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Arthur Sherwood

Brother of Carter Sherwood.

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lief

Gladly; willingly; freely.

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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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china shepherdess / little china woman

Ingalls precious family figurine.

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Big Sioux River / Sioux River

SD-IA tributary of Missouri River.

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birthday

As near as I can figure, E.J. was right.

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milking-stool

Three legs (the cow has the udder).

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carved wooden bracket

Place for a china shepherdess.

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ambition

Act of obtaining an object of desire.

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legal cap

legal document paper

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nubia

A light scarf worn about the head and neck.

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cradle scythe

Blade and handle used to cut oats.

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“The Star of Bethlehem”

When Marshalled on the Nightly Plane

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De Smet Cemetery

Ma & Pa’s final resting place.

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stanchion

Support frame.

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snow-fort

“Holler ’nuff!”

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“Rock of Ages”

1760s Augustus Toplady hymn.

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stockade

Enclosure of posts or sticks.

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Pa’s red & white checked mittens

Fair Isle pattern.

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Come Into the Garden, Maud

1855 poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

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lime / whitewash

Oxide of calcium mixed with water and used for whitening.

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buffalo beans

Prairie ground plum.

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“My Jenny Jerusha Jane”

1868 A.G. Chase song.

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Peter Riley Ingalls family

Uncle Peter & Aunt Eliza.

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New England States

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

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Laura, the Prairie Girl

1975-76 animated series.

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“The Big Sunflower”

Pa’s trouble song.

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“My Sabbath Home”

Hymn #7, Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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birds’-nest pudding

Dessert made of apples baked in syrup and served with cream.

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“Captain Jinks”

1868 comedic opera song.

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willow

Tree of the genus Salix.

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Eliza Jane Wilder

Almanzo’s sister.

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freeze drying

sublimation!

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Wilkin School

April 20 – July 10, 1885.

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swan

Cygnus Americanus

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herd

A number of large beasts assembled together.

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Alfred N. Waters

Attorney and land agent in De Smet.

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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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engine / locomotive / iron horse

Vehicle powered by steam and run on tracks.

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A Tribute to the Early Day Teachers

Neva Whaley Harding tribute.

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De Smet during the Little House years

The Ingalls family moved here in 1879.

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basque

Jacket-like part of a lady’s dress.

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hardtack

Unleavened hard bread made from flour and water.

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Daniel Loftus

Early drygoods store owner in De Smet.

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“Jerusalem the Golden”

Hymn from Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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Laura’s Sorosis Club speech

“My Work”

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apprentice

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

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“To a Girl”

Poem used to describe Beatrice Sorchan.

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twilight

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

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picket rope / pin / line

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

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yoke

Frame worn on the neck for lifting or drawing.

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Edward H. Couse

Early hardware store owner in De Smet.

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Charlotte Holbrook

Laura’s “Aunt Lotty”

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dove-in-the-window / bear’s tracks

Patchwork pattern variations.

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On the Banks of Plum Creek – historical perspective

Walnut Grove in the 1870s.

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Burr Oak during the Little House years

Town in Winneshiek County, Iowa.

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“Bean Porridge Hot”

Bean porridge cold…

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chilblain

Cold sores on hands and feet.

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Albert Quiner

Laura’s cousin.

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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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“Daisy Deane”

1863 song by Union soldiers.

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Spat them Out

Clapping (and kissing) game.

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“When I Can Read My Title Clear”

1700s Isaac Watts hymn.

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“Song of the Grass”

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

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Farmer Boy – the fictional story

Almanzo Wilder’s childhood in Burke NY.

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prairie danglers

seventhwinter whimsey’s glass slide pendants!

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dumpling

Dough cooked in liquid.

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pullaway

Outdoor tagging game.

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Ida Belle Wright

Laura’s best friend in De Smet

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quinine

Medicine used to treat malaria, made from cinchona bark.

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hatchet

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

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grippe

influenza

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anvil

Iron block to hammer upon.

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“A Motto for Every Man”

1868 Harry Clifton song.

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Commentators on the Ac’s

Pa’s charade pun.

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“Home, Sweet Home”

1823 Payne & Bishop song.

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lantern

A light meant to be carried.

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sulky / sulky plow

One-seated conveyance.

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Jim River / James River

A tributary of the Missouri River.

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whiskey

Spirits distilled from grain.

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“Old Grimes”

1822 Albert Gorton Greene poem.

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greenhorn / greeny

Immature, raw, awkward.

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Quaker meeting

Parlor game in which players try to remain silent.

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Johnny Johnson

“Wake up and watch the cattle!”

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Frogs at School

“Twenty froggies went to school…”

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tattoo

Sounds like beating drums!

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Marvin Hughitt

Officer and President of the Chicago & NorthWestern Railway Company.

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catechism

Question & answer book of religious doctrine.

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“The Old Time”

Mr. Boast’s favorite song.

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Thomas C. Wilkin family

Florence Wilkin’s father.

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George C. Bradley

Early De Smet druggist.

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“Sweet By and By”

Pa’s favorite hymn.

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Marshall, Minnesota

Almanzo Wilder farmed here in 1879-1880.

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Little House on the Prairie – the fictional story

The Ingallses in Indian Territory.

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“The Lotos Eaters”

Tennyson poem.

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“Dakota Land”

1876 hymn, Beulah Land.

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Thomas H. Ruth

President of Kingsbury County Bank in De Smet.

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“The Battle-Cry of Freedom”

We’ll Rally Round the Flag, Boys!

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“Yankee Doodle”

Early song brought to America from Britain.

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Dolly Varden

NIckname of Edith Ingalls, Laura’s cousin.

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turnip

Cruciferous plant grown for root and greens.

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Poverty Flat

Early De Smet residential area.

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ash withe / ash-withe

A flexible, slender twig or branch used as a band for tying.

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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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checkers

Game played on a board of 64 squares.

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“yell like a Comanche”

Imitated Indian battle cry.

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Walnut Grove during the Little House years

Village in Redwood County, Minnesota

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hair receiver / hair-receiver

Container to save strands of hair in.

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America / American

Pertaining to the United States of America.

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mustache

Hair above the lip.

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Hotel keeper’s family struck by lightning

E.P. LeSuer of Canby, Minnesota.

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Hide the Thimble

You’re getting warmer…

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Old Settler’s Day

De Smet annual reunion.

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Syndicate Hotel

Laura & Almanzo stayed there!

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“Kitty Wells”

1858 Sloan & Atherton song.

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sundogs

Bright spots on either side of the sun.

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Millbank

1871 novel by Mary Jane Holmes.

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Little Town on the Prairie – the fictional story

Homesteading and town life.

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vanity cakes

Egg and flour batter fried in oil into golden brown puffs.

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door knob

Grab to open a door.

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alley / alleyway

Narrow passageway, distinct from public street.

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amen / amen corner

Expression used at the end of prayers.

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“De Boatmen’s Dance”

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

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The Modern Musketeer

How Rose became a great actress.

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Alice & Arthur Whiting

Cousin Alice Ingalls Whiting’s family.

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wall-paper

Wall covering.

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Braille / New York Point

Used by Mary Ingalls.

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Adam / adam’s apple

The first man, the progenitor of the human race.

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wheelwright

One who makes wheels and carriages.

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“In the Starlight”

1878 Glover & Carpenter song.

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sewing machine

“Such beautiful stitching!”

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By the Shores of Silver Lake – historical perspective

Dakota Central comes to De Smet.

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William O’Connell

Fictional Bill O’Dowd.

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bastion

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

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candy hearts

Mary’s had a candy poem on it!

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dovekie

Arctic aquatic bird, Alle alle.

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button

who’s got one?

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starry papers

Hand-made shelf edging.

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“Oh Boys, Carry Me Along”

Stephen Foster song.

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Stories of the Moorland

1869 book by Lizzie Bates about a young boy growing up in Scotland.

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Laura’s wedding silver

Wm. Rogers’ “Crown” silverplate.

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cat’s cradle

Game played with string twisted on the fingers.

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

1793 Robert Burns poem.

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antelope

Antilocapra cervicapra of North America.

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South Troy / Zumbro Falls today

Little town along the Zumbro River.

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“Hail Columbia”

1789 Philip Phile march.

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watermelon-rind preserves

sugary jelly

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Silliman Gilbert family

Kingsbury County farmer.

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nine-patch / Laura’s double nine-patch Irish chain quilt

Quilt block pattern.

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The Youth’s Companion

Weekly instructional magazine for children, first published in 1827.

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“Auld Lang Syne”

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

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“Come In and Shut the Door”

Circa 1862 song by J.P.H.

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Frank M. Cooley family

On the Way home travelers.

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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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“The Whip-Poor-Will’s Song”

1865 Harrison Millard song.

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Ernest & Minnie Green

This is not Mary & Edwin Sanford!

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bacon

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

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ice cream social

Laura and Almanzo didn’t enjoy it.

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barrel

Round vessel or cask made of wooden staves.

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Introspections of an Individualist

Norma Lee Browning article about Rose Wilder Lane.

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awl

pokes holes

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The Missouri Ruralist

Twice monthly Missouri farm periodical.

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Yankton, Dakota Territory

1879 land office town.

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snowplow

Clears the tracks.

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dragon-fly / dragonfly

Mosquito hunter.

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beet

Succulent root vegetable.

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“The Floating Scow of Old Virginia”

1847 Charles White song.

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udder

Where the milk is before milking.

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George A. Williams

Superintendent of Schools, 1883.

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New Ulm, Minnesota

Town in Brown Co., MN.

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Fred Fields / Big Jerry

Railroad boss and his brother-in-law.

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the children’s blizzard

January 12, 1888, blizzard.

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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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Grace Pearl Ingalls

Youngest sister of Laura Ingalls; she lived 1877-1941.

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“Ta-ra-ra-Boom-de-Ay”

1891 Henry J. Sayers song.

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“My Old Kentucky Home”

1853 Stephen Foster song.

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gopher

Four don’t go fur…

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President George Washington

First President of the U.S.A.

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“Beware!”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem.

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leap frog / leap-frog

Run and jump game.

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Will Bennett

One of the younger De Smet schoolboys.

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“The Gypsy King”

Young Laura and Mary’s favorite song!

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The Long Winter – the fictional story

Winter for seven months!

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“Mountain of the Lord”

Hymn #52, Pure Gold for the Sunday School

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Roman candle

Flaming stars and balls firework.

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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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tomahawk

War hatchet used by American Indians.

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Uncle Sam

Figure symbolizing the United States.

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Sale of School Lands on the Osage Diminished Reserve

LHOP cabin was on Section 36

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axle grease

Lubricant for wagon wheels and other machinery.

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Old Military Tract

Franklin Co. NY map reference

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“Jingle Bells”

1857 James Pierpont song.

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“The Rock of Ages”

Painting at Rev. Brown’s.

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tiger

Noah’s ark toy piece.

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Robbins children

“froze stark stiff”

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zebra

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

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auk

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

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Docia Ingalls / Hiram Forbes

Sister of Charles Ingalls married to railroad contractor.

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“Sing a Song of Sixpence”

Mother Goose rhyme.

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