoe”

1850s Harry Clifton song.

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James Glover family

Students in the Wilkin School.

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spring tonic

Bitter purifying medicine.

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“The Star-Spangled Banner”

Our National Anthem; words by Francis Scott Key.

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“Gentle Words and Loving Smiles”

Hymn 139 in Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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Old English letters

Variety of printing type.

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Jesse French

Butchered oxen during the Hard Winter.

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button

who’s got one?

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John D. Peirson

Early De Smet liveryman.

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snowplow

Clears the tracks.

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hogshead

100-140 gallon cask.

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The Long Winter – historical perspective

The Hard Winter of 1880-1881.

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“The New Year’s Come”

1842 “Why chime the bells so merrily?”

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mowing machine

Farm implement for cutting hay or grain.

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gable

Triangular end of a building under the roof.

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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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Amos Whiting family

Superintendent of Schools, De Smet.

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Maude Blair

Walnut Grove friend of Laura’s

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Alfred Ely

One of the younger boys in school.

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ash withe / ash-withe

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

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quarter section / quarter-section

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

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“The Lotos Eaters”

Tennyson poem.

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tomahawk

War hatchet used by American Indians.

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“Captain Jinks”

1868 comedic opera song.

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Margaret Garland family / Cap Garland

Family living behind the Ingallses in De Smet.

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“When I Can Read My Title Clear”

1700s Isaac Watts hymn.

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Reverend Stewart Sheldon

American Home Missionary Society Superintendent 1874-1886.

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hair receiver / hair-receiver

Container to save strands of hair in.

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writ of attachment

Legal document requiring action.

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“Ta-ra-ra-Boom-de-Ay”

1891 Henry J. Sayers song.

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gaiters

Cloth ankle covering.

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“Marching Through Georgia”

Union song from American Civil War.

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dipper / ladle / skimmer

Used to remove foam when boiling maple sap.

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Mr. Clancy / Chauncey Clayson

Drygoods store owner, Chauncey Clayson

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shoe pegs

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

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Will Knight

Walnut Grove revival singer.

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Missouri Pool

Smoked a pipe & grew pretty flowers.

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needle grass

Ouch! Something bit me!

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beet

Succulent root vegetable.

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Charles Barker

Early De Smet grocer.

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“Tubal Cain”

Charles McKay poem.

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Laura’s Sorosis Club speech

“My Work”

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“Oft in the Stilly Night”

Song from Lalla Rookh.

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Congress

Legislative body of a country.

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birds in their little nests agree

Miss Wilder knew nothing about birds.

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china shepherdess / little china woman

Ingalls precious family figurine.

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Pa’s red & white checked mittens

Fair Isle pattern.

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“There is a Happy Land”

Whoop! How those eggs do smell!

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“Little Annie Rooney”

1889 song by Michael Nolan.

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census taker

Statistical registration of members of a country.

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cornice

Roof overhang.

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“The Gypsy King”

Young Laura and Mary’s favorite song!

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Henry Burvee

One of the first settlers in Kingsbury Co.

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“Oh Boys, Carry Me Along”

Stephen Foster song.

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rags for paper

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

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Indian camps

Look! Beads!

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ante-over / anti-over / anteover

Game in which a ball is thrown over a structure.

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Western Reserve

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

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claim jumper / Mr. Hunter / Jack Hunt

One who ousts another from their land.

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Bloody Benders

Serial killers in 1870s Kansas.

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Frank Schaub

Early harness maker in De Smet.

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twisting hay

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

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pumpkin

The plant and fruit of Curcubita pepo

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hulled corn

Hominy.

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killdeer

Small aquatic bird.

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Will Bennett

One of the younger De Smet schoolboys.

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Alice & Arthur Whiting

Cousin Alice Ingalls Whiting’s family.

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mercury / thermometer

Used to measure air temperature.

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swan

Cygnus Americanus

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“Mary of the Wild Moor”

1845 song by Joseph W. Turner.

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“The Whip-Poor-Will’s Song”

1865 Harrison Millard song.

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claim

The land to which one has a right.

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xanthophyll

I bet you can spell this word.

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The New York Ledger

Weekly story paper, published 1855-1898.

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poor man’s fertilizer

Snow plowed into a field.

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“yell like a Comanche”

Imitated Indian battle cry.

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Daniel Loftus

Early drygoods store owner in De Smet.

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Grace Pearl Ingalls

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

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Burr Oak today

Only Ingalls home in original location.

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Belgian horse

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

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Jim River / James River

A tributary of the Missouri River.

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Wilder feed store

Shhh. There’s wheat in the wall!

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“Merry, Merry Christmas”

Hymn Number 150 in Pure Gold for Sunday Schools.

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George Wilmarth family

Owner of early grocery store in De Smet.

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last

Mold of a foot, used in making shoes.

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“A Motto for Every Man”

1868 Harry Clifton song.

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John James Ingalls

Senator from Kansas.

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New England Supper

Fund-raising communal pot-luck meal.

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slate

Stone used as tablet for writing upon.

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pasteboard / lambrequin

Paperboard used as base for decorative edging.

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honey

Bee-made sweetness.

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Silas Rood

Rude by name & nature?

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Eliza Jane Wilder

Almanzo’s sister.

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Little House on the Prairie – historical perspective

      The Ingalls and Quiner families...

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Osage Indian Treaty

Legal agreement between nations or sovereigns.

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“The Floating Scow of Old Virginia”

1847 Charles White song.

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“Nellie was a Lady”

Pa would play some of the old songs, ‘to go to sleep...

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Robbins children

“froze stark stiff”

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garnet

Deep orange-red gemstone.

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missionary barrel

Collection of items distributed to the needy.

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anvil

Iron block to hammer upon.

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Charles Lamson

Almanzo’s cousin.

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powder horn / powder-horn

Animal horn in which gunpowder is carried.

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America / American

Pertaining to the United States of America.

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“Arkansas Traveler”

Traditional American folk song.

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“Rock Me to Sleep”

Elizabeth Allen poem.

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Farmer Boy – the fictional story

Almanzo Wilder’s childhood in Burke NY.

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worm / angleworm

common soil worm

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auger

A carpenter’s instrument for boring holes, chiefly in...

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Horace Woodworth family

Family of first depot agent in De Smet.

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“A Shelter in the Time of Storm”

Ira Sankey hymn.

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John H. Carroll

Early De Smet banker.

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The Floweret

1842 book of verse by Anna Maria Wells.

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what-not / whatnot

An étagère for books & ornaments.

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huckleberry

Let’s have some pie!

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chapel

Place of worship.

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“Elizabeth, Elspeth, Betsy, and Bess”

Nursery rhyme wordplay on the name Elizabeth.

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“Sweet By and By”

Pa’s favorite hymn.

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blacking / stove-blacking / boot blacking

Preparation used to make things black.

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Hide the Thimble

You’re getting warmer…

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New Ulm, Minnesota

Town in Brown Co., MN.

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dumpling

Dough cooked in liquid.

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depot / station

Railway station.

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Noah’s ark toy

Willie’s toy boat with animals.

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“The Polish Boy”

Poem by Ann S. Stephens

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The Athenians

Hartville, Mo. study club.

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“Rock of Ages”

1760s Augustus Toplady hymn.

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“Come In and Shut the Door”

Circa 1862 song by J.P.H.

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ambition

Act of obtaining an object of desire.

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“Bean Porridge Hot”

Bean porridge cold…

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Little House in the Big Woods – historical perspective

Pepin Twp., Pepin Co. Wisconsin

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kerosene / kerosine

Oil used for lighting.

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parsnip

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

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handcar

Don’t be left behind!

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Dolly Varden

NIckname of Edith Ingalls, Laura’s cousin.

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“Wait for the Wagon”

Buckley and Knauff song.

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cat hole / cat-hole

Jack will keep other animals from using it.

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elephant

A very large quadruped.

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buck / buckskin

Male of the fallow deer, and leather made from its skin.

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axle grease

Lubricant for wagon wheels and other machinery.

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Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography

Laura’s handwritten manuscript.

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The Story of Art Smith

1915 Rose Wilder Lane serial about an aviator.

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mummy

Put. that. back.

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Alfred Thomas

He was MARRIED, people!!

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winnow

Drive off chaff by wind.

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Henry Hinz

Owner of first saloon in De Smet and boarder at the Ingallses’.

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building paper / tar paper

Crude building paper used for covering.

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“My Sabbath Home”

Hymn #7, Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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claim shanty

Temporary dwelling.

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Marvin Hughitt

Officer and President of the Chicago & NorthWestern Railway Company.

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tableland

Elevated flat land; a plateau.

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Dr. Robert Hoyt

Husband of Mattie Masters.

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“Money Musk”

Traditional American dance tune.

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“Sing a Song of Sixpence”

Mother Goose rhyme.

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“The Ninety and Nine”

Elizabeth Clephane poem.

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Mary & Samuel Ray / Ellen & Amos Leonard

Sisters feuding over a lovely homeplace…and a man.

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“Home of the Soul”

1865 E.M.H. Gates hymn.

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bacon

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

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railroad cut / fill

How you level a railroad grade.

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“America”

1832 Reverend Samuel F. Smith song.

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osage orange

no good to eat or for anything else

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