New Yorker, 228, 239
New York Times: book reviews, 188, 202, 209, 213, 221, 239; obituary of LIW, 260
Nordland, Dakota Territory, 76
North Carolina, 102
Norway, 27, 61
Norwegians, 32, 37
Norwood, 29
Norwood, Mo., 101
Nugget Theater, 134, 172
Nunn, Charles, 20
Nyack, N.Y., 255
Oakland, Calif., 125
Oakwood, Dakota Territory, 48, 52
Oconomowoc River, 17
Odd Fellows (lodge), 19, 77, 101
Ogden, Walter, 50
Ogg, Norma Lee Browning, 107–8
Ohio, 16, 17, 23, 27, 62
Ohio River, 61, 86
Ojibwa Indians, 46
Oklahoma, 24, 25, 26, 170, 226, 266n27
Older, Fremont: receives letters from RWL, 160, 175, 177–78, 180; visited by LIW and RWL, 167, 170
Old Home Town (RWL), 98, 103, 207, 276n30
Old Settlers’ Association, 37
Old Settlers’ Day, 77, 185, 191, 228, 234
Old Shep (dog), 70
Oleson, Nellie, 34, 54, 59
On the Banks of Plum Creek (LIW), 6, 33, 209–13, 215, 218, 224, 225, 228, 243
Osage Indian Reserve, 23, 25, 26, 203
Osage Indians, 24–26, 31, 101, 206
Osage Treaty (1865), 25
Otoe Indians, 31
Ozark Playground Association, 173
Ozarks: settlement in, 92; LIW and AJW arrive in, 94; politics in, 99, 198, 275n20; and railroads, 102, 103; and religion, 102; people, 103, 196; farm life, 116; as fictional subject, 126, 166, 176, 179, 190; as subject of study club, 172; weather, 158, 193; RWL's condescending attitude toward, 160; terrain, 170
Ozark Southern Railroad, 197
Ozark Summit Exposition, 238
Owen, Ven, 65, 66, 68, 69
Owens, Nellie, 34, 54
Owens Cafe, 258
Painted Desert, 170, 226
Palmer and Company (brokerage firm), 170, 171, 180, 189
Panama Canal, 122
Panama-Pacific International Exposition, 122–23, 124, 127
Paris, 4, 140, 155, 157, 158, 171, 175
Parkhurst, Genevieve, 179
Parkman, Francis, 98
Pedro, Mo., 94
Pennsylvania, 16, 23, 24, 27, 61, 62
Pensacola, Fla., 86
Peoria, Ill., 204
Pepin, Wis., 14, 18, 19–20, 21, 26, 30, 31, 32
Pepin County, Wis., 15, 20, 29
Pepin County Independent, 19
Pepin County Press, 14
Pepin Landing, 14, 19, 20
Pepin Township, Wis., 27
Perry, Ernest, 64
Perry School, 66–67
Peterson family, 27
Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, 46–47
Pierre, Dakota Territory, and S. Dak., 51, 78, 82, 255
Pierre University, 78
Pierson's livery barn, 67, 70
Piney woods of Florida, 87
“Pioneer Girl” (autobiography of LIW), 3, 11, 22, 39, 64, 181–83, 184, 193, 194, 217, 218, 221, 223, 234
Pittsburgh, Pa., 28
Pittsburgh Courier, 254
Pleasant Valley Township, 4, 163
Plum Creek: geography of, 32; home of Ingalls family, 33, 35; as fictional subject, 131, 210, 224; mentioned, 218
Pomona, California Public Library, 256
Populist Party, 83, 98, 242
Porter, J. H., 38
Portland, Ore., 226
“Poverty flat,” 103
Power, Mary, 60, 79
Power, Mrs. Thomas, 79
Prague, 140
Prairie: LIW's attitude toward, 59, 123, 170, 192; basis for LIW's fiction, 207, 210, 219, 235, 242; mentioned, 46, 52, 58, 72, 87, 96, 190, 243
“Prairie Girl” (LIW), 223, 236
Preemption Act (1841), 24
Presbyterians, 78, 95, 102, 160
Prescott, Kan., 94
Prescott, William H., 98
Price, Paxton, 257
Prock, Bruce, 213, 229
Prussia, 27
Public Works Administration, 198
Publishers Weekly, 203
Puritans, 16, 54
Quigley, Mrs., 111
Quiner, Albert, 28
Quiner, Charley, 28, 49
Quiner, Charlotte Tucker, 17
Quiner, Eliza, 17, 27, 28, 30, 36, 165
Quiner, Henry, 17, 18, 20–22, 28, 49, 165
Quiner, Henry N., 17
Quiner, Joseph, 18
Quiner, Lottie, 28
Quiner, Louisa, 28, 49
Quiner, Polly, 28
Quiner, Tom, 28, 165
Railroad: in Kansas, 24; in Minnesota, 30, 43, 86, 210; LIW sees first train, 31; in Dakota Territory, 45, 48, 50, 51, 54, 55, 56, 57, 65, 75, 219, 220; LIW attends party at depot, 60; in Mansfield, 99, 100, 103, 133, 174, 196; in Missouri, 102, 109, 171, 275n26; LIW travels on, 123; as fictional subject, 225; mentioned, 14, 20, 36, 83, 167
Raymond, Ida Louise, 208, 213, 216
Rebekahs (lodge), 101
Red Cross, 133, 134, 135, 167, 238
Redwood County, Minn., 31, 33, 42
Redwood Falls, Minn., 32
Reed, Will, 37
Reed's Landing, Minn., 20
Religion, 16, 29, 33–34, 42. See also specific denominations
Republican Party, 16, 99, 101, 164, 197
Review of Books, National Economic Council, 254
Riley, Dr. F. H., 118, 119, 134, 172
Riley, Mrs. J. A., 134
Riley, Ogden, 204
Roberts, Kenneth, 222
Rocky Ridge Farm: LIW and AJW purchase, 96; timber on, 97; farming at, 97, 199; built up by LIW and AJW, 99, 109, 112, 114; used in LIW's writings, 115–16, 129, 161; RWL's money-making schemes for, 121–22; RWL's dislike of, 157, 160, 165, 166, 170, 207; terrain, 210; RWL's contribution to, 229; social activities, 230, 231, 249; sold by LIW and AJW, 250
Roosevelt, Eleanor, 233
Roosevelt, Franklin D.: LIW's views about, 198, 199, 233, 234; fireside chats, 204; mentioned, 197, 220, 227
Rounds, H. O., 119
Rowles, G. L., 23
Royal Neighbors (lodge), 101
Runyon, Damon, 182
Rural Electrification Administration, 246
Russian Settlement, 93. See also German-Russians
Ruth, Thomas H., 77
Rutland Township, Kan., 23
St. Louis, Mo.: visited by RWL, 140, 155, 189, 193; LIW have teeth worked on, 181; mentioned, 14, 247
St. Louis Star, 117
St. Paul Pioneer Press, 56
Salem, Mass., 16
Saloon, 51
Samarkand, 155
Samoan dancers, 124
San Francisco, Calif.: home of RWL, 112; visited by LIW, 116, 123–28, 138, 170, 226, 255; mentioned, 160, 180
San Francisco Bulletin: RWL works for, 121, 125, 158, 170; LIW's poems in, 139
San Francisco International Exposition, 116
Santa Barbara, Calif., 170, 226
Santa Clara Valley, 125
Santee Sioux Indians, 31
Sarajevo, 140
Saturday Evening Post, 182, 183, 195, 203, 207, 221, 235
Saturday Review of Literature, 222, 239, 240
Saugus River, 16
Sauk Indians, 36
Scandinavians, 24, 27, 32, 61
Scotch-Irish, 102
Scots, 27, 37, 45, 56
Scott, Sir Walter, 98
Seal, Neta, 216, 226, 249–50, 251, 255
Seal, Silas, 216, 219, 226, 229, 230, 249–50, 251, 255
Seattle Public Library, 243
Sedalia, Mo., 111, 232
Senate, U.S., 25
Senn, E. L., 226
Settlers’ Protective Association, 25
Sewell, Helen, 186, 208
Seymour, Mo., 95, 171, 204
Shakespeare, Willi
am, 66
Shaver, U. B., 14
Shawnee Indians, 101
Sherwood, Aubrey, 215, 229, 244
Sherwood, Carter, 94
Shiloh, Battle of, 18
Short, Dewey, 197, 233
Short, Luke, 258
Short family, 160
Shorter, Gireda, 250
Shorter, H. L., 250
Shrine Mosque (Springfield, Mo.), 204
Silver Creek, 37
Silver Lake, 49, 50, 62, 112, 228
Sinclair, Upton, 164
Singing school, 68
Sioux City, Iowa, 229
Sioux Falls, S. Dak., 95
Sioux Indians. See Dakota Indians
Skip (horse), 67
Skirbeck, England, 16
Sleepy Eye, Minn., 43
Smith, Alfred E., 178
Social Security, 254
Sod house, 33
Sons of Malta, 19
Sorosis Club, 218
South Dakota: achieves statehood, 44, 82; home of LIW's family, 111; mentioned, 89, 192
South Dakota Retail Merchants Association, 62
South Dakota State Historical Society, 255
Spelling bees, 40
Spirit Lake, 67, 193
Spokane, Wash., 226
Spookendyke (donkey), 98, 100
Springfield, Iowa, 37
Springfield, Mo.: population, 117; visited by LIW, 123, 171, 204, 229; visited by RWL, 140, 155, 207, 257; mentioned, 93, 94, 103, 169, 173, 174, 177, 216, 238, 259
Spring Valley, Minn.: home of Wilder family, 68, 72, 100, 221; home of LIW and AJW, 85, 86, 87, 88, 240
Starr, Mrs., 39
State Department, U.S., 245
Steadman, Johnny, 37, 38
Steadman, Reuben, 37
Steadman, Tommy, 38
Steadman family, 35, 36, 37
Steamboats, 14
Stebbins, Mr., 221
Stephens, C. A., 164
Stine, Rev. John O., 133
Stock market, 179
Stock market crash, 173, 180, 196
Sullivan, Mark, 199
Sunday school, 34, 41, 42, 57, 131
Sunwall, Gustave, 32
Surveyors’ house, 49, 50, 62
Swanzey, David, 226
Swedes, 27
Swiss, 27, 37
Switzerland, 27
Tann, George, 23
Tennessee, 102
Tennessee River, 86
Tennyson, Alfred, Lord, 98
Texas, 170, 226
Thayer, Thomas Jefferson, 89
These Happy Golden Years (LIW), 6, 66, 239–40, 241, 251, 252
Thomas, Alfred, 64
Thomas, Lowell, 182, 190
Thoreau, Henry David, 130
Tiger Hotel (Columbia, Mo.), 208, 219, 220
Timber claims, 57, 59, 73–74
Timber Culture Act (1873), 73
Tinkham, Charles H., 62
Tinkham family, 60
Tirana, Albania, 140, 171, 175, 176
Tobin-Hamilton Shoe Company, 247
Topeka, Kan., 94
Tower, Julie, 34
Tracy, Minn., 31, 32, 46, 47, 224
Traverse des Sioux, Treaty of (1851), 31
Trixy (horse), 75
“Troub.” See Boylston, Helen
Truman, Harry, 197, 233
Turner, A1, 205, 207, 212
Turner, Frederick Jackson, 220
Turner, John, 205, 207
Uncle Tom's Cabin: show, 111
Universal Studios, 170
University of California, 125
University of Missouri, 208
Utah, 124, 170
Vance, Ethel, 230
Vera Cruz, Mo., 111
Verdigris, Kan., 23
Verdigris River, 22, 23
Vermillion River, 45
Vermont, 16, 27
Vienna, 140
Vinton, Iowa, 59, 89
Vinton School for the Blind, 59, 89
Virginia, 23, 102
Volga, Dakota Territory, 48, 49, 51, 62
Vorse, Mary Heaton, 139
Wabasha, 18
Walnut Creek, 23
Walnut Grove, Minn.: history, 31–33; home of Ingalls family, 40–42; subject of fiction, 209, 222, 224; mentioned, 36, 37, 39, 43, 44, 45, 46, 53, 55, 62
Walnut Station, Minn., 31, 32
War of 1812, 16
Ward, Alice, 39
Waseca, Minn., 34
Washington, D.C., 24, 26, 133, 197
Watertown, Dakota Territory, 45, 46, 50, 85
Wellcome, Dr. Jacob, 43
West, Rebecca, 182
Western Rural, 83
Western Town Lot Company, 51
Western Union, 112
West Plains, Mo., 229
Westville, Fla., 86, 88
“What Is This—the Gestapo?” (RWL), 254
“When Grandma Was a Little Girl” (LIW), 182–83
White, Charlotte, 96
White, Martha, 57, 58
White, Thomas M. 96
White, William Allen, 222
Wilder, Almanzo James:
—Childhood, 72, 190; gets wheat during hard winter, 56, 62, 236, 237; courts LIW, 63–65, 67–68; and horses, 65, 67, 75, 85, 121, 168, 199, 218, 229; homestead and tree claim, 67, 69–70, 72–74, 79, 85, 273n30; marries LIW, 69–70; farms near De Smet, 71–72, 78–79, 80–85; contracts diphtheria, 79, 80–81, 229, 250; moves to Spring Valley, 86–87; moves to Florida, 87–88; moves back to De Smet, 88–90; moves to Mansfield, 91–95; buys Rocky Ridge Farm, 96; lives in Mansfield, 99; has draying business, 99; in Masons, 101; in Eastern Star, 101, 111; attends Methodist church, 102, 111; works for oil company, 109; builds up Rocky Ridge Farm, 109, 112, 114; raises cattle, 109, 120–21, 171; remodels farmhouse, 112–13; association with Missouri Ruralist, 115–16; as farmer, 120, 136, 171, 199, 229; receives letters from LIW, 123–24, 125, 126, 252; drives car, 168, 171, 185, 192, 218, 228, 229, 248; as subject of fiction, 190–91, 195, 202, 217, 223; helps RWL with fiction, 195; views on politics, 196, 198, 199, 219, 221; plays pool, 204, 248; visits Detroit, 216–19; answers RWL's questionnaire, 220; works in shop, 248, 250; death, 213, 251
—Health: 89, 97, 229, 248, 250, 251, 252
—Personality: 172, 196, 199, 233, 248–49, 252
—Relationship with LIW: 68, 78, 104–5, 136, 137, 138, 249–50, 251–52
—Relationship with RWL: 104–5, 107, 162, 166–67, 177, 204, 232–33, 252
Wilder, Angeline, 69, 72, 85, 100, 109, 240
Wilder, Electa Averill Hutchinson, 89
Wilder, Eliza Jane: as homesteader, 59, 66, 72–74; as teacher, 60, 61; works in Washington, D.C., 89; in Louisiana, 100; has RWL stay with her, 108; mentioned, 54, 69, 86
Wilder, James, 72, 85, 100, 109, 240
Wilder, Laura Ann, 65, 66, 72, 10
Wilder, Laura Elizabeth Ingalls
—Appearance: 21, 59, 64, 213, 230, 249, 257
—Financial status: 99, 105, 107, 121, 156, 162, 179, 189, 200, 229, 233, 241
—Health: 79, 80–1, 181, 229, 244, 259–60
—Houses lived in: cabin in the “Big Woods,” 14–15, 29, 30; cabin in Kansas, 26; dugout in Minnesota, 33; surveyors’ house at Silver Lake, 49, 50, 225; store building in De Smet, 51; homestead shanty near De Smet, 67; house on tree claim, 70, 75, 85; house on homestead, 79, 84; house in De Smet, 90; log cabin at Rocky Ridge, 97; house at Rocky Ridge, 98, 112–13, 178, 213; house in Mansfield, 99; English-style cottage, 176–78, 200, 213
—Names called by: “flutterbudget,” 3, 259; “little half-pint,” 3, 29; “Bessie,” 3, 65, 133; “Laura Ingalls,” 3; “Laura Wilder,” 3, 70; “Mrs. A. J. Wilder,” 3, 113, 115, 129, 133, 138, 185, 261; “Mama Bess,” 3, 164, 168, 195, 262; “Laura Ingalls Wilder,” 1, 3, 12, 133, 138, 161, 183, 185, 188, 192, 240, 260, 261, 262; “Laura I. Wilder,” 260
—Personality: 12, 27, 33, 41, 53–54, 57, 58, 59, 64, 84, 99, 105, 106, 115, 130, 136–38, 215, 230, 233, 242, 249, 252, 25
3–54, 260–61
—Political views: 99, 130, 132, 164, 196, 198, 199, 219, 221, 227–28, 233, 234, 237, 253, 275n20
—Reading: 97, 257–58
—Relationship with AJW: 68, 78, 104–5, 136, 137, 138, 249–50, 251–52
—Relationship with father: 29–30, 52, 54
—Relationship with Mary: 27, 29, 43, 50–51, 53, 57, 131, 225, 258
—Relationship with mother: 30, 50, 54, 58, 69
—Relationship with RWL: 3, 5–6, 88, 104–7, 112, 121, 126, 155–58, 162–63, 166–67, 177, 189, 190, 194–95, 200–2, 204, 205, 223, 229, 232–34, 252–54, 260, 261–62, 280n27
—Religious beliefs, 47, 62, 77, 105, 124, 131, 136–37, 206, 253, 261
—Values: 129–30, 135, 136–37, 219
—Views on race and ethnicity: 47–48, 124–25, 192, 206
—As storyteller: 125, 165, 185, 188, 217, 221, 240
—As writer: student essay on ambition, 66, 115; letter to editor, 94; diary of 1894 trip, 11, 94; first writing efforts, 111–12; columns for Missouri Ruralist, 4–5, 11–12, 115–16, 123, 127, 128–32, 138, 161, 165, 178, 240, 260, 261; writing for other farm journals, 117; receives help and encouragement from RWL, 122–23, 125–26, 129, 138, 139, 161–62, 163, 181; talent for writing, 1, 126, 161; writes for McCall's, 138, 161; children's stories, 139; writes poetry, 139, 191, 217; writes for Country Gentleman, 140, 161, 178; turning point in 1925, 164; writes autobiography, 3, 11, 181; writes poem for De Smet anniversary, 191; write an adult novel, 240, 242–43; income from writing, 189, 196, 202, 229, 233, 241; reviews of books, 188–89, 202, 208–9, 213–14, 228, 239, 240; collaboration with RWL, 5–6, 139, 161–62, 190, 195, 201, 203, 209, 218, 241, 261, 282n69; “Pioneer Girl” (autobiography), 3, 181–83, 184, 193; “When Grandma Was a Little Girl,” 182–83; Little House in the Big Woods, 6, 183–85, 217, 282n69; Farmer Boy, 190, 193, 194–95, 196, 200–1, 202; Little House on the Prairie, 193, 203, 205–7, 208, 266n27; On the Banks of Plum Creek, 6, 209–13, 218, 224, 225, 228; By the Shores of Silver Lake, 6, 222–26, 227, 228, 234, 236, 237; The Long Winter, 222–26, 227, 228, 234–37; “Prairie Girl,” 223, 236; Little Town on the Prairie, 6, 236, 239; These Happy Golden Years, 6, 239–40, 241
LIFE
—1867–1885: birth, 13, 21; in Wisconsin, 21, 27–31; in Kansas, 22–27; in Minnesota, 30–36, 40–42; in Iowa, 36–39; in Dakota Territory, 43–86 passim; attends school, 28–29, 33, 34, 35, 38, 40, 53, 58, 59–60, 63, 65, 66, 68; household chores, 30, 34, 36, 39, 50, 58; attends church, 33, 42; attends Sunday school, 34, 41, 42, 57, 131; socialization process, 34, 38, 40–41, 42, 53; play, 34–35, 36, 40, 50, 56, 59, 60; work, 37, 41, 50, 57, 58–59, 65, 66, 75, 89; tomboyish behavior, 40, 53, 60; and opposite sex, 40, 53, 60, 63, 64; and Indians, 47–48, 192; establishes identity, 53–54, 57, 58, 60, 65, 79, 188; earns money to send Mary to college, 57, 59; teaches school, 63–65, 66–67, 69; courted by AJW, 63–65, 67–68; marriage to AJW, 69–70
Becoming Laura Ingalls Wilder Page 38