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Chicago Inter-Ocean / Inter-Ocean

Republican political newspaper.

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Come Into the Garden, Maud

1855 poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

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catechism

Question & answer book of religious doctrine.

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turnip

Cruciferous plant grown for root and greens.

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primer

Used to teach someone to read.

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tiger lily

Native spotted flower of tallgrass prairie.

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Burke / Malone during the Little House years

Almanzo Wilder birthplace.

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Frogs at School

“Twenty froggies went to school…”

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“Home of the Soul”

1865 E.M.H. Gates hymn.

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Protected: Alice & Arthur Whiting

Cousin Alice Ingalls Whiting’s family.

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basque

Jacket-like part of a lady’s dress.

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Z

zebra – Zion City

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“I Wish I Was Single Again”

1871 J.C. Beckel song.

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Pioneer Girl

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s memoir.

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dictionary

The words of a language.

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le cadeau du cheval

mosaic painting featuring Almanzo’s Morgan horses

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antelope

Antilocapra cervicapra of North America.

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spoon holder / spoon-holder / spoonholder

Any vessel used to hold and display spoons.

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“The Whip-Poor-Will’s Song”

1865 Harrison Millard song.

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“Rock Me to Sleep”

Elizabeth Allen poem.

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Little House in the Big Woods – the fictional story

Once upon a time, 60 years ago…

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beard / whiskers

Facial hair.

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Jack Frost

A popular personification of frost.

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Mary Power & Edwin Sanford

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

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black-berry / blackberry

The berry of the bramble, Rubus fruticosous.

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zebra

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

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“Am I a Soldier of the Cross”

Isaac Watts hymn.

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Thomas Huleatt family

Neighbors of Ingalls family in Pepin Co.

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“Come In and Shut the Door”

Circa 1862 song by J.P.H.

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“The New Year’s Come”

1842 “Why chime the bells so merrily?”

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L

lace – lynx

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sundogs

Bright spots on either side of the sun.

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sulky / sulky plow

One-seated conveyance.

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Timothy Johnson family

De Smet Wagon Shop.

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William H. Steadman family

Proprietor of hotel in Burr Oak.

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“The May Queen”

Poem in three parts by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

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“Uncle John”

Play song to the tune of Yankee Doodle.

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Turkey red

Durable red color, dyed with madder upon calico or woolen cloth.

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Perry School

April 28 – June 27, 1884

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snowplow

Clears the tracks.

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By the Shores of Silver Lake – the fictional story

The railroad comes to Dakota.

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Marvin Hughitt

Officer and President of the Chicago & NorthWestern Railway Company.

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buffalo beans

Prairie ground plum.

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alley / alleyway

Narrow passageway, distinct from public street.

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cameo

Aunt Docia’s pretty collar pin.

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“The Campbells are Coming”

Traditional Scottish jig.

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cornmeal mush / hasty pudding

Cornmeal and water, cooked.

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John Ensign family

Quit crying, Howard.

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Will Barnes

Walnut Grove laborer

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legal cap

legal document paper

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“Marching Through Georgia”

Union song from American Civil War.

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writ of attachment

Legal document requiring action.

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Charles Trousdale

De Smet drayman and his performing sons.

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Belgian horse

They’d pull a barn, if hitched to it.

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mud hen / mudhen

American coot.

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crocheted rag rug

Crocheted floor covering made of strips of cloth.

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Silliman Gilbert family

Kingsbury County farmer.

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South Troy / Zumbro Falls during the Little House years

Ingallses lived here with Uncle Peter.

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John H. Carroll

Early De Smet banker.

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poll

No horns.

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Singing School

Choral music classes

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Laura Speaks

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

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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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cradle scythe

Blade and handle used to cut oats.

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Verdigris River

River that runs through Montgomery County, Kansas.

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nickel

The metal. Or five-cent piece.

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“My Jenny Jerusha Jane”

1868 A.G. Chase song.

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rags for paper

scrap cloth purchased for paper making

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barber

Shave and a haircut, two bits!

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K

Kansas – knothole

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A Modern Musketeer

In which Rose becomes a great actress.

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Henry J. Stebbins

Railroad contractor who inspired a song.

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William O’Connell

Fictional Bill O’Dowd.

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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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Young Pioneers

David and Molly Beaton.

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H. W. Cooledge

De Smet photographer.

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James McKee family

Homesteader north of Manchester D.T.

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telegraph

Don’t let Jimmie shock you with it!

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Poverty Flat

Early De Smet residential area.

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Rev. Royal Gould Wilder

Almanzo’s uncle.

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“Money Musk”

Traditional American dance tune.

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dug out / dugout

Dwelling built into the earth.

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mustache

Hair above the lip.

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Dr. William H. York

Bender victim

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“Old Grimes”

1822 Albert Gorton Greene poem.

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blacking / stove-blacking / boot blacking

Preparation used to make things black.

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Ernest & Minnie Green

This is not Mary & Edwin Sanford!

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coal / coal hod

Carbonized plant matter mined and used as fuel.

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Farmer Boy – the fictional story

Almanzo Wilder’s childhood in Burke NY.

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Minnie Johnson

Laura’s schoolmate in De Smet

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Women’s Christian Temperance Union

W.C.T.U.

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John Anderson

Walnut Grove store clerk & more

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harvest moon

Full moon nearest autumnal equinox

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poor man’s fertilizer

Snow plowed into a field.

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Charleton Fuller / Gerald Fuller

Hardware store owner, partnered with his brother Gerald.

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apple pie / dried apple pie

Just like Ma used to make.

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cat’s cradle

Game played with string twisted on the fingers.

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chilblain

Cold sores on hands and feet.

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Thomas C. Wilkin family

Florence Wilkin’s father.

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calendar

What’s today’s date?

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zenith

The point of the heavens directly overhead.

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fascinator

Pretty, light head covering.

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greenhorn / greeny

Immature, raw, awkward.

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amen / amen corner

Expression used at the end of prayers.

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“Bonny Doon”

1792 Robert Burns song.

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railroad camp / Silver Lake camp

Temporary dwellings for workers during surveying or construction.

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Little Town on the Prairie – historical perspective

De Smet D.T. in the 1880s.

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Hide the Thimble

You’re getting warmer…

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Charles Barker

Early De Smet grocer.

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“The Star of Bethlehem”

When Marshalled on the Nightly Plane

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“The High Tide”

Jean Ingelow poem.

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the children’s blizzard

January 12, 1888, blizzard.

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nubia

A light scarf worn about the head and neck.

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Introspections of an Individualist

Norma Lee Browning article about Rose Wilder Lane.

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“Paul Revere’s Ride”

Poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

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depot / station

Railway station.

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Spin-offs and Adaptations of the Little House Books

Not by LIW, but kindred publications.

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bank

financial institution

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“Mountain of the Lord”

Hymn #52, Pure Gold for the Sunday School

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mummy

Put. that. back.

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F

Fair Grounds – furrow

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bobolink

On Mary Power’s name card.

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“Jesus Holds My Hand”

Hymn #85, Pure Gold for the Sunday Schools

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Julia & Amasa Tower

Walnut Grove church friends.

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De Smet during the Little House years

The Ingalls family moved here in 1879.

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“Buffalo Gals”

1844 Virginia Minstrels song.

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

Quilt block pattern.

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poke bonnet / poke-bonnet

the lining matched Laura’s eyes

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“Miller Boy”

“Grab!”

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buckwheat pancakes

Seeds of the flowering plant Eriogonum used as a grain.

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Doxology

Old Hundred.

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button lamp

Improvised grease lamp.

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lone cottonwood / lone tree

The big one between the lakes.

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Santa Claus / Santa Clause

Ho. Ho. Ho.

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August Hanson

The Ingallses’ next door neighbor in De Smet.

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E

ear flap – expelled

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John Armstrong

Kingsbury Co. courthouse caretaker

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Frank Schaub

Early harness maker in De Smet.

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“Home, Sweet Home”

1823 Payne & Bishop song.

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handcar

Don’t be left behind!

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stanchion

Support frame.

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Horace / Homer Heath

Railroad-working brothers.

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“The Old Time”

Mr. Boast’s favorite song.

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tea

A man’s drink in cold weather.

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claim shanty

Temporary dwelling.

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Quiner graves

Abandoned cemetery off Playhouse Road.

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“Darling Nellie Gray”

1856 Benjamin Hamby song.

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china shepherdess / little china woman

Ingalls family figurine.

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Protected: Alfred Ely

One of the younger boys in school.

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The House that Jack Built

…for two pieces of money.

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Amos Whiting family

Superintendent of Schools, De Smet.

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“Dakota Land”

1876 hymn, Beulah Land.

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“The Pied Piper”

Robert Browning poem.

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willow-ware

Blue-and-white tableware with Chinese story paintings.

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galumphing

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

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“The Singing School”

1869 P. Benson song.

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“Oft in the Stilly Night”

Song from Lalla Rookh.

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Q

quaker meeting – quinine

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Hiram Ingalls

Pa’s brother.

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“Wait for the Wagon”

Buckley and Knauff song.

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Laura’s Sorosis Club speech

“My Work”

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bureau

A dresser / chest of drawers.

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canvas

Coarse hemp or flax cloth.

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land office

Where sales of public lands are registered.

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literary society

Instructional and entertaining gathering.

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“By Lo, Baby Bunting”

Mother Goose rhyme.

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Marshall, Minnesota

Almanzo Wilder farmed here in 1879-1880.

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Hill-Billy

1926 Rose Wilder Lane book.

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building paper / tar paper

Crude building paper used for covering.

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rubber

Used for waterproofing.

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“Merry, Merry Christmas”

Hymn Number 150 in Pure Gold for Sunday Schools.

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claim jumper / Mr. Hunter / Jack Hunt

One who ousts another from their land.

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squirrel

Rodent mammal of the genus Sciurus.

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birds in their little nests agree

Miss Wilder knew nothing about birds.

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churn

Cream agitator.

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missionary barrel

Collection of items distributed to the needy.

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biscuits

A kind of un-fermented bread, formed into flat cakes, and baked.

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cupola

Dome-like vault on a public building.

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“All the Blue Bonnets are Over the Border”

1829 Sir Walter Scott air.

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gingerbread

Chocolate frosting adds to the goodness!

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tableland

Elevated flat land; a plateau.

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“Life Let Us Cherish”

1796 Swiss song translated to English.

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Wilder feed store

Shhh. There’s wheat in the wall!

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Bibliography

LIW / RWL books & articles

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Pittsburgh Courier

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

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Missouri Ruralist

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

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Lansford James Ingalls family

Pa’s brother and Laura’s uncle.

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De Smet Cemetery

Ma & Pa’s final resting place.

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Osage Indian Treaty

Legal agreement between nations or sovereigns.

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isinglass

mica for stove windows

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velvet

Silk or blend fabric with short shag surface.

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Visscher Barnes

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

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“The Star-Spangled Banner”

Our National Anthem; words by Francis Scott Key.

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mantel-shelf

Shelf above a fireplace.

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“Mary of the Wild Moor”

1845 song by Joseph W. Turner.

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These Happy Golden Years – the fictional story

Laura teaches and falls in love.

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Johnny Johnson

“Wake up and watch the cattle!”

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oranges

Citrus fruit.

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checkers

Game played on a board of 64 squares.

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muskrat

Their houses predict winter weather.

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