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The Youth’s Companion

Weekly instructional magazine for children, first published in 1827.

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August Hanson

The Ingallses’ next door neighbor in De Smet.

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quinine

Medicine used to treat malaria, made from cinchona bark.

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poll

No horns.

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Little House Songs

Prairie Song Companion

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“Old Grimes”

1822 Albert Gorton Greene poem.

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wintergreen

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

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rags for paper

scrap cloth purchased for paper making

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Quiner graves

Abandoned cemetery off Playhouse Road.

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“Oft in the Stilly Night”

Song from Lalla Rookh.

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lief

Gladly; willingly; freely.

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ambition

Act of obtaining an object of desire.

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O

oak – oyster

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A

aboveboard – axle

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R

rabbit – rye

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hulled corn

Hominy.

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spider

Legged cooking vessel.

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“The Sculptor Boy”

Carrie recited it.

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Henry Ford’s Own Story

Industrialist and founder of Ford Motor Company.

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Frogs at School

“Twenty froggies went to school…”

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dug out / dugout

Dwelling built into the earth.

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clinched nail

Bent at a right angle.

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“My Jenny Jerusha Jane”

1868 A.G. Chase song.

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April Fool’s Day

Sticking with salt in the sugar bowl from now on.

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le cadeau du cheval

mosaic painting featuring Almanzo’s Morgan horses

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Father Pierre Jean De Smet

Missionary for whom the town of De Smet was named

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“Buy a Broom”

O Du Leiber Augustin.

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“Love’s Old Sweet Song”

1884 song by Bingham & Malloy.

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Home Missionary Society

Group organized to raise money to start churches and Sunday schools in the west where there were none.

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“Uncle John”

Play song to the tune of Yankee Doodle.

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kerosene / kerosine

Oil used for lighting.

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vanity cakes

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

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Congress

Legislative body of a country.

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Alice Maria Wilder

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

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breast-pin / brooch / bar pin

Ornament worn on clothing.

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“The New Year’s Come”

1842 “Why chime the bells so merrily?”

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Kitty

the Ingallses’ cat in Dakota Territory

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copperplate

Variable-width handwriting script made with a flexible, pointed nib.

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How well do you know the Little House books?

a quiz for you!

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“The Star of Bethlehem”

When Marshalled on the Nightly Plane

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“Great is the Lord”

Singing school song from The Conqueror.

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“Camptown Races”

1850 Stephen Foster song.

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Bad Lands

Area eroded by wind & water.

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“For the Sake o’ Somebody”

1794 Robert Burns poem.

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John James Ingalls

Senator from Kansas.

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Lizzie

the child bride

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Laura’s Sorosis Club speech

“My Work”

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copper

Cu

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“Pop! Goes the Weasel”

Traditional American song.

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Henry Hinz

Owner of first saloon in De Smet and boarder at the Ingallses’.

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Thomas Quiner

Ma’s brother and Laura’s uncle

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Peter Pfeiffer family

John May’s son-in-law.

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Come Into the Garden, Maud

1855 poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

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Singing School

Choral music classes

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primer

Used to teach someone to read.

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anvil

Iron block to hammer upon.

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C

cabbage – cyclone

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cradle scythe

Blade and handle used to cut oats.

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Jerome Beardsley family

De Smet hotel keeper.

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“The Treadmill Song”

Oliver Wendell Holmes poem set to music.

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Caroline Ingalls

Mother of Laura Ingalls. She lived 1839-1924.

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“all’s well that ends well”

A proverb.

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lime / whitewash

Oxide of calcium mixed with water and used for whitening.

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Tennyson’s Poems

Christmas present for Laura

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mustache

Hair above the lip.

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Royal Wilder

Almanzo’s older brother.

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“De Boatmen’s Dance”

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

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Little House in the Big Woods – the fictional story

Once upon a time, 60 years ago…

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“Buffalo Gals”

1844 Virginia Minstrels song.

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latch / latch-string

It’s always out!

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Protected: Manchester, Dakota Territory

Railroad town west of De Smet

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

1793 Robert Burns poem.

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“The Sleighing Glee”

Singing school song.

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Ingalls office / store in De Smet

NW and SE corners of Calumet and Second.

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F

Fair Grounds – furrow

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depot / station

Railway station.

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“When Johnny Comes Marching Home”

1863 Louis Lambert song.

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L

lace – lynx

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Will Barnes

Walnut Grove laborer

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links

Helps you find what you’re looking for.

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Thomas Huleatt family

Neighbors of Ingalls family in Pepin Co.

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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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peddler’s cart / wagon

A little store on wheels.

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swan

Cygnus Americanus

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James Kennedy family

Walnut Grove farming family, originally from Canada.

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Mansfield history

Town in Wright County, Missouri.

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jumping jack / jumping-jack

Jointed acrobat toy.

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Yankton, Dakota Territory

1879 land office town.

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roller skates / rink

Wheeled frame for the shoe.

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churn

Cream agitator.

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Braille / New York Point

Used by Mary Ingalls.

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claim jumper / Mr. Hunter / Jack Hunt

One who ousts another from their land.

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“Home of the Soul”

1865 E.M.H. Gates hymn.

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spinning wheel / spinning-wheel

Turns wool into yarn.

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“Old Dan Tucker”

Mr. Edwards sings it!

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saleratus / soda

Leavening agents used in baking.

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“Nellie was a Lady”

…last night she died

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Little House on the Prairie – historical perspective

LHOP history

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Eskimo / igloo

Tribes of arctic America and Greenland. / Snow hut.

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bandana

Large handkerchief with white pattern on red or blue background.

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Chariton County, Missouri

Location of land purchased in 1868 by Charles Ingalls, Henry Quiner, and Tom Quiner.

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Mary Blanche Howard

Mary’s roommate in Vinton.

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brakeman

Person who stops the train.

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Syndicate Hotel

Laura & Almanzo stayed there!

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Charles Barker

Early De Smet grocer.

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Delos Perry family

The Perry School was on his homestead.

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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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missionary barrel

Collection of items distributed to the needy.

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“Pull for the Shore”

Sunshine for Sunday Schools hymn.

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milk pan / milk-pan / milkpan

Where cream rises.

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“I Wish I Was Single Again”

1871 J.C. Beckel song.

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“Mary of the Wild Moor”

1845 song by Joseph W. Turner.

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“The Girl I Left Behind Me”

17th century Irish tune.

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“I Wish I Was in Dixie’s Land”

1860 Daniel Decatur Emmett song.

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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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Young Pioneers

David and Molly Beaton.

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handcar

Don’t be left behind!

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snowplow

Clears the tracks.

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Mr. Hanson

Walnut Grove land trader.

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twilight

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

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crocheted rag rug

Crocheted floor covering made of strips of cloth.

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blueing bag

Whiter whites.

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Have you seen the comet?

Tebbutt’s Great Comet of 1881.

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freeze drying

sublimation!

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twisting hay

makes a hot, quick fire

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“Oh Boys, Carry Me Along”

Stephen Foster song.

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parsnip

Pastinaca edulis, a white, spindle-shaped root vegetable.

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Pa’s red & white checked mittens

Fair Isle pattern.

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Jim River / James River

A tributary of the Missouri River.

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ash withe / ash-withe

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

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William O’Connell

Fictional Bill O’Dowd.

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Mother Goose

Fictionalized compiler of ancient nursery rhymes.

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Good Templars Lodge

International temperance fraternal organization.

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“The Gum-Tree Canoe”

1847 Steele & Winnemore song.

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bull dog / bulldog

All of him rested, except his ears.

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bangs / lunatic fringe

hair across the forehead

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roller towel

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

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Mr. Anderson / Niels Kopperud

Hard Winter wheat settler

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“Uncle Ned”

One of the earliest Stephen Foster songs.

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John D. Peirson

Early De Smet liveryman.

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muskrat

Their houses predict winter weather.

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Charlotte Quiner Holbrook

Caroline Ingalls’ mother

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Laura’s Bible references

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

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turnip

Cruciferous plant grown for root and greens.

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whip

A lash tied to a handle.

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Q

quaker meeting – quinine

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“On Jordan’s Stormy Banks”

Long Winter song

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“A Motto for Every Man”

1868 Harry Clifton song.

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Charleton Fuller / Gerald Fuller

Hardware store owner, partnered with his brother Gerald.

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cottage cheese

Curdled skim milk.

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drop the handkerchief / drop-the-handkerchief

Circle game.

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telegraph

Don’t let Jimmie shock you with it!

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copyright / permissions

Please do not plagiarize.

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badger

Don’t poke it with a stick!

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perforated paper embroidery

Stitched designs.

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The Story of Art Smith

1915 Rose Wilder Lane serial about an aviator.

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cosy / cozy

snug and comfortable

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album

Blank booklet for collecting autographs or photos.

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locust

Buy this book.

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“The May Queen”

Poem in three parts by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

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barber

Shave and a haircut, two bits!

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“Captain Jinks”

1868 comedic opera song.

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Nellie Oleson Meets Laura Ingalls

Heather Williams book.

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The Athenians

Hartville, Mo. study club.

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composition

The act of forming a written piece.

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cameo

Aunt Docia’s pretty collar pin.

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George Whiting Ingalls

Bugle-blowing, jigging uncle.

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“The Whip-Poor-Will’s Song”

1865 Harrison Millard song.

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snow-fort

“Holler ’nuff!”

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The New York Ledger

Weekly story paper, published 1855-1898.

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Spat them Out

Clapping (and kissing) game.

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tiger

Noah’s ark toy piece.

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ostrich tips / feathers

Short bobbing feather used for hat decoration.

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“The Big Sunflower”

Pa’s trouble song.

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custard / ice-cream

Sweetened milk and eggs, cooked.

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“Yankee Doodle”

Early song brought to America from Britain.

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Walter Ogden

Surveyors’ House housemate 1879-80

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“When I Can Read My Title Clear”

1700s Isaac Watts hymn.

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consumption

A wasting disease, pulmonary tuberculosis.

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Rocky Ridge Farm

The Wilders’ Missouri farm east of Mansfield

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whiskey

Spirits distilled from grain.

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popcorn

Heat makes it burst & it’s tasty.

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cat’s cradle

Game played with string twisted on the fingers.

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Lewis Sasse

De Smet druggist

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H

hack – hypocrite

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Little Georgie Dwight

He could not learn his letters!

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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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“Wait for the Wagon”

Buckley and Knauff song.

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“The Old Time”

Mr. Boast’s favorite song.

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apron

Garment protector.

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Thomas P. Power family

De Smet tailor.

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mother-of-pearl

Hard, silvery, brilliant, internal layer of several kinds of shells, particularly oysters.

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fichu

Light pointed cape worn by ladies, usually made of lace.

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Women’s Christian Temperance Union

W.C.T.U.

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Introspections of an Individualist

Norma Lee Browning article about Rose Wilder Lane.

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ice-house

Stores ice blocks in warm weather.

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Mr. Edwards / Edmund Mason

Was he Edmund Mason?

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tattoo

Sounds like beating drums!

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