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blueing bag

Whiter whites.

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herd

A number of large beasts assembled together.

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powder horn / powder-horn

Animal horn in which gunpowder is carried.

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Noah’s ark toy

Willie’s toy boat with animals.

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Mother Goose

Fictionalized compiler of ancient nursery rhymes.

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flag, the flower

An aquatic flower, Iris versicolor.

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braid / plait

Entwined strands.

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Will Barnes

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

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Samuel O. Masters / William J. Masters families

Walnut Grove, Burr Oak, and De Smet family known by the Ingallses.

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poke bonnet / poke-bonnet

the lining matched Laura’s eyes

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handcar

Don’t be left behind!

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“The Battle-Cry of Freedom”

We’ll Rally Round the Flag, Boys!

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garnet

Deep orange-red gemstone.

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Edward H. Couse

Early hardware store owner in De Smet.

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Orion E. Stearns

Caught by blizzard of ’88.

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“The Mulligan Guard” / “The Skidmore Guard”

Harrigan & Hart minstrel show.

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President James Madison

4th President of the U.S.

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perforated paper embroidery

Stitched designs.

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Sale of School Lands on the Osage Diminished Reserve

LHOP cabin was on Section 36

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“The May Queen”

Poem in three parts by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

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Reverend Edward Brown

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

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orthography

The art of spelling words correctly.

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cradle scythe

Blade and handle used to cut oats.

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Dolly Varden

NIckname of Edith Ingalls, Laura’s cousin.

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“Pull for the Shore”

Sunshine for Sunday Schools hymn.

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Oscar Rhuel / Röhl

A romantic figure…

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Eskimo / igloo

Tribes of arctic America and Greenland. / Snow hut.

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dovekie

Arctic aquatic bird, Alle alle.

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ground-cherry

Variety of husk tomato.

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“Gentle Words and Loving Smiles”

Hymn 139 in Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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galumphing

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

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St. Lawrence River

A streak of silver on the horizon.

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swimming hole

Watch out for ankle grabbers!

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slate

Stone used as tablet for writing upon.

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Almanzo Wilder

The Man of the Place

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bastion

A part of a main enclosure which projects toward the exterior.

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“In the Starlight”

1878 Glover & Carpenter song.

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silver castor

Rotating condiment set.

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parsnip

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

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ambition

Act of obtaining an object of desire.

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muskrat

Their houses predict winter weather.

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elephant

A very large quadruped.

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John D. Peirson

Early De Smet liveryman.

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Joseph Bouchie family

Fictional Brewster family in THGY.

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buffalo beans

Prairie ground plum.

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“Ta-ra-ra-Boom-de-Ay”

1891 Henry J. Sayers song.

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churn

Cream agitator.

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Lost, between sunrise and sunset…

Horace Mann quotation from his Writings, published in 1872.

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nubia

A light scarf worn about the head and neck.

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dove-in-the-window / bear’s tracks

Patchwork pattern variations.

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“Rock Me to Sleep”

Elizabeth Allen poem.

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Braille / New York Point

Used by Mary Ingalls.

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Ernest & Minnie Green

This is not Mary & Edwin Sanford!

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popcorn

Heat makes it burst & it’s tasty.

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lime / whitewash

Oxide of calcium mixed with water and used for whitening.

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scour / scouring brick

To rub hard for the purpose of cleaning.

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fichu

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

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turnip

Cruciferous plant grown for root and greens.

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“The Pied Piper”

Robert Browning poem.

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Little House in the Big Woods – historical perspective

Pepin Twp., Pepin Co. Wisconsin

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mummy

Put. that. back.

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Burr Oak today

Only Ingalls home in original location.

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“Am I a Soldier of the Cross”

Isaac Watts hymn.

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buckwheat pancakes

Seeds of the flowering plant Eriogonum used as a grain.

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pork-pickle

Salt and sugar pork brine.

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Freddy Ingalls

Laura’s brother (1875-1876)

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“Nobody Ask’d You”

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

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William H. Reed

Teacher in Burr Oak school, 1876-1877.

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links

Helps you find what you’re looking for.

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Quaker meeting

Parlor game in which players try to remain silent.

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The New York Ledger

Weekly story paper, published 1855-1898.

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literature

Knowledge and fancy preserved in writing.

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Charleton Fuller / Gerald Fuller

Hardware store owner, partnered with his brother Gerald.

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“nervous as a witch”

restless

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Laura’s Sorosis Club speech

“My Work”

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door knob

Grab to open a door.

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pen / pen-wiper

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

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Frank M. Cooley family

On the Way home travelers.

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acre

4840 square yards of land.

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Horace Woodworth family

Family of first depot agent in De Smet.

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lantern

A light meant to be carried.

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Mansfield history

Town in Wright County, Missouri.

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Charles Barker

Early De Smet grocer.

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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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quinine

Medicine used to treat malaria, made from cinchona bark.

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“The Polish Boy”

Poem by Ann S. Stephens

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osage orange

no good to eat or for anything else

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Robbins children

“froze stark stiff”

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cupola

Dome-like vault on a public building.

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Old Settler’s Day

De Smet annual reunion.

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Governor of Orleans / The American Remount Association

Registered stallion leased to Almanzo Wilder 1923-1925.

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grippe

influenza

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hair receiver / hair-receiver

Container to save strands of hair in.

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Adam / adam’s apple

The first man, the progenitor of the human race.

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picket rope / pin / line

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

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“Bonny Doon”

1792 Robert Burns song.

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storm apron

Rain protection for buggy.

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morning-glory

Climbing plant of the genus Ipomœa.

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clear, pure green sky

Sunlight separated into colored bands at sunset.

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“The Rock of Ages”

Painting at Rev. Brown’s.

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ice cream / ice-cream

Sweetened cream, congealed by freezing.

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birds in their little nests agree

Miss Wilder knew nothing about birds.

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Little Georgie Dwight

He could not learn his letters!

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chestnut / horse chestnut

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

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coal / coal hod

Carbonized plant matter mined and used as fuel.

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china shepherdess / little china woman

Ingalls precious family figurine.

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spinning wheel / spinning-wheel

Turns wool into yarn.

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blizzard

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

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“There is a Happy Land”

Whoop! How those eggs do smell!

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“The Tides” / The moon is at its full

1860 William Cullen Bryant poem.

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“The Silver Moon”

Sail on, silver moon…

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crocheted rag rug

Crocheted floor covering made of strips of cloth.

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Silver Lake

Kingsbury County prairie pothole lake.

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Hill-Billy

1926 Rose Wilder Lane book.

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George Wilmarth family

Owner of early grocery store in De Smet.

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lief

Gladly; willingly; freely.

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apple pie / dried apple pie

Just like Ma used to make.

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rags for paper

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

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“Old Grimes”

1822 Albert Gorton Greene poem.

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emigrant car

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

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“Polly Wolly Doodle”

Daniel Decatur Emmett song.

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yoke

Frame worn on the neck for lifting or drawing.

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hardtack

Unleavened hard bread made from flour and water.

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Wilkin School

April 20 – July 10, 1885.

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batten / lath

Thin, narrow board for fastening or joining.

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cornice

Roof overhang.

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Arthur Sherwood

Brother of Carter Sherwood.

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Charlotte Holbrook

Laura’s “Aunt Lotty”

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Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography

Laura’s handwritten manuscript.

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“Camptown Races”

1850 Stephen Foster song.

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“all’s well that ends well”

A proverb.

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“I Wish I Was Single Again”

1871 J.C. Beckel song.

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dug out / dugout

Dwelling built into the earth.

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“My Jenny Jerusha Jane”

1868 A.G. Chase song.

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sundogs

Bright spots on either side of the sun.

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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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brakeman

Person who stops the train.

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Henry Burvee

One of the first settlers in Kingsbury Co.

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Bloody Benders

Serial killers in 1870s Kansas.

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cat hole / cat-hole

Jack will keep other animals from using it.

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Carrie Ingalls, Homesteader

W-NW & W-SW 9-4N-20E of Black Hills Meridian

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Docia Ingalls / Hiram Forbes

Sister of Charles Ingalls married to railroad contractor.

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Hide the Thimble

You’re getting warmer…

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“Buffalo Gals”

1844 Virginia Minstrels song.

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“The Whip-Poor-Will’s Song”

1865 Harrison Millard song.

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bale

Specific bundle of goods packaged for transport.

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twisting hay

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

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“The Lotos Eaters”

Tennyson poem.

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Alfred N. Waters

Attorney and land agent in De Smet.

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photographs

There’s a little birdie in the camera, Rose.

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Reverend Edwin H. Alden

Walnut Grove Congregational minister and missionary in Dakota.

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cabin / log house

A small cottage; a hut or small house.

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“Song of the Grass”

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

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“Love’s Old Sweet Song”

1884 song by Bingham & Malloy.

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cameo

Aunt Docia’s pretty collar pin.

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“Elizabeth, Elspeth, Betsy, and Bess”

Nursery rhyme wordplay on the name Elizabeth.

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mother-of-pearl

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

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Have you seen the comet?

Tebbutt’s Great Comet of 1881.

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“Mountain of the Lord”

Hymn #52, Pure Gold for the Sunday School

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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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twilight

Light when the sun is 0-18 degrees below the horizon.

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The Athenians

Hartville, Mo. study club.

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black bird / blackbird

Name given to various American birds.

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“On Jordan’s Stormy Banks”

Long Winter song

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scones

“Mamabess is growing fat.”

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De Smet today

Where I would like to be right now.

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Doxology

Old Hundred.

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“What Shall the Harvest Be?”

1850 Emily Oakley poem.

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Indian camps

Look! Beads!

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equinoctial storm

Severe wind and heavy rain that occurs at or near the time of an equinox.

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Charles H. Tinkham

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

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mosquito bar / netting

Woven cloth bug barrier.

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Tennyson’s Poems

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

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quarter section / quarter-section

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

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building paper / tar paper

Crude building paper used for covering.

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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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Hotel keeper’s family struck by lightning

E.P. LeSuer of Canby, Minnesota.

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“Ben Bolt”

1842 Thomas Dunn English song.

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wall-paper

Wall covering.

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The Long Winter – historical perspective

The Hard Winter of 1880-1881.

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velocipede

Carriage propelled by pedals or feet.

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whiskey

Spirits distilled from 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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Come Into the Garden, Maud

1855 poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

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Carrie Ingalls

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

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consumption

A wasting disease, pulmonary tuberculosis.

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“Here’s to the Maiden”

1780 R.B. Sheridan drinking song.

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Jerome Bisby

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

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harvest moon

Full moon nearest autumnal equinox

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“Come In and Shut the Door”

Circa 1862 song by J.P.H.

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Johnny Johnson

“Wake up and watch the cattle!”

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“Keep the Horse Shoe Over the Door”

1880 Joseph Skelley song.

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Henry O. Quiner family

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

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gingerbread

Chocolate frosting adds to the goodness!

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depot / station

Railway station.

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milk pan / milk-pan / milkpan

Where cream rises.

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sulky / sulky plow

One-seated conveyance.

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“Haste to the Wedding”

Traditional Irish fiddle tune.

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barrel

Round vessel or cask made of wooden staves.

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“Jesus Holds My Hand”

Hymn #85, Pure Gold for the Sunday Schools

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