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“Rock of Ages”

1760s Augustus Toplady hymn.

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“Ta-ra-ra-Boom-de-Ay”

1891 Henry J. Sayers song.

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The Long Winter – the fictional story

Winter for seven months!

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Timothy Johnson family

De Smet Wagon Shop.

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Burr Oak during the Little House years

Town in Winneshiek County, Iowa.

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Henry Ford’s Own Story

Industrialist and founder of Ford Motor Company.

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the Cameron gang

fiat justitia, ruat caelum…

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“By Lo, Baby Bunting”

Mother Goose rhyme.

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Alfred Thomas

He was MARRIED, people!!

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John James Ingalls

Senator from Kansas.

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Spat them Out

Clapping (and kissing) game.

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last

Mold of a foot, used in making shoes.

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snowplow

Clears the tracks.

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quarter section / quarter-section

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

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“Jerusalem the Golden”

Hymn from Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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“Darling Nellie Gray”

1856 Benjamin Hamby song.

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Henry Burvee

One of the first settlers in Kingsbury Co.

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album

Blank booklet for collecting autographs or photos.

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twilight

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

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“The Heavens Declare the Glory”

From The Conqueror, page 144.

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Old English letters

Variety of printing type.

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squirrel

Rodent mammal of the genus Sciurus.

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Charles Mead

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

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catechism

Question & answer book of religious doctrine.

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“Tubal Cain”

Charles McKay poem.

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Freddy Ingalls

Laura’s brother (1875-1876)

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“The Treadmill Song”

Oliver Wendell Holmes poem set to music.

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tea

A man’s drink in cold weather.

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jewel box / jewel-box

Nice place to keep a breast-pin.

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Osage Indian Treaty

Legal agreement between nations or sovereigns.

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New England States

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

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links

Helps you find what you’re looking for.

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“Home of the Soul”

1865 E.M.H. Gates hymn.

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“The Lotos Eaters”

Tennyson poem.

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copper-toed shoes

Metal shoe protector.

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Army bugle

Brass military horn.

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Quaker meeting

Parlor game in which players try to remain silent.

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claim shanty

Temporary dwelling.

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Hattie Dorchester

Jake Zickrick’s skating partner.

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galumphing

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

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Alice & Arthur Whiting

Cousin Alice Ingalls Whiting’s family.

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Quiner graves

Abandoned cemetery off Playhouse Road.

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elevator

Warehouse for seed and grain.

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Little Georgie Dwight

He could not learn his letters!

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mud hen / mudhen

American coot.

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“Haste to the Wedding”

Traditional Irish fiddle tune.

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wintergreen

Aromatic, creeping evergreen, Gaultheria procumbens, having bright red berries.

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“all’s well that ends well”

A proverb.

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cradle scythe

Blade and handle used to cut oats.

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Carrie Ingalls

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

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custard / ice-cream

Sweetened milk and eggs, cooked.

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Nellie Oleson Meets Laura Ingalls

Heather Williams book.

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nutmeg

Myristica moschata, used as a spice.

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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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“Daisy Deane”

1863 song by Union soldiers.

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grippe

influenza

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Thomas Huleatt family

Neighbors of Ingalls family in Pepin Co.

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hatchet

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

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Will Knight

Walnut Grove revival singer.

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Thomas Power family

De Smet tailor.

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Reverend Edward Brown

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

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“Hail Columbia”

1789 Philip Phile march.

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muff

A warm covering for receiving the hands.

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

1793 Robert Burns poem.

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“Great is the Lord”

Singing school song from The Conqueror.

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Poverty Flat

Early De Smet residential area.

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dictionary

The words of a language.

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A Tribute to the Early Day Teachers

Neva Whaley Harding tribute.

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storm apron

Rain protection for buggy.

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Mr. Anderson / Niels Kopperud

Hard Winter wheat settler

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spoon holder / spoon-holder / spoonholder

Any vessel used to hold and display spoons.

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ice cream / ice-cream

Sweetened cream, congealed by freezing.

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poultice

Applied to sores to help them heal.

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barrel

Round vessel or cask made of wooden staves.

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dipper / ladle / skimmer

Used to remove foam when boiling maple sap.

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“The Good Old Way”

Hymn 18, Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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“Life Let Us Cherish”

1796 Swiss song translated to English.

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blacking / stove-blacking / boot blacking

Preparation used to make things black.

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Laura Speaks

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

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Peter Riley Ingalls family

Uncle Peter & Aunt Eliza.

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whip

A lash tied to a handle.

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“When Johnny Comes Marching Home”

1863 Louis Lambert song.

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“Beware!”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem.

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“Little Annie Rooney”

1889 song by Michael Nolan.

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velvet

Silk or blend fabric with short shag surface.

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tax

A certainty, as is death.

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“Old Grimes”

1822 Albert Gorton Greene poem.

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Daniel Loftus

Early drygoods store owner in De Smet.

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De Smet Cemetery

Ma & Pa’s final resting place.

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“The Gypsy’s Warning”

1864 Henry Coard song.

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Mary & Samuel Ray / Ellen & Amos Leonard

Sisters feuding over a lovely homeplace…and a man.

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Hide the Thimble

You’re getting warmer…

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George C. Bradley

Early De Smet druggist.

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amen / amen corner

Expression used at the end of prayers.

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“All the Blue Bonnets are Over the Border”

1829 Sir Walter Scott air.

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candy hearts

Mary’s had a candy poem on it!

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“Elizabeth, Elspeth, Betsy, and Bess”

Nursery rhyme wordplay on the name Elizabeth.

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“The Tides” / The moon is at its full

1860 William Cullen Bryant poem.

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“Come In and Shut the Door”

Circa 1862 song by J.P.H.

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“Buy a Broom”

O Du Leiber Augustin.

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buffalo beans

Prairie ground plum.

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“Give us this day our daily bread”

“The City, a Mc Kee plain glassware pattern.

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beet

Succulent root vegetable.

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Pa’s red & white checked mittens

Fair Isle pattern.

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bangs / lunatic fringe

hair across the forehead

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Albert Quiner

Laura’s cousin.

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“The Floating Scow of Old Virginia”

1847 Charles White song.

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Mrs. Jarley’s Wax Works

Rise! Come forward!

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locust

Buy this book.

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Little House on the Prairie – historical perspective

LHOP history

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bear grease

Bear fat hair dressing.

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geranium

Winter windowsill flowers.

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“The Gum-Tree Canoe”

1847 Steele & Winnemore song.

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reindeer

Why didn’t they fly over the creek?

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“The Swan’s Nest”

Elizabeth Barrett Browning poem.

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dove-in-the-window / bear’s tracks

Patchwork pattern variations.

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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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china shepherdess / little china woman

Ingalls family figurine.

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pumpkin

The plant and fruit of Curcubita pepo

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Burke / Malone during the Little House years

Almanzo Wilder birthplace.

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ground-cherry

Variety of husk tomato.

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“Old Dan Tucker”

Mr. Edwards sings it!

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“Mary of the Wild Moor”

1845 song by Joseph W. Turner.

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Henry J. Stebbins

Railroad contractor who inspired a song.

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Thomas Quiner

Ma’s brother and Laura’s uncle

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engine / locomotive / iron horse

Vehicle powered by steam and run on tracks.

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“Jingle Bells”

1857 James Pierpont song.

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nubia

A light scarf worn about the head and neck.

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cottage cheese

Curdled skim milk.

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Morocco leather

Fine goat leather.

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pen / pen-wiper

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

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forfeits

Game in which items are deposited and redeemable by a sportive fine.

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gopher

Four don’t go fur…

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Farmer Boy – the fictional story

Almanzo Wilder’s childhood in Burke NY.

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Amos Whiting family

Superintendent of Schools, De Smet.

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Yankton, Dakota Territory

1879 land office town.

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Charles H. Tinkham

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

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swan

Cygnus Americanus

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Missouri Pool

Smoked a pipe & grew pretty flowers.

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Dr. Alfred Starr

His wife wanted Laura.

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roller skates / rink

Wheeled frame for the shoe.

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Blanche Coday

Rose’s friend.

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tattoo

Sounds like beating drums!

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Joseph Bouchie family

Fictional Brewster family in THGY.

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stockade

Enclosure of posts or sticks.

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Mother Goose

Fictionalized compiler of ancient nursery rhymes.

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Horace Woodworth family

Family of first depot agent in De Smet.

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checkers

Game played on a board of 64 squares.

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by jingo!

A corruption of St. Gengoulph.

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stanchion

Support frame.

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ante-over / anti-over / anteover

Game in which a ball is thrown over a structure.

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hulled corn

Hominy.

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swimming hole

Watch out for ankle grabbers!

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clinched nail

Bent at a right angle.

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Wilkin School

April 20 – July 10, 1885.

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auger

A carpenter’s instrument for boring holes, chiefly in...

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stone fences

Rock wall enclosure.

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bison / “The Bison Track”

Bayard Taylor poem about Bos Americanus, found in Independent Fifth Reader.

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black-berry / blackberry

The berry of the bramble, Rubus fruticosous.

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John Ensign family

Quit crying, Howard.

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Brownsville, Texas 1906

Did Eliza Jane sell fruit to these soldiers?

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cant-hook / cant-pole

Instrument used by lumbermen to move logs.

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Hill-Billy

1926 Rose Wilder Lane book.

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“The Mulligan Guard” / “The Skidmore Guard”

Harrigan & Hart minstrel show.

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Santa Claus / Santa Clause

Ho. Ho. Ho.

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“The Silver Moon”

Sail on, silver moon…

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Farmer Boy – historical perspective

1860s Burke / Malone NY.

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Reverend Edwin H. Alden

Walnut Grove Congregational minister and missionary in Dakota.

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tiger

Noah’s ark toy piece.

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Dr. Robert Hoyt

Husband of Mattie Masters.

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buckwheat pancakes

Seeds of the flowering plant Eriogonum used as a grain.

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prairie danglers

seventhwinter whimsey’s glass slide pendants!

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“The New Year’s Come”

1842 “Why chime the bells so merrily?”

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census taker

Statistical registration of members of a country.

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Walnut Grove during the Little House years

Village in Redwood County, Minnesota

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De Smet during the Little House years

The Ingalls family moved here in 1879.

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Ingalls office / store in De Smet

NW and SE corners of Calumet and Second.

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elephant

A very large quadruped.

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Big Sioux River / Sioux River

SD-IA tributary of Missouri River.

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Marvin Hughitt

Officer and President of the Chicago & NorthWestern Railway Company.

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composition

The act of forming a written piece.

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“Captain Jinks”

1868 comedic opera song.

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twin lakes

Lake Henry & Lake Thompson

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bake oven / bake-oven

Coals on top and below.

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Hamlin Garland

…and his first Christmas tree!

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morning-glory

Climbing plant of the genus Ipomœa.

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kerosene / kerosine

Oil used for lighting.

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winnow

Drive off chaff by wind.

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Little Town on the Prairie – the fictional story

Homesteading and town life.

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churn

Cream agitator.

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Thomas H. Ruth

President of Kingsbury County Bank in De Smet.

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Women’s Christian Temperance Union

W.C.T.U.

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pokeberry

For rosy doll cheeks.

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“Arkansas Traveler”

Traditional American folk song.

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land office

Where sales of public lands are registered.

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gaiters

Cloth ankle covering.

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the children’s blizzard

January 12, 1888, blizzard.

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Hiram Ingalls

Pa’s brother.

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milking-stool

Three legs (the cow has the udder).

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