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tableland

Elevated flat land; a plateau.

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John Ensign family

Quit crying, Howard.

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tattoo

Sounds like beating drums!

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honey

Bee-made sweetness.

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Belgian horse

They’d pull a barn, if hitched to it.

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Charlotte Holbrook

Laura’s “Aunt Lotty”

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vanity cakes

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

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claim jumper / Mr. Hunter / Jack Hunt

One who ousts another from their land.

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Alice & Arthur Whiting

Cousin Alice Ingalls Whiting’s family.

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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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“For the Sake o’ Somebody”

1794 Robert Burns poem.

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“Oh Boys, Carry Me Along”

Stephen Foster song.

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“The Treadmill Song”

Oliver Wendell Holmes poem set to music.

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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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Hamlin Garland

…and his first Christmas tree!

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ground-cherry

Variety of husk tomato.

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William H. Steadman family

Proprietor of hotel in Burr Oak.

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Charles H. Tinkham

Early undertaker and owner of the first furniture store in De Smet.

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“Nobody Ask’d You”

“Where are you going, my pretty maid?”

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“The Burial of Sir John Moore”

1817 poem by Charles Wolfe.

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barber

Shave and a haircut, two bits!

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William O’Connell

Fictional Bill O’Dowd.

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“Polly Wolly Doodle”

Daniel Decatur Emmett song.

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dug out / dugout

Dwelling built into the earth.

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zenith

The point of the heavens directly overhead.

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bacon

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

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St. Lawrence River

A streak of silver on the horizon.

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Noah’s ark toy

Willie’s toy boat with animals.

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Mother Goose

Fictionalized compiler of ancient nursery rhymes.

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Charles Mead

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

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“Sweet By and By”

Pa’s favorite hymn.

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copper

Cu

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justice / Justice of the Peace

Limited jurisdiction magistrate.

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“The Battle-Cry of Freedom”

We’ll Rally Round the Flag, Boys!

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Governor of Orleans / The American Remount Association

Registered stallion leased to Almanzo Wilder 1923-1925.

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apprentice

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

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parsnip

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

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“America”

1832 Reverend Samuel F. Smith song.

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Will Barnes

Walnut Grove laborer

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Little House Songs

Prairie Song Companion

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pasteboard / lambrequin

Paperboard used as base for decorative edging.

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“Merry, Merry Christmas”

Hymn Number 150 in Pure Gold for Sunday Schools.

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Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Birthday

Happy Birthday, Laura!

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“Lend a Helping Hand”

Hymn #22, Pure Gold for Sunday School.

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The New York Ledger

Weekly story paper, published 1855-1898.

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buck / buckskin

Male of the fallow deer, and leather made from its skin.

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“By Lo, Baby Bunting”

Mother Goose rhyme.

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auk

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

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“Home, Sweet Home”

1823 Payne & Bishop song.

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crow

Large black bird of genus Corvus.

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John Anderson

Walnut Grove store clerk & more

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The Advance

Weekly family newspaper of the Congregational church.

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killdeer

Small aquatic bird.

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David Thorp

Walnut Grove teacher 1877-78.

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Reverend Edward Brown

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

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Silas Rood

Rude by name & nature?

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Reverend Stewart Sheldon

American Home Missionary Society Superintendent 1874-1886.

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Thomas H. Ruth

President of Kingsbury County Bank in De Smet.

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C

cabbage – cyclone

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W

wage – writ of attachment

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patent / title

official property ownership document

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needle grass

Ouch! Something bit me!

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barrel

Round vessel or cask made of wooden staves.

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Sam Owen

De Smet boot & shoe maker… and horseman!

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mustache

Hair above the lip.

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railroad cut / fill

How you level a railroad grade.

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Mary Blanche Howard

Mary’s roommate in Vinton.

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“When Johnny Comes Marching Home”

1863 Louis Lambert song.

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poke bonnet / poke-bonnet

the lining matched Laura’s eyes

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E

ear flap – expelled

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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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thunder-pumps

American bittern, a member of the heron family.

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antelope

Antilocapra cervicapra of North America.

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John Armstrong

Kingsbury Co. courthouse caretaker

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chilblain

Cold sores on hands and feet.

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Pa’s “big green book”

George Hartwig’s The Polar and Tropical Worlds: A Description of Man and Nature.

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links

Helps you find what you’re looking for.

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“Gentle Words and Loving Smiles”

Hymn 139 in Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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Brownsville, Texas 1906

Did Eliza Jane sell fruit to these soldiers?

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church

Place of Christian worship.

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Missouri Pool

Smoked a pipe & grew pretty flowers.

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velvet

Silk or blend fabric with short shag surface.

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snow-fort

“Holler ’nuff!”

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“What Shall the Harvest Be?”

1850 Emily Oakley poem.

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Millbank

1871 novel by Mary Jane Holmes.

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literature

Knowledge and fancy preserved in writing.

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willow

Tree of the genus Salix.

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apron

Garment protector.

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carpet-bag / carpetbag

Traveling-bag

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South Troy / Zumbro Falls today

Little town along the Zumbro River.

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Ingalls office / store in De Smet

NW and SE corners of Calumet and Second.

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composition

The act of forming a written piece.

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copper-toed shoes

Metal shoe protector.

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jewel box / jewel-box

Nice place to keep a breast-pin.

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fichu

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

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nickel

The metal. Or five-cent piece.

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“Elizabeth, Elspeth, Betsy, and Bess”

Nursery rhyme wordplay on the name Elizabeth.

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muff

A warm covering for receiving the hands.

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Rocky Ridge Farm

The Wilders’ Missouri farm east of Mansfield

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lime / whitewash

Oxide of calcium mixed with water and used for whitening.

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G

gable – “Gypsy’s Warning”

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Sale of School Lands on the Osage Diminished Reserve

LHOP cabin was on Section 36

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“The Sculptor Boy”

Carrie recited it.

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quarter section / quarter-section

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

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garnet

Deep orange-red gemstone.

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“The Evergreen Shore”

1861 William Hunter song.

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flag, the flower

An aquatic flower, Iris versicolor.

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drop the handkerchief / drop-the-handkerchief

Circle game.

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“Gaily Now Our Boat is Sailing”

Singing school exercise

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Yankton, Dakota Territory

1879 land office town.

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Spin-offs and Adaptations of the Little House Books

Not by LIW, but kindred publications.

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Charles Trousdale

De Smet drayman and his performing sons.

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“In the Starlight”

1878 Glover & Carpenter song.

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Lost, between sunrise and sunset…

Horace Mann quotation from his Writings, published in 1872.

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“Rock Me to Sleep”

Elizabeth Allen poem.

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zebra

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

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“The Whip-Poor-Will’s Song”

1865 Harrison Millard song.

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water alcove

Railroad car water for drinking.

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canvas

Coarse hemp or flax cloth.

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Orion E. Stearns

Caught by blizzard of ’88.

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flag

the banner

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birthday

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

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“Paddle Your Own Canoe”

1850s Harry Clifton song.

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“The Sleighing Glee”

Singing school song.

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“Don’t Leave the Farm, Boys”

Song from The Conqueror.

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bison / “The Bison Track”

Bayard Taylor poem about Bos Americanus, found in Independent Fifth Reader.

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gaiters

Cloth ankle covering.

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starry papers

Hand-made shelf edging.

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buffalo / bison

bison

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saleratus / soda

Leavening agents used in baking.

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

Quilt block pattern.

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De Smet Cemetery

Ma & Pa’s final resting place.

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perforated paper embroidery

Stitched designs.

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Visscher Barnes

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

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gopher

Four don’t go fur…

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button

who’s got one?

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cottage cheese

Curdled skim milk.

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Carrie Ingalls

Younger sister of Laura Ingalls; she lived 1870-1946.

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“The Lotos Eaters”

Tennyson poem.

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H. W. Cooledge

De Smet photographer.

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Big Sioux River / Sioux River

SD-IA tributary of Missouri River.

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satchel

Small, soft-sided handled luggage.

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J

jabot – Justice of the Peace

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“The Girl I Left Behind Me”

17th century Irish tune.

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post office / post-office

Where you send and receive mail.

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Indian camps

Look! Beads!

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batten / lath

Thin, narrow board for fastening or joining.

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“Little Annie Rooney”

1889 song by Michael Nolan.

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“Captain Jinks”

1868 comedic opera song.

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prairie danglers

seventhwinter whimsey’s glass slide pendants!

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Frank Schaub

Early harness maker in De Smet.

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William H. Reed

Teacher in Burr Oak school, 1876-1877.

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“The Tides” / The moon is at its full

1860 William Cullen Bryant poem.

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Tennyson’s Poems

Christmas present for Laura

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“Barbary Allen”

Old Scotch tune.

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mowing machine

Farm implement for cutting hay or grain.

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Spat them Out

Clapping (and kissing) game.

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dickcissel / dickie-bird

A semi-nomadic finch, Spiza americana.

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oyster

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

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kerosene / kerosine

Oil used for lighting.

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Timber Culture Act / tree claim

Passed by Congress, March 3, 1873.

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Uncle Sam

Figure symbolizing the United States.

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picket rope / pin / line

animal tether

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snowplow

Clears the tracks.

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stockade

Enclosure of posts or sticks.

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birds’-nest pudding

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

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Mr. Anderson / Niels Kopperud

Hard Winter wheat settler

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peddler’s cart / wagon

A little store on wheels.

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watermelon-rind preserves

sugary jelly

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“The High Tide”

Jean Ingelow poem.

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Young Pioneers

David and Molly Beaton.

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Lewis Sasse

De Smet druggist

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“Come In and Shut the Door”

Circa 1862 song by J.P.H.

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Have you seen the comet?

Tebbutt’s Great Comet of 1881.

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“Uncle Sam’s Farm”

1848 Jesse Hutchinson, Jr. song.

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De Smet bird’s-eye view

1883 Henry Wellge drawing of De Smet

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Hiram Ingalls

Pa’s brother.

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“The Campbells are Coming”

Traditional Scottish jig.

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P A T

one seven seven ought

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“The Blue Juniata”

1841 Marion Dix Sullivan song.

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blacking / stove-blacking / boot blacking

Preparation used to make things black.

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alley / alleyway

Narrow passageway, distinct from public street.

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“Jingle Bells”

1857 James Pierpont song.

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Morocco leather

Fine goat leather.

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H

hack – hypocrite

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B

bachelor – “by the pale, silver light…”

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Perley Day Wilder

Almanzo’s youngest brother.

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R

rabbit – rye

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morning-glory

Climbing plant of the genus Ipomœa.

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Jesse French

Butchered oxen during the Hard Winter.

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mother-of-pearl

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

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breast-pin / brooch / bar pin

Ornament worn on clothing.

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Laura’s wedding silver

Wm. Rogers’ “Crown” silverplate.

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Julia & Amasa Tower

Walnut Grove church friends.

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“Dakota Land”

1876 hymn, Beulah Land.

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Little Town on the Prairie – the fictional story

Homesteading and town life.

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“The May Queen”

Poem in three parts by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

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blizzard

In 1880-1881, a long, severe, blinding, and bitterly cold snowstorm.

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V

vain – vote

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