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“The Ninety and Nine”

Elizabeth Clephane poem.

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Samuel O. Masters / William J. Masters families

Walnut Grove, Burr Oak, and De Smet family known by the Ingallses.

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cornmeal mush / hasty pudding

Cornmeal and water, cooked.

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fascinator

Pretty, light head covering.

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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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“Rock of Ages”

1760s Augustus Toplady hymn.

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Silas Rood

Rude by name & nature?

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S

Sabbath – sycamore

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Delos Perry family

The Perry School was on his homestead.

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M

Ma – “My Sabbath Home”

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water alcove

Railroad car water for drinking.

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“Great is the Lord”

Singing school song from The Conqueror.

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axle grease

Lubricant for wagon wheels and other machinery.

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buffalo / bison

bison

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Protected: Alfred Ely

One of the younger boys in school.

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milk pan / milk-pan / milkpan

Where cream rises.

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grippe

influenza

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gable

Triangular end of a building under the roof.

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Julia & Amasa Tower

Walnut Grove church friends.

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Ingalls office / store in De Smet

NW and SE corners of Calumet and Second.

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John Ensign family

Quit crying, Howard.

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bear grease

Bear fat hair dressing.

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“Uncle Ned”

One of the earliest Stephen Foster songs.

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lantern

A light meant to be carried.

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chapel

Place of worship.

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pullaway

Outdoor tagging game.

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Quiner graves

Abandoned cemetery off Playhouse Road.

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Hiram Ingalls

Pa’s brother.

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Burke / Malone during the Little House years

Almanzo Wilder birthplace.

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“The Tides” / The moon is at its full

1860 William Cullen Bryant poem.

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railroad camp / Silver Lake camp

Temporary dwellings for workers during surveying or construction.

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hulled corn

Hominy.

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G

gable – “Gypsy’s Warning”

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Godey’s Lady’s Book

Women’s magazine, 1830-1898.

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garnet

Deep orange-red gemstone.

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“Golden Years are Passing By”

1879 Will Thompson song.

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china shepherdess / little china woman

Ingalls family figurine.

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quinine

Medicine used to treat malaria, made from cinchona bark.

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lone cottonwood / lone tree

The big one between the lakes.

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Waverly Novels

Sir Walter Scott books.

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beard / whiskers

Facial hair.

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ambition

Act of obtaining an object of desire.

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Singing School

Choral music classes

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Frogs at School

“Twenty froggies went to school…”

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B

bachelor – “by the pale, silver light…”

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“Lilly Dale” / “Lily Dale”

1852 song by H.S. Thomson.

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Thomas H. Ruth

President of Kingsbury County Bank in De Smet.

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perforated paper embroidery

Stitched designs.

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Indian camps

Look! Beads!

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Baby Boy Wilder

Son of Laura and Almanzo Wilder

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Margaret Garland family / Cap Garland

Family living behind the Ingallses in De Smet.

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Hotel keeper’s family struck by lightning

E.P. LeSuer of Canby, Minnesota.

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“Marching Through Georgia”

Union song from American Civil War.

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“Tubal Cain”

Charles McKay poem.

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The Long Winter – the fictional story

Winter for seven months!

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“What Shall the Harvest Be?”

1850 Emily Oakley poem.

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“Sweet By and By”

Pa’s favorite hymn.

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Declaration of Independence

Document renouncing U.S. subjection to Great Britain.

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Henry O. Quiner family

Ma’s brother, married to Pa’s sister Polly.

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Mr. Edwards / Edmund Mason

Was he Edmund Mason?

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These Happy Golden Years – historical perspective

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

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oyster

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

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pasteboard / lambrequin

Paperboard used as base for decorative edging.

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storm apron

Rain protection for buggy.

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picket rope / pin / line

animal tether

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cradle scythe

Blade and handle used to cut oats.

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“Gaily Now Our Boat is Sailing”

Singing school exercise

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“The Gypsy’s Warning”

1864 Henry Coard song.

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buck / buckskin

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

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Mary Blanche Howard

Mary’s roommate in Vinton.

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“On Jordan’s Stormy Banks”

Long Winter song

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“Oh! Susanna”

Stephen Foster song.

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awl

pokes holes

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H. W. Cooledge

De Smet photographer.

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justice / Justice of the Peace

Limited jurisdiction magistrate.

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windlass

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

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“The Lotos Eaters”

Tennyson poem.

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“The Swan’s Nest”

Elizabeth Barrett Browning poem.

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James McKee family

Homesteader north of Manchester D.T.

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Kitty

the Ingallses’ cat in Dakota Territory

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April Fool’s Day

Sticking with salt in the sugar bowl from now on.

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starry papers

Hand-made shelf edging.

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galumphing

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

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checkers

Game played on a board of 64 squares.

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Charles Barker

Early De Smet grocer.

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worm / angleworm

common soil worm

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dumpling

Dough cooked in liquid.

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Johnny Johnson

“Wake up and watch the cattle!”

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A Tribute to the Early Day Teachers

Neva Whaley Harding tribute.

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“The Polish Boy”

Poem by Ann S. Stephens

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acre

4840 square yards of land.

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“The Pied Piper”

Robert Browning poem.

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Dolly Varden

NIckname of Edith Ingalls, Laura’s cousin.

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“Beware!”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem.

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locust

Buy this book.

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Little Town on the Prairie – historical perspective

De Smet D.T. in the 1880s.

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“Ta-ra-ra-Boom-de-Ay”

1891 Henry J. Sayers song.

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Charles Ely

Early lumber man in De Smet.

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“Little Annie Rooney”

1889 song by Michael Nolan.

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dipper / ladle / skimmer

Used to remove foam when boiling maple sap.

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nubia

A light scarf worn about the head and neck.

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cat hole / cat-hole

Jack will keep other animals from using it.

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tableland

Elevated flat land; a plateau.

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building paper / tar paper

Crude building paper used for covering.

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calendar

What’s today’s date?

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Peytona & Fashion

Currier & Ives print at Rocky Ridge Farm.

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threshing

Beating to separate.

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Missouri Pool

Smoked a pipe & grew pretty flowers.

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“The New Year’s Come”

1842 “Why chime the bells so merrily?”

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Protected: private post

Go away AI; you are not welcome here.

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handcar

Don’t be left behind!

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scour / scouring brick

To rub hard for the purpose of cleaning.

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Mr. and Mrs. Scott

Indian Territory neighbors of the Ingallses.

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“The Sleighing Glee”

Singing school song.

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mercury / thermometer

Used to measure air temperature.

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Chicago Inter-Ocean / Inter-Ocean

Republican political newspaper.

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twine

A strong twisted thread.

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“A Motto for Every Man”

1868 Harry Clifton song.

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John H. Carroll

Early De Smet banker.

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forfeits

Game in which items are deposited and redeemable by a sportive fine.

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trundle bed

Low bed stored under higher bed.

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Will Barnes

Walnut Grove laborer

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St. Lawrence River

A streak of silver on the horizon.

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basque

Jacket-like part of a lady’s dress.

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“The May Queen”

Poem in three parts by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

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“The Sculptor Boy”

Carrie recited it.

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fichu

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

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Morocco leather

Fine goat leather.

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On the Banks of Plum Creek – the fictional story

Farming struggles in Minnesota.

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orthography

The art of spelling words correctly.

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dictionary

The words of a language.

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Yankton, Dakota Territory

1879 land office town.

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The Story of Art Smith

1915 Rose Wilder Lane serial about an aviator.

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I

“I am Mrs. Jinks…” – “I wouldn’t marry a farmer”

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ash withe / ash-withe

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

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“Paul Revere’s Ride”

Poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

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“Polly Wolly Doodle”

Daniel Decatur Emmett song.

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spinning wheel / spinning-wheel

Turns wool into yarn.

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Spat them Out

Clapping (and kissing) game.

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poll

No horns.

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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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“The Evergreen Shore”

1861 William Hunter song.

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the children’s blizzard

January 12, 1888, blizzard.

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R

rabbit – rye

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Silver Lake

Kingsbury County prairie pothole lake.

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cosy / cozy

snug and comfortable

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Pioneer Press

St. Paul newspaper read by Charles Ingalls in De Smet

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saleratus / soda

Leavening agents used in baking.

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Mr. Hanson

Walnut Grove land trader.

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Charlotte Quiner Holbrook

Caroline Ingalls’ mother

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Burr Oak during the Little House years

Town in Winneshiek County, Iowa.

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fanning-mill

Machine for winnowing.

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“I Wish I Was Single Again”

1871 J.C. Beckel song.

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Tennyson’s Poems

Christmas present for Laura

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Bad Lands

Area eroded by wind & water.

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yeast / yeast cakes

Bread-leavening organism.

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Royal Wilder

Almanzo’s older brother.

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Wilkin School

April 20 – July 10, 1885.

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bison / “The Bison Track”

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

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The Long Winter – historical perspective

The Hard Winter of 1880-1881.

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“Song of the Grass”

Song from Leslie and Randall’s The Conqueror, page 16.

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birthday

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

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The Athenians

Hartville, Mo. study club.

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spoon holder / spoon-holder / spoonholder

Any vessel used to hold and display spoons.

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“Bo-peep has lost her sheep”

Game of hiding and surprise to amuse a small child.

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velvet

Silk or blend fabric with short shag surface.

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Orion E. Stearns

Caught by blizzard of ’88.

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Charles Mead

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

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President James Madison

4th President of the U.S.

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poultice

Applied to sores to help them heal.

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Frank M. Cooley family

On the Way home travelers.

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New England States

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

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birds in their little nests agree

Miss Wilder knew nothing about birds.

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Walnut Grove during the Little House years

Village in Redwood County, Minnesota

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gosh!

that wicked word

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P

Pa – pussy-in-the-corner

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pumpkin

The plant and fruit of Curcubita pepo

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The Square in Malone

Where the band played.

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accordion

musical instrument

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Adam / adam’s apple

The first man, the progenitor of the human race.

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America / American

Pertaining to the United States of America.

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jewel box / jewel-box

Nice place to keep a breast-pin.

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Charles Ingalls: The Civil War Years

Charles Ingalls: the Civil War Years

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Farmer Boy – the fictional story

Almanzo Wilder’s childhood in Burke NY.

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Becky Newhall / Rebecca Stewart

Classmate of Laura Ingalls in De Smet.

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Joseph Bouchie family

Fictional Brewster family in THGY.

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button lamp

Improvised grease lamp.

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“Bean Porridge Hot”

Bean porridge cold…

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bacon

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

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Laura & Lansford Ingalls

Grandpa & Grandma Ingalls

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Protected: James H. Clewett

De Smet teacher, January-March 1883

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The Youth’s Companion

Weekly instructional magazine for children, first published in 1827.

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copper

Cu

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Big Sioux River / Sioux River

SD-IA tributary of Missouri River.

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sulky / sulky plow

One-seated conveyance.

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De Smet bird’s-eye view

1883 Henry Wellge drawing of De Smet

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Carrie Ingalls

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

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brakeman

Person who stops the train.

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Jerome Beardsley family

De Smet hotel keeper.

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peddler’s cart / wagon

A little store on wheels.

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