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copyright / permissions

Please do not plagiarize.

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roller towel

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

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Laura’s Sorosis Club speech

“My Work”

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Marvin Hughitt

Officer and President of the Chicago & NorthWestern Railway Company.

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The Story of Art Smith

1915 Rose Wilder Lane serial about an aviator.

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wigwam

What Almanzo’s shocked oats looked like.

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button

who’s got one?

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Daniel Loftus

Early drygoods store owner in De Smet.

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elephant

A very large quadruped.

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door knob

Grab to open a door.

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velvet

Silk or blend fabric with short shag surface.

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tattoo

Sounds like beating drums!

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storm apron

Rain protection for buggy.

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catechism

Question & answer book of religious doctrine.

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The Missouri Ruralist

Twice monthly Missouri farm periodical.

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Western Reserve

Land in Ohio, given to Connecticut upon agreement to give up claim to lands in Pennsylvania.

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mercury / thermometer

Used to measure air temperature.

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willow-ware

Blue-and-white tableware with Chinese story paintings.

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

1858 J. Warner song.

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Have you seen the comet?

Tebbutt’s Great Comet of 1881.

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Silliman Gilbert family

Kingsbury County farmer.

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“Daisy Deane”

1863 song by Union soldiers.

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Big Sioux River / Sioux River

SD-IA tributary of Missouri River.

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“The Treadmill Song”

Oliver Wendell Holmes poem set to music.

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Freddy Ingalls

Laura’s brother (1875-1876)

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Lewis Sasse

De Smet druggist

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stone fences

Rock wall enclosure.

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locust

Buy this book.

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Lansford James Ingalls family

Pa’s brother and Laura’s uncle.

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black-berry / blackberry

The berry of the bramble, Rubus fruticosous.

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water alcove

Railroad car water for drinking.

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vanity cakes

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

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whalebone

Baleen used in corsets.

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dragon-fly / dragonfly

Mosquito hunter.

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Old Settler’s Day

De Smet annual reunion.

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turnip

Cruciferous plant grown for root and greens.

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railroad cut / fill

How you level a railroad grade.

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Timothy Johnson family

De Smet Wagon Shop.

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cornice

Roof overhang.

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Doxology

Old Hundred.

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“Irish Washerwoman”

Traditional Scottish and Irish song/dance song.

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Jerome Beardsley family

De Smet hotel keeper.

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Little Georgie Dwight

He could not learn his letters!

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Lost, between sunrise and sunset…

Horace Mann quotation from his Writings, published in 1872.

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pieplant

Rhubarb.

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“Kitty Wells”

1858 Sloan & Atherton song.

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sulky / sulky plow

One-seated conveyance.

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These Happy Golden Years – historical perspective

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

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“Home of the Soul”

1865 E.M.H. Gates hymn.

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Waverly Novels

Sir Walter Scott books.

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Margaret Garland family / Cap Garland

Family living behind the Ingallses in De Smet.

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cabin / log house

A small cottage; a hut or small house.

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Ernest & Minnie Green

This is not Mary & Edwin Sanford!

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“Camptown Races”

1850 Stephen Foster song.

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Burr Oak during the Little House years

Town in Winneshiek County, Iowa.

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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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“The New Year’s Come”

1842 “Why chime the bells so merrily?”

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Ross family

Neighbors in the Perry District.

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starch

cloth stiffener

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Spat them Out

Clapping (and kissing) game.

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powder horn / powder-horn

Animal horn in which gunpowder is carried.

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Bibliography

LIW / RWL books & articles

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“The Floating Scow of Old Virginia”

1847 Charles White song.

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apron

Garment protector.

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morning-glory

Climbing plant of the genus Ipomœa.

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“The High Tide”

Jean Ingelow poem.

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claim shanty

Temporary dwelling.

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“My Jenny Jerusha Jane”

1868 A.G. Chase song.

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mantel-shelf

Shelf above a fireplace.

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“America”

1832 Reverend Samuel F. Smith song.

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“Barbary Allen”

Old Scotch tune.

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gingerbread

Chocolate frosting adds to the goodness!

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Thomas Huleatt family

Neighbors of Ingalls family in Pepin Co.

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legal cap

legal document paper

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bushel / peck

Dry quart measurements.

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Walnut Grove during the Little House years

Village in Redwood County, Minnesota

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Little House in the Big Woods – the fictional story

Once upon a time, 60 years ago…

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Reverend Edward Brown

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

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“The Swan’s Nest”

Elizabeth Barrett Browning poem.

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gable

Triangular end of a building under the roof.

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Johnny Johnson

“Wake up and watch the cattle!”

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roller skates / rink

Wheeled frame for the shoe.

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leap frog / leap-frog

Run and jump game.

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Albert Quiner

Laura’s cousin.

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twine

A strong twisted thread.

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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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By the Shores of Silver Lake – historical perspective

Dakota Central comes to De Smet.

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“Old Grimes”

1822 Albert Gorton Greene poem.

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“In the Starlight”

1878 Glover & Carpenter song.

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Maude Blair

Walnut Grove friend of Laura’s

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“The Ninety and Nine”

Elizabeth Clephane poem.

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Peter Riley Ingalls family

Uncle Peter & Aunt Eliza.

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missionary barrel

Collection of items distributed to the needy.

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Roman candle

Flaming stars and balls firework.

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“Lilly Dale” / “Lily Dale”

1852 song by H.S. Thomson.

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De Smet bird’s-eye view

1883 Henry Wellge drawing of De Smet

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“Elizabeth, Elspeth, Betsy, and Bess”

Nursery rhyme wordplay on the name Elizabeth.

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“By Lo, Baby Bunting”

Mother Goose rhyme.

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“Old Folks at Home”

Way down upon the Swanee River!

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John D. Peirson

Early De Smet liveryman.

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“Bonny Doon”

1792 Robert Burns song.

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pasteboard / lambrequin

Paperboard used as base for decorative edging.

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“Jingle Bells”

1857 James Pierpont song.

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“Pull for the Shore”

Sunshine for Sunday Schools hymn.

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Morocco leather

Fine goat leather.

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swan

Cygnus Americanus

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“Coming Through the Rye”

Robert Burns tune.

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“When Johnny Comes Marching Home”

1863 Louis Lambert song.

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“Polly Wolly Doodle”

Daniel Decatur Emmett song.

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Bloody Benders

Serial killers in 1870s Kansas.

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John James Ingalls

Senator from Kansas.

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Burke / Malone during the Little House years

Almanzo Wilder birthplace.

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engine / locomotive / iron horse

Vehicle powered by steam and run on tracks.

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“Highland Mary”

1799 Robert Burns songs, favorite of Mary Ingalls.

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poll

No horns.

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literary society

Instructional and entertaining gathering.

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David Thorp

Walnut Grove teacher 1877-78.

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alley / alleyway

Narrow passageway, distinct from public street.

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hulled corn

Hominy.

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“The Polish Boy”

Poem by Ann S. Stephens

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Women’s Christian Temperance Union

W.C.T.U.

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killdeer

Small aquatic bird.

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the Cameron gang

fiat justitia, ruat caelum…

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scour / scouring brick

To rub hard for the purpose of cleaning.

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“Yankee Doodle”

Early song brought to America from Britain.

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drop the handkerchief / drop-the-handkerchief

Circle game.

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“Oh! Susanna”

Stephen Foster song.

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“Tubal Cain”

Charles McKay poem.

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Henry J. Stebbins

Railroad contractor who inspired a 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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basket

Woven container.

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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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cannon

Military engine used for throwing balls and other instruments of death by the force of gunpowder.

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patent / title

official property ownership document

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spoon holder / spoon-holder / spoonholder

Any vessel used to hold and display spoons.

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Wilder feed store

Shhh. There’s wheat in the wall!

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barrel

Round vessel or cask made of wooden staves.

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blacking / stove-blacking / boot blacking

Preparation used to make things black.

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Alfred Ely

One of the younger boys in school.

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“Sweet By and By”

Pa’s favorite hymn.

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“A Shelter in the Time of Storm”

Ira Sankey hymn.

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William H. Steadman family

Proprietor of hotel in Burr Oak.

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dipper / ladle / skimmer

Used to remove foam when boiling maple sap.

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bear grease

Bear fat hair dressing.

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photographs

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

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“Mary of the Wild Moor”

1845 song by Joseph W. Turner.

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turntable

Revolving railroad platform.

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“The Gum-Tree Canoe”

1847 Steele & Winnemore song.

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Jack Frost

A popular personification of frost.

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Martha Perry / Mrs. White

Laura helped her sew shirts.

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cottonwood tree

Wetland plains tree, Populus fremontii.

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honey

Bee-made sweetness.

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Alice & Arthur Whiting

Cousin Alice Ingalls Whiting’s family.

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cant-hook / cant-pole

Instrument used by lumbermen to move logs.

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custard / ice-cream

Sweetened milk and eggs, cooked.

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lief

Gladly; willingly; freely.

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George Wilmarth family

Owner of early grocery store in De Smet.

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Tennyson’s Poems

Collection of works by Written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson,...

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Quaker meeting

Parlor game in which players try to remain silent.

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Will Knight

Walnut Grove revival singer.

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“A Life on the Ocean Wave”

1847 Epes Sargent poem put to music.

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xanthophyll

I bet you can spell this word.

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ice cream social

Laura and Almanzo didn’t enjoy it.

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oyster

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

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coal / coal hod

Carbonized plant matter mined and used as fuel.

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“The Star-Spangled Banner”

Our National Anthem; words by Francis Scott Key.

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acre

4840 square yards of land.

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wild prairie rose

RWL was their namesake, my dear.

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mosquito bar / netting

Woven cloth bug barrier.

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Timber Culture Act / tree claim

Passed by Congress, March 3, 1873.

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Delos Perry family

The Perry School was on his homestead.

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“The Burial of Sir John Moore”

1817 poem by Charles Wolfe.

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pullaway

Outdoor tagging game.

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Henry Burvee

One of the first settlers in Kingsbury Co.

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chapel

Place of worship.

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Sale of School Lands on the Osage Diminished Reserve

LHOP cabin was on Section 36

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Marshall, Minnesota

Almanzo Wilder farmed here in 1879-1880.

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Little House in the Big Woods – historical perspective

Pepin Twp., Pepin Co. Wisconsin

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dictionary

The words of a language.

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census taker

Statistical registration of members of a country.

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“Captain Jinks”

1868 comedic opera song.

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tea

A man’s drink in cold weather.

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geranium

Winter windowsill flowers.

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carved wooden bracket

Place for a china shepherdess.

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“Sing a Song of Sixpence”

Mother Goose rhyme.

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George A. Williams

Superintendent of Schools, 1883.

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blueing bag

Whiter whites.

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“Here’s to the Maiden”

1780 R.B. Sheridan drinking song.

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Army bugle

Brass military horn.

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“Beware!”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem.

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“The Evergreen Shore”

1861 William Hunter song.

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William H. Reed

Teacher in Burr Oak school, 1876-1877.

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ground-cherry

Variety of husk tomato.

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“Auld Lang Syne”

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

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Arthur Sherwood

Brother of Carter Sherwood.

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Alice Maria Wilder

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

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dug out / dugout

Dwelling built into the earth.

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Caroline Ingalls

Mother of Laura Ingalls. She lived 1839-1924.

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ambition

Act of obtaining an object of desire.

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“Golden Years are Passing By”

1879 Will Thompson song.

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“Nobody Ask’d You”

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

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