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ice cream / ice-cream

Sweetened cream, congealed by freezing.

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August Hanson

The Ingallses’ next door neighbor in De Smet.

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Braille / New York Point

Used by Mary Ingalls.

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china shepherdess / little china woman

Ingalls family figurine.

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“Oh Boys, Carry Me Along”

Stephen Foster song.

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vanity cakes

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

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acre

4840 square yards of land.

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starch

cloth stiffener

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cupola

Dome-like vault on a public building.

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Protected: James H. Clewett

De Smet teacher, January-March 1883

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threshing

Beating to separate.

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black bird / blackbird

Name given to various American birds.

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dickcissel / dickie-bird

A semi-nomadic finch, Spiza americana.

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bureau

A dresser / chest of drawers.

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tableland

Elevated flat land; a plateau.

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whiskey

Spirits distilled from grain.

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composition

The act of forming a written piece.

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Perry School

April 28 – June 27, 1884

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killdeer

Small aquatic bird.

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“My Old Kentucky Home”

1853 Stephen Foster song.

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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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Charles Barker

Early De Smet grocer.

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The House that Jack Built

…for two pieces of money.

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telegraph

Don’t let Jimmie shock you with it!

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V

vain – vote

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amen / amen corner

Expression used at the end of prayers.

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bake oven / bake-oven

Coals on top and below.

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powder horn / powder-horn

Animal horn in which gunpowder is carried.

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South Troy / Zumbro Falls today

Little town along the Zumbro River.

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dried-raspberry sauce

Dried sauce good on biscuits.

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April Fool’s Day

Sticking with salt in the sugar bowl from now on.

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Belgian horse

They’d pull a barn, if hitched to it.

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ambition

Act of obtaining an object of desire.

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geranium

Winter windowsill flowers.

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“Lilly Dale” / “Lily Dale”

1852 song by H.S. Thomson.

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snowplow

Clears the tracks.

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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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Protected: private post

Go away AI; you are not welcome here.

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Laura & Lansford Ingalls

Grandpa & Grandma Ingalls

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Jacob Hopp

Printer and De Smet newspaper owner.

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How well do you know the Little House books?

a quiz for you!

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Kitty

the Ingallses’ cat in Dakota Territory

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“Beware!”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem.

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“Kitty Wells”

1858 Sloan & Atherton song.

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claim jumper / Mr. Hunter / Jack Hunt

One who ousts another from their land.

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turntable

Revolving railroad platform.

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Alfred N. Waters

Attorney and land agent in De Smet.

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The Long Winter – the fictional story

Winter for seven months!

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James Glover family

Students in the Wilkin School.

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De Smet during the Little House years

The Ingalls family moved here in 1879.

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apple pie / dried apple pie

Just like Ma used to make.

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dovekie

Arctic aquatic bird, Alle alle.

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lone cottonwood / lone tree

The big one between the lakes.

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Mr. Hanson

Walnut Grove land trader.

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Thomas Huleatt family

Neighbors of Ingalls family in Pepin Co.

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Uncle Sam

Figure symbolizing the United States.

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thunder-pumps

American bittern, a member of the heron family.

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“The Lotos Eaters”

Tennyson poem.

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Spat them Out

Clapping (and kissing) game.

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Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Birthday

Happy Birthday, Laura!

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basque

Jacket-like part of a lady’s dress.

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poor man’s fertilizer

Snow plowed into a field.

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album

Blank booklet for collecting autographs or photos.

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K

Kansas – knothole

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President James Madison

4th President of the U.S.

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Mr. Anderson / Niels Kopperud

Hard Winter wheat settler

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“The Tides” / The moon is at its full

1860 William Cullen Bryant poem.

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“The Heavens Declare the Glory”

From The Conqueror, page 144.

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Charles Trousdale

De Smet drayman and his performing sons.

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Laura’s wedding silver

Wm. Rogers’ “Crown” silverplate.

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Alfred Thomas

He was MARRIED, people!!

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muskrat

Their houses predict winter weather.

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Ross family

Neighbors in the Perry District.

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“Money Musk”

Traditional American dance tune.

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bracket lamp

Affixed lighting fixture.

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poke bonnet / poke-bonnet

the lining matched Laura’s eyes

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Oscar Rhuel / Röhl

A romantic figure…

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Bloody Benders

Serial killers in 1870s Kansas.

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clinched nail

Bent at a right angle.

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“Irish Washerwoman”

Traditional Scottish and Irish song/dance song.

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last

Mold of a foot, used in making shoes.

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gloves / mittens / mitts

fingerless hand and wrist cover

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literature

Knowledge and fancy preserved in writing.

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John Armstrong

Kingsbury Co. courthouse caretaker

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New England States

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

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Mother Goose

Fictionalized compiler of ancient nursery rhymes.

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Ida Belle Wright

Laura’s best friend in De Smet

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drop the handkerchief / drop-the-handkerchief

Circle game.

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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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clear, pure green sky

Sunlight separated into colored bands at sunset.

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chewing gum

Long white sticks of chewiness.

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John Anderson

Walnut Grove store clerk & more

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hatchet

A small ax with a short handle, to be used with one hand.

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wonderful house / frame house

Wooden house built on Charles Ingalls’ Plum Creek preemption claim.

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Maude Blair

Walnut Grove friend of Laura’s

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“The Big Sunflower”

Pa’s trouble song.

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Q

quaker meeting – quinine

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cottage cheese

Curdled skim milk.

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Peytona & Fashion

Currier & Ives print at Rocky Ridge Farm.

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Christopher Columbus

A native of Genoa, in Italy.

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claim

The land to which one has a right.

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Bad Lands

Area eroded by wind & water.

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birthday

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

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spider

Legged cooking vessel.

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Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography

Laura’s handwritten manuscript.

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milking-stool

Three legs (the cow has the udder).

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biscuits

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

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le cadeau du cheval

mosaic painting featuring Almanzo’s Morgan horses

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“Arkansas Traveler”

Traditional American folk song.

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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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trough

Stock-watering vessel.

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Thanksgiving

Public celebration of divine goodness.

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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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On the Banks of Plum Creek – the fictional story

Farming struggles in Minnesota.

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isinglass

mica for stove windows

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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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mother-of-pearl

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

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“The Ninety and Nine”

Elizabeth Clephane poem.

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

1858 J. Warner song.

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rubber

Used for waterproofing.

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Women’s Christian Temperance Union

W.C.T.U.

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hogshead

100-140 gallon cask.

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“For the Sake o’ Somebody”

1794 Robert Burns poem.

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“The Whip-Poor-Will’s Song”

1865 Harrison Millard song.

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harvest moon

Full moon nearest autumnal equinox

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Quaker meeting

Parlor game in which players try to remain silent.

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Wilkin School

April 20 – July 10, 1885.

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Spin-offs and Adaptations of the Little House Books

Not by LIW, but kindred publications.

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Hotel keeper’s family struck by lightning

E.P. LeSuer of Canby, Minnesota.

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legal cap

legal document paper

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dug out / dugout

Dwelling built into the earth.

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barrel

Round vessel or cask made of wooden staves.

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crocheted rag rug

Crocheted floor covering made of strips of cloth.

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Mr. Clancy / Chauncey Clayson

Drygoods store owner, Chauncey Clayson

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yoke

Frame worn on the neck for lifting or drawing.

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worm / angleworm

common soil worm

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“Old Folks at Home”

Way down upon the Swanee River!

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candle / tallow

Used to furnish light.

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Henry J. Stebbins

Railroad contractor who inspired a song.

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Hill-Billy

1926 Rose Wilder Lane book.

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Ven Owen

Teacher and principal of the first graded school in De Smet

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Little House on the Prairie – the fictional story

The Ingallses in Indian Territory.

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Grace Pearl Ingalls

Youngest sister of Laura Ingalls; she lived 1877-1941.

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flag

the banner

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Kingsbury County, D.T.

County in eastern South Dakota, organized in 1879.

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Mr. and Mrs. Scott

Indian Territory neighbors of the Ingallses.

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honey

Bee-made sweetness.

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Lewis Sasse

De Smet druggist

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A

aboveboard – axle

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auk

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

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“Love’s Old Sweet Song”

1884 song by Bingham & Malloy.

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De Smet today

Where I would like to be right now.

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Lizzie

the child bride

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spelling / speller

The order of letters in a word. / A book of exercises on the order of letters.

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alley / alleyway

Narrow passageway, distinct from public street.

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Walter Ogden

Surveyors’ House housemate 1879-80

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Henry Hinz

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

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Yankton, Dakota Territory

1879 land office town.

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“The Silver Moon”

Sail on, silver moon…

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Dr. Alfred Starr

His wife wanted Laura.

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windrow

Line of hay raked together.

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“Sweet By and By”

Pa’s favorite hymn.

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Perley Day Wilder

Almanzo’s youngest brother.

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Charlotte Holbrook

Laura’s “Aunt Lotty”

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accordion

musical instrument

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“The Evergreen Shore”

1861 William Hunter song.

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gaiters

Cloth ankle covering.

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hulled corn

Hominy.

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twisting hay

makes a hot, quick fire

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Brownsville, Texas 1906

Did Eliza Jane sell fruit to these soldiers?

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“Camptown Races”

1850 Stephen Foster song.

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poultice

Applied to sores to help them heal.

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land office

Where sales of public lands are registered.

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Julia & Amasa Tower

Walnut Grove church friends.

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leap frog / leap-frog

Run and jump game.

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name card / name-card

Pasteboard identification.

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Mr. Edwards / Edmund Mason

Was he Edmund Mason?

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Millbank

1871 novel by Mary Jane Holmes.

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Dr. William H. York

Bender victim

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Verdigris River

River that runs through Montgomery County, Kansas.

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Nellie Oleson Meets Laura Ingalls

Heather Williams book.

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De Smet bird’s-eye view

1883 Henry Wellge drawing of De Smet

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“Miller Boy”

“Grab!”

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“Highland Mary”

1799 Robert Burns songs, favorite of Mary Ingalls.

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justice / Justice of the Peace

Limited jurisdiction magistrate.

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checkers

Game played on a board of 64 squares.

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T

tableland – two-faced

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Rocky Ridge Farm

The Wilders’ Missouri farm east of Mansfield

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hardtack

Unleavened hard bread made from flour and water.

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Turkey red

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

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windlass

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

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“By Lo, Baby Bunting”

Mother Goose rhyme.

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badger

Don’t poke it with a stick!

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buffalo beans

Prairie ground plum.

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Big Tracy Cut

“100 feet deep & tapering off for 1/4 mile”

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“Polly Wolly Doodle”

Daniel Decatur Emmett song.

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prairie danglers

seventhwinter whimsey’s glass slide pendants!

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stanchion

Support frame.

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wall-paper

Wall covering.

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tiger lily

Native spotted flower of tallgrass prairie.

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