Throughout my Family Histories, I have sprinkled references to events on the American Scene that paralleled events in our Family's history. Here I try to consolidate them into one cohesive time-line for you.
 

1783.. Treaty of Paris officially ends the Revolutionary War

1785.. Congress decides the unit of currency of the United States will be something called: a dollar.

1786.. Shay's Rebellion Shay leads a rebellion of against certain provisions of the proposed Massachusetts Constitution. He was defeated while trying to invade a federal government storehouse to get ammunition to fight his revolution with. Read about Loammi Baldwin's reaction to the Shay Rebellion.

1787.. Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance of 1787

1789.. Silas Deane dies under mysterious circumstances. (Silas Deane is a cousin to me from three common ancestors) He was co-signer of the treaties with France, along with Benjamin Franklin, during the Revolution, accused of profiteering and discredited, lived an an impoverished life in England, died under mysterious circumstances, completely exonerated by Congress in 1842 as "unjustly accused".

1790.. The United States Constitution is ratified by the thirteen colonies.

1792.. Beaver County, Pennsylvania is opened for settlement. Our Taylor's move there sometime during  1792-1800.

1793.. Whiskey Rebellion in Preston County, PA. Jacob and Mary (Connoly) Feather are living in this county at that time. Would our ancestor, a Revolutionary War Veteran, have taken up arms against the country he helped establish?

1793.. My cousin, Eli Whitney, completes his first cotton-gin apparatus. This invention would provide a gigantic boost to agriculture in the South with a dramatic increase on dependence of slave labor.

1796.. Loammi Baldwin's childhood friend and correspondent after the Revolution was Count Rumford, who left America for Europe because of his Loyalist sympathies. In 1796, he improved on the fireplace/stove.

1799.. The minimum number of settlers (500) is reached to petition for entry into the United States for the Northwest Territory, which will become the state of Ohio by 1803.

1799.. George Washington died at Mt Vernon, Va

1800.. We find a will of John Taylor filed in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. All neighbors of the farm described in the will and all children of John Taylor are found in the South Beaver Twp, Beaver Co, PA 1800 census, including Thomas Taylor.

1801.. "War" with Tripoli and the pirates thereof. Continues through 1806.

1803.. Louisiana Purchase by President Jefferson

1804.. The Lewis and Clark Expedition sets out to explore the West. Ken Burns recently did another PBS program on the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

1809.. Spring. A handful of settlers enter the area to become Richland County, Ohio. One of that group is Henry McCart, grandfather of Edwin Taylor, Kansas Pioneer. Henry and Mary (Tombleson) McCart will go on to have 10 children. See biography of Henry McCart for more about his life.

1811.. Tippecanoe War.

1815.. Andrew Jackson becomes a national hero by defeating the British at The Battle of New Orleans

1818.. We believe Thomas Taylor and family migrate from Beaver County, PA to Richland County, Ohio about now.

1826 Jul 4.. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the last surviving signers of the Declaration of Independence, both die on this day, the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

1832..  Black Hawk War in Illinois. Abraham Lincoln enlists and becomes a captain. See if a relative of yours is listed in a list of 7,000 Illinois soldiers that fought in this campaign.

1834.. The United States has liquidated all debts and is debt-free. Distributes a surplus to the states.

1835.. Samuel Morse invents the telegraph. It will be another 40 years before Alexander Graham Bell takes this invention to the next level: the telephone.

1836.. Remember The Alamo. Texas becomes an Independent Republic. Texas remained an independent country for 10 years.

1837..  Cleveland, Ohio, a town north and east of our ancestors homes in Richland Co, Ohio, now has a population of 6,000 people.

1840.. The expression "O.K." comes into use. A campaign slogan, it alludes to Martin Van Buren's nickname, "Old Kinderhook". Kinderhook, New York is Van Buren's birthplace.

1841.. Col. John C. Fremont begins his expeditions of the West. He becomes a figure akin to current day astronauts or Charles Lindbergh in our century. The number of place names named after him in the west, from parks to schools, to mountains to streets rivals Washington's. He figured prominently in the taking of California from the Mexicans during the Mexican-American war and tales of his exploits made a media hit out of an obscure mountain man and guide, named Kit Carson.

1841.. The first wagon train leaves for the Pacific - The Bigdwell-Bartleson party.

1841.. The Amistad Case is presented to the Supreme Court by Roger Sherman Baldwin and John Quincy Adams. Roger Sherman Baldwin was son-in-law to Roger Sherman, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and a cousin of mine through immigrant "Widow" Elizabeth Cutter.

1843.. James Taylor and Sarah McCart, parents of Kansas Pioneer Edwin Taylor, marry in Richland Co, Ohio. ( We think this is our ancestor's marriage, not proven at this point).

1844.. James Polk was President from 1844-1848. He is an expansionist, who will at the least allow, if not encourage, the Mexican-American war to obtain the lands of Texas, and eventually California for the U.S.

1844.. Hulda Sarah Beaty, Kansas Pioneer, is born near Kingwood, in Preston Co., WVA

1846.. Polk annexes Texas, starting The Mexican-American War where the United States "appropriated "the southwestern states, from Texas to California. The Mexicans objected to President Polk annexing Texas, and ended up losing California and more.

1846-47.. The Donnor Party perished in the California Sierra's in the winter of 46-47.

1847.. Samuel Taylor, Phillipsburg, KS pioneer, born, and his grandfather, Thomas Taylor, Ohio Pioneer, dies.

1847.. Both Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell are born.

1848.. Iowa was admitted as a state in 1848.

1848.. Zachary Taylor, Mexican-American war hero, was elected President in 1848.

1848.. Edwin Maxwell Taylor, Kansas Pioneer, is born.

1849.. The California Gold Rush.

1851.. Isaac M. Singer develops a practical domestic sewing machine, building on the invention of Elias Howe. This development has two repercussions. It not only becomes the most useful invention in this part of the century for the normal American, but the manufacture of it will lead American into a new stage of industrial development in the United States.

1853.. A young vendor starts selling pants in San Francisco made from the same material that tents are made from. His name is Levi Strauss. Click on Heritage here.

1856.. Col. John C. Fremont is the first candidate for the new Republican party, paving the way for Lincoln to run, and win, as a Republican in 1860. Then, Fremont is one of the many generals Lincoln "fires", as Fremont issued an Emancipation Proclamation of his own in Missouri, not only on his own without Lincoln's approval, but "jumping the gun", as Lincoln considered it.

1856.. The James Taylor family pickup and move from Ohio to a farm near Keota, IA, in Washington County, Iowa. His published biography states he arrived in Washington, Iowa, at the age of 45, with six children in tow, with nary a dollar in his pocket...

1861.. Civil War Begins. See Our Family in the Civil War and a Time-Line of the Civil War. We have fairly detailed records for a couple of our veterans there.

1861.. First publication of a National Currency by the Federal Government... green tinted, called "greenbacks". Up till this time, most currency in circulation was provided by state banks and over 30,000 varities of paper money was in circulation.

1863.. Quantrell's Raid of Lawrence, Kansas, about 150 miles southeast of Cloud County

1865.. Baron Joseph Lister instituted the practice of antiseptic surgery and the use of carbolic acid as a disinfectant.

1865.. Civil War ends

1867.. Indian attacks reach their height in Kansas, just four years before Ed and Hulda Taylor arrive. 130 white settlers are killed by Indians that year.

1868.. President Johnson grants unconditional pardon to all who participated in the Civil War.

1869.. The first transcontinental railroad is completed with the final link at Promontory, Utah.

1869.. Ulysses S. Grant, civil war hero, becomes President of the United States.

1871.. In January, a US Land Office opens in Cloud County Kansas. This is surely where at least Edwin Taylor, and possible John Millirons and Archibald Johnston, went to register their homesteads.

1871.. Edwin and his brother, Sam Taylor, come to Cloud County, Kansas, to claim their homesteads, make their homes, and plant their first year's crops. This is the same year Wild Bill Hickok is appointed Marshal of Abiline, KS, approximately 100-150 miles southeast of Cloud County. Abiline was the western terminus of the Union Pacific railroad. The Chisolm Trail ended at Abiline.

1871..Publication of Charles Darwin's Descent of Man, in which the role of sexual selection in evolution is described for the first time.

1872.. Rail terminus moves to Newton for about a year, then to Ellsworth, onto Wichita

1874.. A grasshopper plague attacked Kansas ruining crops for many Kansas farmers.

1874.. Edwin and Sam Taylor both return to Iowa to marry their childhood sweethearts and bring them to Kansas!

1876.. Custer's Last Stand at the Little Big Horn

1876.. Wild Bill Hickok , former Kansas lawman and performer in Buffalo Bill show, killed in South Dakota.

1876.. Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone.

1876.. Robert Koch showed that anthrax was caused by a specific organism. Koch's postulates for proving that a particular micro-organism is the cause of a particular disease greatly advanced the Germ Theory of Disease. They are still used today in slightly modified form.

1877.. John and Martha (Earhart) Millirons migrate to Cloud County, KS by wagon.

1877.. Patent granted to Thomas Edison for the phonograph.

1878.. James Beaty, father of Kansas Pioneer Hulda (Beaty) Taylor, dies in Grace Hill, IA

1878.. The buffalo has pretty much disappeared from Kansas by now. The last Indian raid in Kansas in Decatur County, KS.

1879.. Thomas Edison invents the light bulb

1881.. Archibald and (Nellist) Johnston's migrate to Cloud County, KS by train

1881.. Gunfight at the OK Corral in Tombstone, AZ (See the Clanton Version!)

1881.. Billy the Kid killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett at age 21

1882.. Jesse James is shot in the back in St. Joseph, MO, approximately 200 miles due east of Cloud County, KS

1882.. Dodge City is the "Cowboy Capital" of the West

1882.. The first electric plant is built in New York. Now, the light bulb will be able to light homes and workplaces.

1882.. John L. Sullivan is recognized as the Champion Boxer of the World and becomes the first true sports hero, not only in America, but throughout the world.

1883.. Sarah (McCart) Taylor, Iowa Pioneer and mother of Kansas Pioneer Edwin Taylor, dies on family farm near Keota, IA.

1884.. There are now four railroads that will carry folks and merchandise from the East coast to the West Coast.

1885.. Last cattle drive to Dodge City

1887.. The Post Office establishes expands free delivery of mail to the home in all cities with a population more than 10,000.

1887..  "Doc" Holliday died in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.

1887.. George Eastman patents the first successful roll film for cameras, the first step in bringing photography to everyone. Before this photography was limited to only a few people.

1889.. Belle Starr, reputed outlaw princess, was assassinated. Her murder was unsolved, with plenty of suspects.

1889.. James Taylor, Iowa Pioneer and father of Kansas Pioneer Edwin Taylor, dies on family farm near Keota, IA.

1889.. The Otis Elevator Company improves on its elevators to the point where buildings more than 3 stories tall can be built for the first time.

1892..  "Gentleman Jim" Corbett beats 34 year old John L. Sullivan for the Heavyweight Championship of the world. John L. had held the title for ten years and had defended his title nearly in nearly 200 fights, a legendary champion. He never fought again.

1892..  The Dalton gang is bushwacked in Coffeyville, Kansas. See also this Dalton Gang Page.

1893.. Sarah (Feather) Beaty, mother of Kansas Pioneer Hulda Sarah (Beaty) Taylor, dies in Grace Hill, IA.

1899..  The Rough Riders are formed for the Spanish American War. This web site is a complete transcription of a book on the Rough Riders.

1901.. Marconi receives the first trans-Atlantic radio signal from England to Newfoundland.

1903.. Italo Marcioni patents the ice cream cone.

1903.. Wright Brothers first flight of machine powered, heavier than air, airplane

1905.. An unknown patent office clerk, who fancies himself a scientist in his off-hours, publishes a short essay in a scientific journal. The journal normally has long articles filled with formulas and scientific jargon. This article is a "simple" essay of a "mind experiment". It turned the scientific world on its ear. The article was the Theory of Special Relativity. The obscure patent office clerk was Albert Einstein.

1908.. Henry Ford delivers his first Model T. There are approximately 450 companies producing automobiles.

1908.. December 23. Fred and Anna (Millirons) Taylor married (my grandparents!)

1911.. Roald Amundsen reaches the South Pole.

1912.. Women in Kansas gain the right to vote.

1916.. Piggly Wiggly introduces the first "help yourself" grocery store, which would lead to the concept of the "supermarket", in Memphis, Tennessee. When asked why he named his stores "Piggly Wiggly", Clarence Saunders would reply: "So you would ask".

1916.. The United States responds to Pancho Villa's raid into New Mexico by sending troops under General "Black Jack" Pershing into Mexico.

1918.. The US enters World War I.

1920.. The first radio broadcasts are being made. After a couple of enterprising stations prove the possibilities in 1920, 32 stations are licensed in 1921 and 254 stations in 1922. The radio was now part of our lives!! See a collection of fascinating links about the history of radio.

Other History Time-Line Pages

Note: Portions of this time-line are from Kansas Timeline, authored by Stephen Chinn. See it for more Kansas related events.

Go to the ultimate Time-Line of World History for 1500-present, The Hyper History Page for even more time periods. Note the graphical display is linked to text essays on the topics shown.

The Tsalagi Ring - A list of American Indian web pages, principally Cherokee.

A Time-Line History of American Indian / Native American History.

The Chronology of Industrial Events is an interesting timeline of inventions and technology.

The Hass / Davenport History Timeline Page.
 

Comprehensive History Sites:

Archiving Early America

United States History Page

American History Page

The Mississippi State University History Page

A Hypertext on American History

The World History Compass Page - World Wide, comprehensive history index

The Passing of a Century - Focus on the 20th Century

For the true Western History buff, check out the Wild West Magazine Home Page. Articles are on-line.

A collection of History links, not by time, but by locality. By the University of California at Riverside.

This High School Teacher's History Reference Site has a lot of material.
 

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