Read more

garnet

Deep orange-red gemstone.

Read more

Read more

cream of tartar / baking powder

Byproduct of wine-making process, used in baking as leavening agent.

Read more

Read more

Alice & Arthur Whiting

Cousin Alice Ingalls Whiting’s family.

Read more

Read more

The Advance

Weekly family newspaper of the Congregational church.

Read more

Read more

gloves / mittens / mitts

fingerless hand and wrist cover

Read more

Read more

Old Military Tract

Franklin Co. NY map reference

Read more

Read more

organ

musical instrument

Read more

Read more

tea

A man’s drink in cold weather.

Read more

Read more

gopher

Four don’t go fur…

Read more

Read more

gingerbread

Chocolate frosting adds to the goodness!

Read more

Read more

lief

Gladly; willingly; freely.

Read more

Read more

scones

“Mamabess is growing fat.”

Read more

Read more

ambition

Act of obtaining an object of desire.

Read more

Read more

depot / station

Railway station.

Read more

Read more

velvet

Silk or blend fabric with short shag surface.

Read more

Read more

Spookendyke

Rose’s stubborn donkey

Read more

Read more

Charles Mead

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

Read more

Read more

bear grease

Bear fat hair dressing.

Read more

Read more

lime / whitewash

Oxide of calcium mixed with water and used for whitening.

Read more

Read more

Sam Owen

De Smet boot & shoe maker… and horseman!

Read more

Read more

Mary & Samuel Ray / Ellen & Amos Leonard

Sisters feuding over a lovely homeplace…and a man.

Read more

Read more

Marshall, Minnesota

Almanzo Wilder farmed here in 1879-1880.

Read more

Read more

bobolink

On Mary Power’s name card.

Read more

Read more

H

hack – hypocrite

Read more

Read more

George A. Williams

Superintendent of Schools, 1883.

Read more

Read more

“Home, Sweet Home”

1823 Payne & Bishop song.

Read more

Read more

Samuel O. Masters / William J. Masters families

Walnut Grove, Burr Oak, and De Smet family known by the Ingallses.

Read more

Read more

sewing machine

“Such beautiful stitching!”

Read more

Read more

“Darling Nellie Gray”

1856 Benjamin Hamby song.

Read more

Read more

The Long Winter – historical perspective

The Hard Winter of 1880-1881.

Read more

Read more

“Three Blind Mice”

Popular nursery song, sung in rounds.

Read more

Read more

Mary Amelia Ingalls

First child of Caroline and Charles Ingalls, 1865-1928; she lost her sight at age 15.

Read more

Read more

“My Jenny Jerusha Jane”

1868 A.G. Chase song.

Read more

Read more

Congress

Legislative body of a country.

Read more

Read more

Thomas Quiner

Ma’s brother and Laura’s uncle

Read more

Read more

Charles Ingalls: The Civil War Years

Charles Ingalls: the Civil War Years

Read more

Read more

W

wage – writ of attachment

Read more

Read more

what-not / whatnot

An étagère for books & ornaments.

Read more

Read more

lantern

A light meant to be carried.

Read more

Read more

P A T

one seven seven ought

Read more

Read more

“Coming Through the Rye”

Robert Burns tune.

Read more

Read more

cornmeal mush / hasty pudding

Cornmeal and water, cooked.

Read more

Read more

“Love’s Old Sweet Song”

1884 song by Bingham & Malloy.

Read more

Read more

Godey’s Lady’s Book

Women’s magazine, 1830-1898.

Read more

Read more

“Yankee Doodle”

Early song brought to America from Britain.

Read more

Read more

accordion

musical instrument

Read more

Read more

axle grease

Lubricant for wagon wheels and other machinery.

Read more

Read more

vanity cakes

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

Read more

Read more

Will Barnes

Walnut Grove laborer

Read more

Read more

“When Johnny Comes Marching Home”

1863 Louis Lambert song.

Read more

Read more

“Jingle Bells”

1857 James Pierpont song.

Read more

Read more

braid / plait

Entwined strands.

Read more

Read more

C

cabbage – cyclone

Read more

Read more

Thomas P. Power family

De Smet tailor.

Read more

Read more

The Youth’s Companion

Weekly instructional magazine for children, first published in 1827.

Read more

Read more

popcorn

Heat makes it burst & it’s tasty.

Read more

Read more

chestnut / horse chestnut

A large nut, the fruit of a species of Æsculus.

Read more

Read more

Ella & Robert Boast

Friends of the Ingalls family in De Smet.

Read more

Read more

spider

Legged cooking vessel.

Read more

Read more

New Ulm, Minnesota

Town in Brown Co., MN.

Read more

Read more

De Smet Cemetery

Ma & Pa’s final resting place.

Read more

Read more

brakeman

Person who stops the train.

Read more

Read more

lone cottonwood / lone tree

The big one between the lakes.

Read more

Read more

milking-stool

Three legs (the cow has the udder).

Read more

Read more

Young Pioneers

David and Molly Beaton.

Read more

Read more

Wilder feed store

Shhh. There’s wheat in the wall!

Read more

Read more

Amos Whiting family

Superintendent of Schools, De Smet.

Read more

Read more

custard / ice-cream

Sweetened milk and eggs, cooked.

Read more

Read more

equinoctial storm

Severe wind and heavy rain that occurs at or near the time of an equinox.

Read more

Read more

“The New Year’s Come”

1842 “Why chime the bells so merrily?”

Read more

Read more

mud hen / mudhen

American coot.

Read more

Read more

New England States

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

Read more

Read more

button

who’s got one?

Read more

Read more

elevator

Warehouse for seed and grain.

Read more

Read more

emigrant car

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

Read more

Read more

Pure Gold for the Sunday School

Hymnal owned by the Ingalls family.

Read more

Read more

“Uncle Sam’s Farm”

1848 Jesse Hutchinson, Jr. song.

Read more

Read more

Hill-Billy

1926 Rose Wilder Lane book.

Read more

Read more

Bad Lands

Area eroded by wind & water.

Read more

Read more

carpet-bag / carpetbag

Traveling-bag

Read more

Read more

“Billy Boy”

English folk song.

Read more

Read more

literary society

Instructional and entertaining gathering.

Read more

Read more

ice cream social

Laura and Almanzo didn’t enjoy it.

Read more

Read more

the children’s blizzard

January 12, 1888, blizzard.

Read more

Read more

“Oh Boys, Carry Me Along”

Stephen Foster song.

Read more

Read more

Fred Fields / Big Jerry

Railroad boss and his brother-in-law.

Read more

Read more

herd

A number of large beasts assembled together.

Read more

Read more

land office

Where sales of public lands are registered.

Read more

Read more

wintergreen

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

Read more

Read more

“Merry, Merry Christmas”

Hymn Number 150 in Pure Gold for Sunday Schools.

Read more

Read more

mummy

Put. that. back.

Read more

Read more

railroad camp / Silver Lake camp

Temporary dwellings for workers during surveying or construction.

Read more

Read more

“Oft in the Stilly Night”

Song from Lalla Rookh.

Read more

Read more

Women’s Christian Temperance Union

W.C.T.U.

Read more

Read more

auk

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

Read more

Read more

gable

Triangular end of a building under the roof.

Read more

Read more

copyright / permissions

Please do not plagiarize.

Read more

Read more

cosy / cozy

snug and comfortable

Read more

Read more

Big Sioux River / Sioux River

SD-IA tributary of Missouri River.

Read more

Read more

John Anderson

Walnut Grove store clerk & more

Read more

Read more

the Cameron gang

fiat justitia, ruat caelum…

Read more

Read more

hair receiver / hair-receiver

Container to save strands of hair in.

Read more

Read more

Royal Wilder

Almanzo’s older brother.

Read more

Read more

Martha Perry / Mrs. White

Laura helped her sew shirts.

Read more

Read more

bake oven / bake-oven

Coals on top and below.

Read more

Read more

Henry Burvee

One of the first settlers in Kingsbury Co.

Read more

Read more

mosquito bar / netting

Woven cloth bug barrier.

Read more

Read more

telegraph

Don’t let Jimmie shock you with it!

Read more

Read more

Docia Ingalls / Hiram Forbes

Sister of Charles Ingalls married to railroad contractor.

Read more

Read more

“The Rock of Ages”

Painting at Rev. Brown’s.

Read more

Read more

locust

Buy this book.

Read more

Read more

“Little Annie Rooney”

1889 song by Michael Nolan.

Read more

Read more

“Money Musk”

Traditional American dance tune.

Read more

Read more

“Haste to the Wedding”

Traditional Irish fiddle tune.

Read more

Read more

Mary Power & Edwin Sanford

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

Read more

Read more

cat’s cradle

Game played with string twisted on the fingers.

Read more

Read more

Henry J. Stebbins

Railroad contractor who inspired a song.

Read more

Read more

nubia

A light scarf worn about the head and neck.

Read more

Read more

windlass

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

Read more

Read more

poor man’s fertilizer

Snow plowed into a field.

Read more

Read more

Arthur Sherwood

Brother of Carter Sherwood.

Read more

Read more

“The Gypsy King”

Young Laura and Mary’s favorite song!

Read more

Read more

composition

The act of forming a written piece.

Read more

Read more

buffalo beans

Prairie ground plum.

Read more

Read more

South Troy / Zumbro Falls during the Little House years

Ingallses lived here with Uncle Peter.

Read more

Read more

Little House in the Big Woods – historical perspective

Pepin Twp., Pepin Co. Wisconsin

Read more

Read more

De Smet during the Little House years

The Ingalls family moved here in 1879.

Read more

Read more

Little House on the Prairie – the fictional story

The Ingallses in Indian Territory.

Read more

Read more

mustache

Hair above the lip.

Read more

Read more

Visscher Barnes

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

Read more

Read more

“A Shelter in the Time of Storm”

Ira Sankey hymn.

Read more

Read more

chilblain

Cold sores on hands and feet.

Read more

Read more

barrel

Round vessel or cask made of wooden staves.

Read more

Read more

Bibliography

LIW / RWL books & articles

Read more

Read more

turntable

Revolving railroad platform.

Read more

Read more

Kitty

the Ingallses’ cat in Dakota Territory

Read more

Read more

Baby Boy Wilder

Son of Laura and Almanzo Wilder

Read more

Read more

dovekie

Arctic aquatic bird, Alle alle.

Read more

Read more

Farmer Boy – the fictional story

Almanzo Wilder’s childhood in Burke NY.

Read more

Read more

claim

The land to which one has a right.

Read more

Read more

“Sweet By and By”

Pa’s favorite hymn.

Read more

Read more

starry papers

Hand-made shelf edging.

Read more

Read more

ostrich tips / feathers

Short bobbing feather used for hat decoration.

Read more

Read more

sheep sorrel

Tastes like lemon… or springtime?

Read more

Read more

needle grass

Ouch! Something bit me!

Read more

Read more

swan

Cygnus Americanus

Read more

Read more

Hattie Dorchester

Jake Zickrick’s skating partner.

Read more

Read more

August Hanson

The Ingallses’ next door neighbor in De Smet.

Read more

Read more

poll

No horns.

Read more

Read more

Timber Culture Act / tree claim

Passed by Congress, March 3, 1873.

Read more

Read more

“Wait for the Wagon”

Buckley and Knauff song.

Read more

Read more

storm apron

Rain protection for buggy.

Read more

Read more

De Smet bird’s-eye view

1883 Henry Wellge drawing of De Smet

Read more

Read more

William H. Reed

Teacher in Burr Oak school, 1876-1877.

Read more

Read more

udder

Where the milk is before milking.

Read more

Read more

Will Knight

Walnut Grove revival singer.

Read more

Read more

smoke stack / smokestack

locomotive firebox chimney

Read more

Read more

Mrs. Jarley’s Wax Works

Rise! Come forward!

Read more

Read more

turnip

Cruciferous plant grown for root and greens.

Read more

Read more

dove-in-the-window / bear’s tracks

Patchwork pattern variations.

Read more

Read more

ticket

All aboard!

Read more

Read more

By the Shores of Silver Lake – historical perspective

Dakota Central comes to De Smet.

Read more

Read more

Syndicate Hotel

Laura & Almanzo stayed there!

Read more

Read more

“Keep the Horse Shoe Over the Door”

1880 Joseph Skelley song.

Read more

Read more

Peter Pfeiffer family

John May’s son-in-law.

Read more

Read more

pen / pen-wiper

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

Read more

Read more

“Dakota Land”

1876 hymn, Beulah Land.

Read more

Read more

ground-cherry

Variety of husk tomato.

Read more

Read more

John Armstrong

Kingsbury Co. courthouse caretaker

Read more

Read more

pasteboard / lambrequin

Paperboard used as base for decorative edging.

Read more

Read more

Laura Remington

Mrs. Phillip Aubrey Lawrence

Read more

Read more

Charles Trousdale

De Smet drayman and his performing sons.

Read more

Read more

Thomas C. Wilkin family

Florence Wilkin’s father.

Read more

Read more

“The Heavens Declare the Glory”

From The Conqueror, page 144.

Read more

Read more

quarter section / quarter-section

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

Read more

Read more

“Gaily Now Our Boat is Sailing”

Singing school exercise

Read more

Read more

Spat them Out

Clapping (and kissing) game.

Read more

Read more

nutmeg

Myristica moschata, used as a spice.

Read more

Read more

Pioneer Press

St. Paul newspaper read by Charles Ingalls in De Smet

Read more

Read more

roller towel

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

Read more

Read more

Have you seen the comet?

Tebbutt’s Great Comet of 1881.

Read more

Read more

Laura, the Prairie Girl

1975-76 animated series.

Read more

Read more

Jerome Beardsley family

De Smet hotel keeper.

Read more

Read more

winnow

Drive off chaff by wind.

Read more

Read more

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Birthday

Happy Birthday, Laura!

Read more

Read more

snowplow

Clears the tracks.

Read more

Read more

consumption

A wasting disease, pulmonary tuberculosis.

Read more

Read more

ash withe / ash-withe

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

Read more

Read more

Johnny Johnson

“Wake up and watch the cattle!”

Read more

Read more

“Mary of the Wild Moor”

1845 song by Joseph W. Turner.

Read more

Read more

grippe

influenza

Read more

Read more

Eleck Nelson family

Neighbors of the Ingalls family when living on their preemption claim north of Walnut Grove.

Read more

Read more

photographs

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

Read more

Read more

Pittsburgh Courier

Widely-circulated black newspaper, which Rose Wilder Lane wrote a column for in the 1940s.

Read more

Read more

orthography

The art of spelling words correctly.

Read more

Read more

Laura’s Bible references

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s hand-written list of Bible verses to be read in times of trouble or stress.

Read more

Read more

Missouri Ruralist

The Missouri Ruralist. A twice-monthly Missouri farm periodical...

Read more

Read more

Ross family

Neighbors in the Perry District.

Read more

Read more

“The High Tide”

Jean Ingelow poem.

Read more

Read more

“Nellie was a Lady”

…last night she died

Read more