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stanchion

Support frame.

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pumpkin

The plant and fruit of Curcubita pepo

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zebra

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

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“Nellie was a Lady”

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

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brakeman

Person who stops the train.

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Peytona & Fashion

Currier & Ives print at Rocky Ridge Farm.

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patent / title

official property ownership document

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mustache

Hair above the lip.

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hulled corn

Hominy.

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hair receiver / hair-receiver

Container to save strands of hair in.

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Big Sioux River / Sioux River

SD-IA tributary of Missouri River.

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roller skates / rink

Wheeled frame for the shoe.

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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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“Come In and Shut the Door”

Circa 1862 song by J.P.H.

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Mrs. Jarley’s Wax Works

Rise! Come forward!

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Peter Pfeiffer family

John May’s son-in-law.

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batten / lath

Thin, narrow board for fastening or joining.

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Jerome Bisby

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

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“The Blue Juniata”

1841 Marion Dix Sullivan song.

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apple pie / dried apple pie

Just like Ma used to make.

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apron

Garment protector.

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“All the Blue Bonnets are Over the Border”

1829 Sir Walter Scott air.

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“Kitty Wells”

1858 Sloan & Atherton song.

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Charles Ely

Early lumber man in De Smet.

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“It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary”

1912 Judge & Williams song.

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“When I Can Read My Title Clear”

1700s Isaac Watts hymn.

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“Gaily Now Our Boat is Sailing”

Singing school exercise

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black-berry / blackberry

The berry of the bramble, Rubus fruticosous.

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Lost, between sunrise and sunset…

Horace Mann quotation from his Writings, published in 1872.

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Hiram Ingalls

Pa’s brother.

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“Money Musk”

Traditional American dance tune.

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Henry Ford’s Own Story

Industrialist and founder of Ford Motor Company.

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chapel

Place of worship.

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“The Floating Scow of Old Virginia”

1847 Charles White song.

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“The Girl I Left Behind Me”

17th century Irish tune.

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The Missouri Ruralist

Twice monthly Missouri farm periodical.

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Martha Perry / Mrs. White

Laura helped her sew shirts.

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post office / post-office

Where you send and receive mail.

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ground-cherry

Variety of husk tomato.

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Willard Seelye

De Smet teacher, 1881-1882.

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dickcissel / dickie-bird

A semi-nomadic finch, Spiza americana.

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“The May Queen”

Poem in three parts by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

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The Youth’s Companion

Weekly instructional magazine for children, first published in 1827.

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“Arkansas Traveler”

Traditional American folk song.

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bale

Specific bundle of goods packaged for transport.

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Delos Perry family

The Perry School was on his homestead.

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Charlotte Holbrook

Laura’s “Aunt Lotty”

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hatchet

A small ax with a short handle, to be used with one hand.

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album

Blank booklet for collecting autographs or photos.

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Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Birthday

Happy Birthday, Laura!

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Good Templars Lodge

International temperance fraternal organization.

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lone cottonwood / lone tree

The big one between the lakes.

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Thomas Quiner

Ma’s brother and Laura’s uncle

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dried-raspberry sauce

Dried sauce good on biscuits.

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swan

Cygnus Americanus

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whip

A lash tied to a handle.

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emigrant car

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

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tomahawk

War hatchet used by American Indians.

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fever ‘n’ ague / malaria

malaria

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“The Old Time”

Mr. Boast’s favorite song.

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“nervous as a witch”

restless

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claim

The land to which one has a right.

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parsnip

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

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Pa’s red & white checked mittens

Fair Isle pattern.

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twisting hay

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

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catechism

Question & answer book of religious doctrine.

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Hide the Thimble

You’re getting warmer…

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“Rock Me to Sleep”

Elizabeth Allen poem.

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clinched nail

Bent at a right angle.

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“Love’s Old Sweet Song”

1884 song by Bingham & Malloy.

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railroad cut / fill

How you level a railroad grade.

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“Old Grimes”

1822 Albert Gorton Greene poem.

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cornice

Roof overhang.

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cant-hook / cant-pole

Instrument used by lumbermen to move logs.

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china shepherdess / little china woman

Ingalls precious family figurine.

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“Golden Years are Passing By”

1879 Will Thompson song.

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Syndicate Hotel

Laura & Almanzo stayed there!

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tiger lily

Native spotted flower of tallgrass prairie.

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snow-fort

“Holler ’nuff!”

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World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition

Destination of the Wilder brothers in the fall of 1884.

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“Ta-ra-ra-Boom-de-Ay”

1891 Henry J. Sayers song.

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“Paddle Your Own Canoe”

1850s Harry Clifton song.

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leap frog / leap-frog

Run and jump game.

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flag, the flower

An aquatic flower, Iris versicolor.

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locust

Buy this book.

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jewel box / jewel-box

Nice place to keep a breast-pin.

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buffalo beans

Prairie ground plum.

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“Pop! Goes the Weasel”

Traditional American song.

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“Bonny Doon”

1792 Robert Burns song.

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Horace / Homer Heath

Railroad-working brothers.

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Farmer Boy – the fictional story

Almanzo Wilder’s childhood in Burke NY.

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butter

Edible fatty substance made by churning cream.

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“My Sabbath Home”

Hymn #7, Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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Charles Lamson

Almanzo’s cousin.

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Gather ye rosebuds while ye may…

From Robert Herrick poem.

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Jerome Beardsley family

De Smet hotel keeper.

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“My Jenny Jerusha Jane”

1868 A.G. Chase song.

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dove-in-the-window / bear’s tracks

Patchwork pattern variations.

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

1858 J. Warner song.

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Little House in the Big Woods – the fictional story

Once upon a time, 60 years ago…

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The Story of Art Smith

1915 Rose Wilder Lane serial about an aviator.

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“Uncle Ned”

One of the earliest Stephen Foster songs.

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cottage cheese

Curdled skim milk.

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“In the Starlight”

1878 Glover & Carpenter song.

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Ida Belle Wright

Laura’s best friend in De Smet

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auk

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

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“Auld Lang Syne”

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

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Women’s Christian Temperance Union

W.C.T.U.

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Army bugle

Brass military horn.

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“Yankee Doodle”

Early song brought to America from Britain.

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Visscher Barnes

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

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yeast / yeast cakes

Bread-leavening organism.

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Hamlin Garland

…and his first Christmas tree!

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Supposed Speech of Regulus

From Independent Fifth Reader.

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breast-pin / brooch

Ornament worn on clothing.

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honey

Bee-made sweetness.

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Farmer Boy – historical perspective

1860s Burke / Malone NY.

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“The Tides” / The moon is at its full

1860 William Cullen Bryant poem.

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pieplant

Rhubarb.

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“The Heavens Declare the Glory”

From The Conqueror, page 144.

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gosh!

that wicked word

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herd

A number of large beasts assembled together.

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“I Wish I Was Single Again”

1871 J.C. Beckel song.

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chewing gum

Long white sticks of chewiness.

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James McKee family

Early homesteader north of Manchester D.T. Laura Ingalls stayed with them during the spring of 1883.

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perforated paper embroidery

Stitched designs.

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The Advance

Weekly family newspaper of the Congregational church.

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kerosene / kerosine

Oil used for lighting.

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Congress

Legislative body of a country.

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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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apprentice

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

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Alfred N. Waters

Attorney and land agent in De Smet.

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Frogs at School

“Twenty froggies went to school…”

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South Troy / Zumbro Falls during the Little House years

Ingallses lived here with Uncle Peter.

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“yell like a Comanche”

Imitated Indian battle cry.

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A Modern Musketeer

In which Rose becomes a great actress.

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Commentators on the Ac’s

Pa’s charade pun.

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Carrie Ingalls, Homesteader

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

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chilblain

Cold sores on hands and feet.

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fascinator

Pretty, light head covering.

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pokeberry

For rosy doll cheeks.

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“Jesus Holds My Hand”

Hymn #85, Pure Gold for the Sunday Schools

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Silas Rood

Rude by name & nature?

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“Am I a Soldier of the Cross”

Isaac Watts hymn.

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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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photographs

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

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Dr. Robert Hoyt

Husband of Mattie Masters.

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twine

A strong twisted thread.

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Burr Oak today

Only Ingalls home in original location.

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“Lend a Helping Hand”

Hymn #22, Pure Gold for Sunday School.

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Peter Riley Ingalls family

Uncle Peter & Aunt Eliza.

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stockade

Enclosure of posts or sticks.

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John James Ingalls

Senator from Kansas.

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orthography

The art of spelling words correctly.

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Dr. Alfred Starr

His wife wanted Laura.

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copperplate

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

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Eskimo / igloo

Tribes of arctic America and Greenland. / Snow hut.

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James Kennedy family

Walnut Grove farming family, originally from Canada.

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Wilder feed store

Shhh. There’s wheat in the wall!

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checkers

Game played on a board of 64 squares.

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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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nutmeg

Myristica moschata, used as a spice.

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huckleberry

Let’s have some pie!

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Marshall, Minnesota

Almanzo Wilder farmed here in 1879-1880.

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Mary Power & Edwin Sanford

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

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The Athenians

Hartville, Mo. study club.

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Silliman Gilbert family

Kingsbury County farmer.

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“Nobody Ask’d You”

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

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roller towel

Long towel with ends sewn together, hung on a rod.

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freeze drying

sublimation!

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legal cap

legal document paper

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“A Motto for Every Man”

1868 Harry Clifton song.

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Alice Maria Wilder

Older sister and playmate of Almanzo Wilder. She lived 1853-1892.

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Little House on the Prairie – the fictional story

The Ingallses in Indian Territory.

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braid / plait

Entwined strands.

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tea

A man’s drink in cold weather.

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Brownsville, Texas 1906

Did Eliza Jane sell fruit to these soldiers?

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Declaration of Independence

Document renouncing U.S. subjection to Great Britain.

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basque

Jacket-like part of a lady’s dress.

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“Oh! Susanna”

Stephen Foster song.

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De Smet bird’s-eye view

1883 Henry Wellge drawing of De Smet

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New England Supper

Fund-raising communal pot-luck meal.

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Margaret Garland family / Cap Garland

Family living behind the Ingallses in De Smet.

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“Don’t Leave the Farm, Boys”

Song from The Conqueror.

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crow

Large black bird of genus Corvus.

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links

Helps you find what you’re looking for.

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Poverty Flat

Early De Smet residential area.

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morning-glory

Climbing plant of the genus Ipomœa.

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xanthophyll

I bet you can spell this word.

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Introspections of an Individualist

Norma Lee Browning article about Rose Wilder Lane.

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“The High Tide”

Jean Ingelow poem.

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James Glover family

Students in the Wilkin School.

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wristlets

Knitted bands worn around the wrists for warmth.

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“Jingle Bells”

1857 James Pierpont song.

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poke bonnet / poke-bonnet

the lining matched Laura’s eyes

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custard / ice-cream

Sweetened milk and eggs, cooked.

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“Buffalo Gals”

1844 Virginia Minstrels song.

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buttonhook

Curved metal tool for fastening shoes.

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galumphing

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

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Santa Claus / Santa Clause

Ho. Ho. Ho.

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