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“My Old Kentucky Home”

1853 Stephen Foster song.

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De Smet today

Where I would like to be right now.

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“Auld Lang Syne”

Now is now. It can never be a long time ago.

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“Oh! Susanna”

Stephen Foster song.

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anvil

Iron block to hammer upon.

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depot / station

Railway station.

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Bloody Benders

Serial killers in 1870s Kansas.

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buckwheat pancakes

Seeds of the flowering plant Eriogonum used as a grain.

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“The Mulligan Guard” / “The Skidmore Guard”

Harrigan & Hart minstrel show.

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Have you seen the comet?

Tebbutt’s Great Comet of 1881.

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silver castor

Rotating condiment set.

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pork-pickle

Salt and sugar pork brine.

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Timothy Johnson family

De Smet Wagon Shop.

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“Lilly Dale” / “Lily Dale”

1852 song by H.S. Thomson.

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Lansford James Ingalls family

Pa’s brother and Laura’s uncle.

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tax

A certainty, as is death.

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“Kitty Wells”

1858 Sloan & Atherton song.

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New England States

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

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Will Barnes

Walnut Grove laborer

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prairie danglers

seventhwinter whimsey’s glass slide pendants!

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Laura’s Sorosis Club speech

“My Work”

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“Yankee Doodle”

Early song brought to America from Britain.

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South Troy / Zumbro Falls today

Little town along the Zumbro River.

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“Jerusalem the Golden”

Hymn from Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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Dr. Alfred Starr

His wife wanted Laura.

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tiger lily

Native spotted flower of tallgrass prairie.

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shoe pegs

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

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buck / buckskin

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

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galluses / suspenders

Straps worn for holding up pants.

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Charleton Fuller / Gerald Fuller

Hardware store owner, partnered with his brother Gerald.

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candle / tallow

Used to furnish light.

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Burr Oak today

Only Ingalls home in original location.

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spring tonic

Bitter purifying medicine.

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fichu

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

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twine

A strong twisted thread.

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“Home of the Soul”

1865 E.M.H. Gates hymn.

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Z

zebra – Zion City

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“all’s well that ends well”

A proverb.

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Old Settler’s Day

De Smet annual reunion.

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nutmeg

Myristica moschata, used as a spice.

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starch

cloth stiffener

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Caroline Ingalls

Mother of Laura Ingalls. She lived 1839-1924.

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winnow

Drive off chaff by wind.

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Baby Boy Wilder

Son of Laura and Almanzo Wilder

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claim jumper / Mr. Hunter / Jack Hunt

One who ousts another from their land.

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Lizzie

the child bride

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Hiram Ingalls

Pa’s brother.

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“yell like a Comanche”

Imitated Indian battle cry.

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

1793 Robert Burns poem.

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William O’Connell

Fictional Bill O’Dowd.

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basket

Woven container.

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Frogs at School

“Twenty froggies went to school…”

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On the Banks of Plum Creek – the fictional story

Farming struggles in Minnesota.

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I

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

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Thomas Quiner

Ma’s brother and Laura’s uncle

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geranium

Winter windowsill flowers.

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Roman candle

Flaming stars and balls firework.

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checkers

Game played on a board of 64 squares.

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“The Swan’s Nest”

Elizabeth Barrett Browning poem.

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axle grease

Lubricant for wagon wheels and other machinery.

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O

oak – oyster

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album

Blank booklet for collecting autographs or photos.

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peddler’s cart / wagon

A little store on wheels.

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gopher

Four don’t go fur…

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stone fences

Rock wall enclosure.

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ticket

All aboard!

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John D. Peirson

Early De Smet liveryman.

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R

rabbit – rye

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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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zebra

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

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stanchion

Support frame.

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bacon

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

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ambition

Act of obtaining an object of desire.

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Robbins children

“froze stark stiff”

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Charles Ingalls: The Civil War Years

Charles Ingalls: the Civil War Years

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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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handkerchief

Face and hand wiping cloth.

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Mr. Edwards / Edmund Mason

Was he Edmund Mason?

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harvest moon

Full moon nearest autumnal equinox

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nickel

The metal. Or five-cent piece.

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Yankton, Dakota Territory

1879 land office town.

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whip

A lash tied to a handle.

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badger

Don’t poke it with a stick!

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“The Old Time”

Mr. Boast’s favorite song.

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nubia

A light scarf worn about the head and neck.

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“The New Year’s Come”

1842 “Why chime the bells so merrily?”

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cant-hook / cant-pole

Instrument used by lumbermen to move logs.

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“The Girl I Left Behind Me”

17th century Irish tune.

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stockade

Enclosure of posts or sticks.

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mummy

Put. that. back.

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Good Templars Lodge

International temperance fraternal organization.

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On the Banks of Plum Creek – historical perspective

Walnut Grove in the 1870s.

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basque

Jacket-like part of a lady’s dress.

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“The Gypsy King”

Young Laura and Mary’s favorite song!

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chilblain

Cold sores on hands and feet.

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“My Sabbath Home”

Hymn #7, Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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Dr. Robert Hoyt

Husband of Mattie Masters.

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“Three Blind Mice”

Popular nursery song, sung in rounds.

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birds in their little nests agree

Miss Wilder knew nothing about birds.

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Orion E. Stearns

Caught by blizzard of ’88.

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“Buffalo Gals”

1844 Virginia Minstrels song.

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gingerbread

Chocolate frosting adds to the goodness!

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writ of attachment

Legal document requiring action.

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yeast / yeast cakes

Bread-leavening organism.

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“Merry, Merry Christmas”

Hymn Number 150 in Pure Gold for Sunday Schools.

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“Bo-peep has lost her sheep”

Game of hiding and surprise to amuse a small child.

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organ

musical instrument

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“Billy Boy”

English folk song.

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David Thorp

Walnut Grove teacher 1877-78.

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cornice

Molded roof or window projection.

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water alcove

Railroad car water for drinking.

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Jerome Bisby

Burr Oak singing teacher

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New Ulm, Minnesota

Town in Brown Co., MN.

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reindeer

Why didn’t they fly over the creek?

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needle grass

Ouch! Something bit me!

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Charles Ely

Early lumber man in De Smet.

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buffalo / bison

bison

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Silliman Gilbert family

Kingsbury County farmer.

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The Floweret

1842 book of verse by Anna Maria Wells.

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Chariton County, Missouri

Location of land purchased in 1868 by Charles Ingalls, Henry Quiner, and Tom Quiner.

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“The May Queen”

Poem in three parts by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

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X

xanthophyll

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icicle

Conical mass of ice, formed by water freezing as it flows downward.

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Thomas H. Ruth

President of Kingsbury County Bank in De Smet.

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Silver Lake

Kingsbury County prairie pothole lake.

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Amos Whiting family

Superintendent of Schools, De Smet.

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handcar

Don’t be left behind!

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“Pop! Goes the Weasel”

Traditional American song.

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President James Madison

4th President of the U.S.

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wigwam

What Almanzo’s shocked oats looked like.

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“Mountain of the Lord”

Hymn #52, Pure Gold for the Sunday School

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justice / Justice of the Peace

Limited jurisdiction magistrate.

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Becky Newhall / Rebecca Stewart

Classmate of Laura Ingalls in De Smet.

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gable

Triangular end of a building under the roof.

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tattoo

Sounds like beating drums!

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mustache

Hair above the lip.

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“The Heavens Declare the Glory”

From The Conqueror, page 144.

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trough

Stock-watering vessel.

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Uncle Sam

Figure symbolizing the United States.

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“Paddle Your Own Canoe”

1850s Harry Clifton song.

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Mary Power & Edwin Sanford

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

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emigrant car

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

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

1858 J. Warner song.

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Royal Wilder

Almanzo’s older brother.

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H

hack – hypocrite

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missionary barrel

Collection of items distributed to the needy.

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“Uncle Ned”

One of the earliest Stephen Foster songs.

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consumption

A wasting disease, pulmonary tuberculosis.

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turntable

Revolving railroad platform.

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bale

Specific bundle of goods packaged for transport.

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The Story of Art Smith

1915 Rose Wilder Lane serial about an aviator.

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“The Blue Juniata”

1841 Marion Dix Sullivan song.

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yoke

Frame worn on the neck for lifting or drawing.

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Spin-offs and Adaptations of the Little House Books

Not by LIW, but kindred publications.

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tiger

Noah’s ark toy piece.

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Sale of School Lands on the Osage Diminished Reserve

LHOP cabin was on Section 36

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“Captain Jinks”

1868 comedic opera song.

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“Camptown Races”

1850 Stephen Foster song.

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black-berry / blackberry

The berry of the bramble, Rubus fruticosous.

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“The Sleighing Glee”

Singing school song.

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census taker

Statistical registration of members of a country.

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antelope

Antilocapra cervicapra of North America.

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flag, the flower

An aquatic flower, Iris versicolor.

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“When I Can Read My Title Clear”

1700s Isaac Watts hymn.

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ground-cherry

Variety of husk tomato.

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mosquito bar / netting

Woven cloth bug barrier.

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wonderful house / frame house

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

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“Bean Porridge Hot”

Bean porridge cold…

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Laura’s wedding silver

Wm. Rogers’ “Crown” silverplate.

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The Advance

Weekly family newspaper of the Congregational church.

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auk

Extinct sea bird used to describe dovekie found by Charles Ingalls.

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claim

The land to which one has a right.

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“The Ninety and Nine”

Elizabeth Clephane poem.

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Q

quaker meeting – quinine

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C

cabbage – cyclone

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scones

“Mamabess is growing fat.”

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windlass

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

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Oscar Rhuel / Röhl

A romantic figure…

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Pioneer Press

St. Paul newspaper read by Charles Ingalls in De Smet

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Henry Hinz

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

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George Wilmarth family

Owner of early grocery store in De Smet.

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Carrie Ingalls, Homesteader

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

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V

vain – vote

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swimming hole

Watch out for ankle grabbers!

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Braille / New York Point

Used by Mary Ingalls.

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cottage cheese

Curdled skim milk.

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wheelwright

One who makes wheels and carriages.

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huckleberry

Let’s have some pie!

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Mansfield history

Town in Wright County, Missouri.

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“Here’s to the Maiden”

1780 R.B. Sheridan drinking song.

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perforated paper embroidery

Stitched designs.

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literary society

Instructional and entertaining gathering.

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St. Lawrence River

A streak of silver on the horizon.

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D

daisy – dye

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“The Sculptor Boy”

Carrie recited it.

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Little Town on the Prairie – historical perspective

De Smet D.T. in the 1880s.

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“The Star of Bethlehem”

When Marshalled on the Nightly Plane

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Rocky Ridge Farm

The Wilders’ Missouri farm east of Mansfield

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Chicago Inter-Ocean / Inter-Ocean

Republican political newspaper.

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Little House Songs

Prairie Song Companion

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