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Mother Goose

Fictionalized compiler of ancient nursery rhymes.

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lone cottonwood / lone tree

The big one between the lakes.

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Charles Trousdale

De Smet drayman and his performing sons.

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peddler’s cart / wagon

A little store on wheels.

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killdeer

Small aquatic bird.

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Lost, between sunrise and sunset…

Horace Mann quotation from his Writings, published in 1872.

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chilblain

Cold sores on hands and feet.

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Horace / Homer Heath

Railroad-working brothers.

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herd

A number of large beasts assembled together.

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Have you seen the comet?

Tebbutt’s Great Comet of 1881.

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Laura’s wedding silver

Wm. Rogers’ “Crown” silverplate.

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turnip

Cruciferous plant grown for root and greens.

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William H. Steadman family

Proprietor of hotel in Burr Oak.

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satchel

Small, soft-sided handled luggage.

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harvest moon

Full moon nearest autumnal equinox

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apprentice

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

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Carrie Ingalls

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

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yoke

Frame worn on the neck for lifting or drawing.

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biscuits

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

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Gather ye rosebuds while ye may…

From Robert Herrick poem.

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“Paul Revere’s Ride”

Poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

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A Modern Musketeer

In which Rose becomes a great actress.

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“De Boatmen’s Dance”

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

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Timber Culture Act / tree claim

Passed by Congress, March 3, 1873.

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Charles Ingalls: The Civil War Years

Charles Ingalls: the Civil War Years

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Pioneer Press

St. Paul newspaper read by Charles Ingalls in De Smet

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“The Gum-Tree Canoe”

1847 Steele & Winnemore song.

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blacking / stove-blacking / boot blacking

Preparation used to make things black.

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“Arkansas Traveler”

Traditional American folk song.

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R

rabbit – rye

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“Sing a Song of Sixpence”

Mother Goose rhyme.

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snow-fort

“Holler ’nuff!”

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“Home of the Soul”

1865 E.M.H. Gates hymn.

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clove apple / clove-apple

Spice-preserved fruit decoration.

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braid / plait

Entwined strands.

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John H. Carroll

Early De Smet banker.

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poultice

Applied to sores to help them heal.

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Daniel Loftus

Early drygoods store owner in De Smet.

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reindeer

Why didn’t they fly over the creek?

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M

Ma – “My Sabbath Home”

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De Smet bird’s-eye view

1883 Henry Wellge drawing of De Smet

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rags for paper

scrap cloth purchased for paper making

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Mr. Anderson / Niels Kopperud

Hard Winter wheat settler

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“All the Blue Bonnets are Over the Border”

1829 Sir Walter Scott air.

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Silver Lake

Kingsbury County prairie pothole lake.

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shoe pegs

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

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windlass

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

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literature

Knowledge and fancy preserved in writing.

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“Old Dan Tucker”

Mr. Edwards sings it!

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tiger lily

Native spotted flower of tallgrass prairie.

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custard / ice-cream

Sweetened milk and eggs, cooked.

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“What Shall the Harvest Be?”

1850 Emily Oakley poem.

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Nellie Oleson Meets Laura Ingalls

Heather Williams book.

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“Haste to the Wedding”

Traditional Irish fiddle tune.

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“Pull for the Shore”

Sunshine for Sunday Schools hymn.

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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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Visscher Barnes

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

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gaiters

Cloth ankle covering.

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“Oh! Susanna”

Stephen Foster song.

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Ella & Robert Boast

Friends of the Ingalls family in De Smet.

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whalebone

Baleen used in corsets.

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“Buy a Broom”

O Du Leiber Augustin.

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prairie danglers

seventhwinter whimsey’s glass slide pendants!

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bacon

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

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New England Supper

Fund-raising communal pot-luck meal.

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fascinator

Pretty, light head covering.

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picket rope / pin / line

animal tether

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lief

Gladly; willingly; freely.

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Young Pioneers

David and Molly Beaton.

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twine

A strong twisted thread.

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St. Lawrence River

A streak of silver on the horizon.

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“My Old Kentucky Home”

1853 Stephen Foster song.

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Lizzie

the child bride

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dumpling

Dough cooked in liquid.

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South Troy / Zumbro Falls today

Little town along the Zumbro River.

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Amos Whiting family

Superintendent of Schools, De Smet.

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blueberry

a kind of whortleberry

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Orion E. Stearns

Caught by blizzard of ’88.

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P

Pa – pussy-in-the-corner

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“Buffalo Gals”

1844 Virginia Minstrels song.

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The Floweret

1842 book of verse by Anna Maria Wells.

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“Pop! Goes the Weasel”

Traditional American song.

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twin lakes

Lake Henry & Lake Thompson

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Little House on the Prairie – historical perspective

LHOP history

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galluses / suspenders

Straps worn for holding up pants.

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Godey’s Lady’s Book

Women’s magazine, 1830-1898.

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kerosene / kerosine

Oil used for lighting.

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handcar

Don’t be left behind!

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wild prairie rose

RWL was their namesake, my dear.

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G

gable – “Gypsy’s Warning”

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William O’Connell

Fictional Bill O’Dowd.

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oyster

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

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mustache

Hair above the lip.

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Hattie Dorchester

Jake Zickrick’s skating partner.

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The Advance

Weekly family newspaper of the Congregational church.

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yeast / yeast cakes

Bread-leavening organism.

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Governor of Orleans / The American Remount Association

Registered stallion leased to Almanzo Wilder 1923-1925.

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By the Shores of Silver Lake – the fictional story

The railroad comes to Dakota.

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carved wooden bracket

Place for a china shepherdess.

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A

aboveboard – axle

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“The Evergreen Shore”

1861 William Hunter song.

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spring tonic

Bitter purifying medicine.

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Silliman Gilbert family

Kingsbury County farmer.

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breast-pin / brooch / bar pin

Ornament worn on clothing.

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gosh!

that wicked word

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grippe

influenza

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Mr. and Mrs. Scott

Indian Territory neighbors of the Ingallses.

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Supposed Speech of Regulus

From Independent Fifth Reader.

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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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Bad Lands

Area eroded by wind & water.

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Will Knight

Walnut Grove revival singer.

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Y

“Yankee Doodle” – Youth’s Companion

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Hiram Ingalls

Pa’s brother.

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Dr. Robert Hoyt

Husband of Mattie Masters.

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butter tester

Instrument used to remove core sample from a vat of butter, for the sake of testing.

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Pure Gold for the Sunday School

Hymnal owned by the Ingalls family.

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K

Kansas – knothole

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Christopher Columbus

A native of Genoa, in Italy.

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Quiner graves

Abandoned cemetery off Playhouse Road.

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Burr Oak during the Little House years

Town in Winneshiek County, Iowa.

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Minnie Johnson

Laura’s schoolmate in De Smet

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bangs / lunatic fringe

hair across the forehead

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clinched nail

Bent at a right angle.

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“The Tides” / The moon is at its full

1860 William Cullen Bryant poem.

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acre

4840 square yards of land.

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“The Pied Piper”

Robert Browning poem.

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George C. Bradley

Early De Smet druggist.

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name card / name-card

Pasteboard identification.

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“Great is the Lord”

Singing school song from The Conqueror.

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calendar

What’s today’s date?

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I

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

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canvas

Coarse hemp or flax cloth.

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Hide the Thimble

You’re getting warmer…

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“The Gypsy’s Warning”

1864 Henry Coard song.

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batten / lath

Thin, narrow board for fastening or joining.

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mother-of-pearl

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

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Walnut Grove during the Little House years

Village in Redwood County, Minnesota

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These Happy Golden Years – historical perspective

De Smet, D.T., 1883-1885.

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beet

Succulent root vegetable.

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nubia

A light scarf worn about the head and neck.

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“Nellie was a Lady”

…last night she died

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cupola

Dome-like vault on a public building.

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butter

Edible fatty substance made by churning cream.

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hair receiver / hair-receiver

Container to save strands of hair in.

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Charlotte Holbrook

Laura’s “Aunt Lotty”

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Johnny Johnson

“Wake up and watch the cattle!”

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copperplate

Variable-width handwriting script made with a flexible, pointed nib.

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“Song of the Grass”

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

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starry papers

Hand-made shelf edging.

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

1793 Robert Burns poem.

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fanning-mill

Machine for winnowing.

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The Youth’s Companion

Weekly instructional magazine for children, first published in 1827.

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cosy / cozy

snug and comfortable

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Oscar Rhuel / Röhl

A romantic figure…

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De Smet Cemetery

Ma & Pa’s final resting place.

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checkers

Game played on a board of 64 squares.

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carding-machine

Straightens fibers by combing.

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riot / Tracy railroad strike

Tracy in June, not De Smet in September

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coal / coal hod

Carbonized plant matter mined and used as fuel.

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pasteboard / lambrequin

Paperboard used as base for decorative edging.

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“Oft in the Stilly Night”

Song from Lalla Rookh.

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“Sweet By and By”

Pa’s favorite hymn.

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W

wage – writ of attachment

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gingerbread

Chocolate frosting adds to the goodness!

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missionary barrel

Collection of items distributed to the needy.

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Perry School

April 28 – June 27, 1884

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“The New Year’s Come”

1842 “Why chime the bells so merrily?”

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“For the Sake o’ Somebody”

1794 Robert Burns poem.

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Reverend Edwin H. Alden

Walnut Grove Congregational minister and missionary in Dakota.

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awl

pokes holes

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“Oh Boys, Carry Me Along”

Stephen Foster song.

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Ven Owen

Teacher and principal of the first graded school in De Smet

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Almanzo Wilder

The Man of the Place

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Thomas P. Power family

De Smet tailor.

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threshing

Beating to separate.

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“The Sculptor Boy”

Carrie recited it.

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pokeberry

For rosy doll cheeks.

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“Keep the Horse Shoe Over the Door”

1880 Joseph Skelley song.

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muskrat

Their houses predict winter weather.

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“The Mulligan Guard” / “The Skidmore Guard”

Harrigan & Hart minstrel show.

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George Wilmarth family

Owner of early grocery store in De Smet.

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Chicago Inter-Ocean / Inter-Ocean

Republican political newspaper.

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dickcissel / dickie-bird

A semi-nomadic finch, Spiza americana.

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L

lace – lynx

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Little Town on the Prairie – historical perspective

De Smet D.T. in the 1880s.

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Commentators on the Ac’s

Pa’s charade pun.

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“Mary of the Wild Moor”

1845 song by Joseph W. Turner.

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C

cabbage – cyclone

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accordion

musical instrument

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Martha Perry / Mrs. White

Laura helped her sew shirts.

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writ of attachment

Legal document requiring action.

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De Smet during the Little House years

The Ingalls family moved here in 1879.

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barrel

Round vessel or cask made of wooden staves.

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wigwam

What Almanzo’s shocked oats looked like.

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drop the handkerchief / drop-the-handkerchief

Circle game.

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“Merry, Merry Christmas”

Hymn Number 150 in Pure Gold for Sunday Schools.

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Ross family

Neighbors in the Perry District.

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lantern

A light meant to be carried.

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auger

hand drill

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Tennyson’s Poems

Christmas present for Laura

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