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copyright / permissions

Please do not plagiarize.

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Bibliography

LIW / RWL books & articles

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New England States

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

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copper

Cu

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Charlotte Holbrook

Laura’s “Aunt Lotty”

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William H. Reed

Teacher in Burr Oak school, 1876-1877.

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writ of attachment

Legal document requiring action.

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hulled corn

Hominy.

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oyster

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

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ice-house

Stores ice blocks in warm weather.

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Charles H. Tinkham

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

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awl

pokes holes

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whiskey

Spirits distilled from grain.

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“Jesus Holds My Hand”

Hymn #85, Pure Gold for the Sunday Schools

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fanning-mill

Machine for winnowing.

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Charles Barker

Early De Smet grocer.

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“I Wish I Was in Dixie’s Land”

1860 Daniel Decatur Emmett song.

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“Rock Me to Sleep”

Elizabeth Allen poem.

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The Long Winter – historical perspective

The Hard Winter of 1880-1881.

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Thomas C. Wilkin family

Florence Wilkin’s father.

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clear, pure green sky

Sunlight separated into colored bands at sunset.

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Mansfield history

Town in Wright County, Missouri.

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Jack Frost

A popular personification of frost.

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last

Mold of a foot, used in making shoes.

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“Tubal Cain”

Charles McKay poem.

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Yankton, Dakota Territory

1879 land office town.

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Will Barnes

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

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“The Girl I Left Behind Me”

17th century Irish tune.

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“Uncle Ned”

One of the earliest Stephen Foster songs.

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P A T

one seven seven ought

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ground-cherry

Variety of husk tomato.

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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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yeast / yeast cakes

Bread-leavening organism.

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quarter section / quarter-section

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

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prairie danglers

seventhwinter whimsey’s glass slide pendants!

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Little House on the Prairie – the fictional story

The Ingallses in Indian Territory.

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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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“Merry, Merry Christmas”

Hymn Number 150 in Pure Gold for Sunday Schools.

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Caroline Ingalls

Mother of Laura Ingalls. She lived 1839-1924.

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saleratus / soda

Leavening agents used in baking.

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By the Shores of Silver Lake – the fictional story

The railroad comes to Dakota.

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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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pumpkin

The plant and fruit of Curcubita pepo

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“The Battle-Cry of Freedom”

We’ll Rally Round the Flag, Boys!

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tableland

Elevated flat land; a plateau.

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certificate

Written testimony of fact.

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chapel

Place of worship.

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“Uncle John”

Play song to the tune of Yankee Doodle.

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A Tribute to the Early Day Teachers

Neva Whaley Harding tribute.

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The New York Ledger

Weekly story paper, published 1855-1898.

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sulky / sulky plow

One-seated conveyance.

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Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography

Laura’s handwritten manuscript.

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whalebone

Baleen used in corsets.

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Orion E. Stearns

Caught by blizzard of ’88.

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Laura Remington

Mrs. Phillip Aubrey Lawrence

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swimming hole

Watch out for ankle grabbers!

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Santa Claus / Santa Clause

Ho. Ho. Ho.

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starry papers

Hand-made shelf edging.

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Come Into the Garden, Maud

1855 poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

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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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Silver Lake

Kingsbury County prairie pothole lake.

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Laura Speaks

Al-MAN-zo, Al-MAN-zo, Al-MAN-zo

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squirrel

Rodent mammal of the genus Sciurus.

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De Smet bird’s-eye view

1883 Henry Wellge drawing of De Smet

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St. Lawrence River

A streak of silver on the horizon.

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“yell like a Comanche”

Imitated Indian battle cry.

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gable

Triangular end of a building under the roof.

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Declaration of Independence

Document renouncing U.S. subjection to Great Britain.

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hogshead

100-140 gallon cask.

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Edward H. Couse

Early hardware store owner in De Smet.

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candy hearts

Mary’s had a candy poem on it!

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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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ice cream social

Laura and Almanzo didn’t enjoy it.

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Missouri Pool

Smoked a pipe & grew pretty flowers.

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picket rope / pin / line

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

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breast-pin / brooch

Ornament worn on clothing.

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door knob

Grab to open a door.

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apple pie / dried apple pie

Just like Ma used to make.

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grippe

influenza

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Pioneer Girl

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s memoir.

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Supposed Speech of Regulus

From Independent Fifth Reader.

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bushel / peck

Dry quart measurements.

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Margaret Garland family / Cap Garland

Family living behind the Ingallses in De Smet.

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mother-of-pearl

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

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patent / title

official property ownership document

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isinglass

mica for stove windows

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“It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary”

1912 Judge & Williams song.

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Mr. Edwards / Edmund Mason

Was he Edmund Mason?

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basket

Woven container.

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poll

No horns.

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“nervous as a witch”

restless

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“Nobody Ask’d You”

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

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Quiner graves

Abandoned cemetery off Playhouse Road.

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acre

4840 square yards of land.

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black-berry / blackberry

The berry of the bramble, Rubus fruticosous.

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needle grass

Ouch! Something bit me!

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quinine

Medicine used to treat malaria, made from cinchona bark.

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“A Life on the Ocean Wave”

1847 Epes Sargent poem put to music.

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mercury / thermometer

Used to measure air temperature.

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mosquito bar / netting

Woven cloth bug barrier.

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huckleberry

Let’s have some pie!

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“Great is the Lord”

Singing school song from The Conqueror.

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clove apple / clove-apple

Spice-preserved fruit decoration.

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Jacob Hopp

Printer and De Smet newspaper owner.

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Silas Rood

Rude by name & nature?

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vanity cakes

Egg and flour batter fried in oil into golden brown puffs.

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Hill-Billy

1926 Rose Wilder Lane book.

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Turkey red

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

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powder horn / powder-horn

Animal horn in which gunpowder is carried.

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Charles Mead

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

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“Wait for the Wagon”

Buckley and Knauff song.

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butter

Edible fatty substance made by churning cream.

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Dr. Alfred Starr

His wife wanted Laura.

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thunder-pumps

American bittern, a member of the heron family.

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Noah’s ark toy

Willie’s toy boat with animals.

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Thomas H. Ruth

President of Kingsbury County Bank in De Smet.

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scones

“Mamabess is growing fat.”

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tiger

Noah’s ark toy piece.

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Maude Blair

Walnut Grove friend of Laura’s

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“Oft in the Stilly Night”

Song from Lalla Rookh.

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cupola

Dome-like vault on a public building.

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Old Military Tract

Franklin Co. NY map reference

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starch

cloth stiffener

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“Love’s Old Sweet Song”

1884 song by Bingham & Malloy.

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Roman candle

Flaming stars and balls firework.

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pen / pen-wiper

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

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De Smet Cemetery

Ma & Pa’s final resting place.

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“Beware!”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem.

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“Buffalo Gals”

1844 Virginia Minstrels song.

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Little House on the Prairie – historical perspective

      The Ingalls and Quiner families...

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Brownsville, Texas 1906

Did Eliza Jane sell fruit to these soldiers?

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carved wooden bracket

Place for a china shepherdess.

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black bird / blackbird

Name given to various American birds.

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“Mary of the Wild Moor”

1845 song by Joseph W. Turner.

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clinched nail

Bent at a right angle.

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alley / alleyway

Narrow passageway, distinct from public street.

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Docia Ingalls / Hiram Forbes

Sister of Charles Ingalls married to railroad contractor.

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oranges

Citrus fruit.

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orthography

The art of spelling words correctly.

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“Pull for the Shore”

Sunshine for Sunday Schools hymn.

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dovekie

Arctic aquatic bird, Alle alle.

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blizzard

In 1880-1881, a long, severe, blinding, and bitterly cold snowstorm.

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twisting hay

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

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Visscher Barnes

Probate Judge, VP of Temperance Society, and first director of De Smet school board.

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cant-hook / cant-pole

Instrument used by lumbermen to move logs.

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Timber Culture Act / tree claim

Passed by Congress, March 3, 1873.

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dove-in-the-window / bear’s tracks

Patchwork pattern variations.

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roller skates / rink

Wheeled frame for the shoe.

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“Nellie was a Lady”

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

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Thomas Power family

De Smet tailor.

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Dolly Varden

NIckname of Edith Ingalls, Laura’s cousin.

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Tennyson’s Poems

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

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“Marching Through Georgia”

Union song from American Civil War.

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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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“The Star of Bethlehem”

When Marshalled on the Nightly Plane

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axle grease

Lubricant for wagon wheels and other machinery.

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Henry O. Quiner family

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

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“The Campbells are Coming”

Traditional Scottish jig.

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Hotel keeper’s family struck by lightning

E.P. LeSuer of Canby, Minnesota.

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“Sing a Song of Sixpence”

Mother Goose rhyme.

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depot / station

Railway station.

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Horace / Homer Heath

Railroad-working brothers.

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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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“My Old Kentucky Home”

1853 Stephen Foster song.

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Freddy Ingalls

Laura’s brother (1875-1876)

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velvet

Silk or blend fabric with short shag surface.

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Albert Quiner

Laura’s cousin.

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galluses / suspenders

Straps worn for holding up pants.

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claim shanty

Temporary dwelling.

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“Home of the Soul”

1865 E.M.H. Gates hymn.

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“When I Can Read My Title Clear”

1700s Isaac Watts hymn.

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nine-patch / Laura’s double nine-patch Irish chain quilt

Quilt block pattern.

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“The Heavens Declare the Glory”

From The Conqueror, page 144.

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The Floweret

1842 book of verse by Anna Maria Wells.

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“The Big Sunflower”

Pa’s trouble song.

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Burr Oak during the Little House years

Town in Winneshiek County, Iowa.

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President George Washington

First President of the U.S.A.

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crocheted rag rug

Crocheted floor covering made of strips of cloth.

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bacon

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

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poke bonnet / poke-bonnet

the lining matched Laura’s eyes

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winnow

Drive off chaff by wind.

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Doxology

Old Hundred.

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“For the Sake o’ Somebody”

1794 Robert Burns poem.

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nubia

A light scarf worn about the head and neck.

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“Elizabeth, Elspeth, Betsy, and Bess”

Nursery rhyme wordplay on the name Elizabeth.

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“Bonny Doon”

1792 Robert Burns song.

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Becky Newhall / Rebecca Stewart

Classmate of Laura Ingalls in De Smet.

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Jerome Bisby

Resident of Burr Oak, Iowa, during the Ingallses’ stay...

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cottonwood tree

Wetland plains tree, Populus fremontii.

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Peter Riley Ingalls family

Uncle Peter & Aunt Eliza.

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“The Evergreen Shore”

1861 William Hunter song.

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President James Madison

4th President of the U.S.

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“Highland Mary”

1799 Robert Burns songs, favorite of Mary Ingalls.

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James Glover family

Students in the Wilkin School.

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“What Shall the Harvest Be?”

1850 Emily Oakley poem.

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legal cap

legal document paper

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shoe pegs

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

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what-not / whatnot

An étagère for books & ornaments.

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cream of tartar / baking powder

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

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“The Pied Piper”

Robert Browning poem.

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