Year End Summary of The Year Was…

We’ve now covered one hundred and thirty-one years in The Year Was . . . series, ranging from 1765 to 1969. Here’s the complete list as of 31 December 2008:

The Year Was 1765
The Year Was 1770
The Year Was 1776
The Year Was 1780
The Year Was 1786
The Year Was 1788
The Year Was 1789
The Year Was 1790
The Year Was 1794
The Year Was 1800
The Year Was 1803
The Year Was 1805
The Year Was 1806
The Year Was 1807
The Year Was 1808
The Year Was 1809
The Year Was 1810
The Year Was 1811
The Year Was 1812
The Year Was 1813
The Year Was 1814
The Year Was 1815
The Year Was 1816
The Year Was 1817
The Year Was 1818
The Year Was 1819
The Year Was 1820
The Year Was 1821
The Year Was 1822
The Year Was 1823
The Year Was 1825
The Year Was 1826
The Year Was 1827
The Year Was 1828
The Year Was 1829
The Year Was 1830
The Year Was 1831
The Year Was 1832
The Year Was 1833
The Year Was 1834
The Year Was 1835
The Year Was 1837
The Year Was 1838
The Year Was 1839
The Year Was 1840
The Year Was 1841
The Year Was 1842
The Year Was 1843
The Year Was 1844
The Year Was 1845
The Year Was 1847
The Year Was 1848
The Year Was 1849
The Year Was 1850
The Year Was 1851
The Year Was 1852
The Year Was 1853
The Year Was 1854
The Year Was 1855
The Year Was 1857
The Year Was 1859
The Year Was 1860
The Year Was 1863
The Year Was 1864
The Year Was 1865
The Year Was 1866
The Year Was 1868
The Year Was 1869
The Year Was 1870
The Year Was 1871
The Year Was 1872
The Year Was 1873
The Year Was 1875
The Year Was 1876
The Year Was 1877
The Year Was 1879
The Year Was 1880
The Year Was 1882
The Year Was 1883
The Year Was 1884
The Year Was 1885
The Year Was 1886
The Year Was 1887
The Year Was 1888
The Year Was 1889
The Year Was 1890
The Year Was 1892
The Year Was 1893
The Year Was 1894
The Year Was 1895
The Year Was 1896
The Year Was 1897
The Year Was 1899
The Year Was 1900
The Year Was 1901
The Year Was 1902
The Year Was 1903
The Year Was 1906
The Year Was 1907
The Year Was 1908
The Year Was 1909
The Year Was 1910
The Year Was 1911
The Year Was 1913
The Year Was 1914
The Year Was 1915
The Year Was 1917
The Year Was 1918
The Year Was 1920
The Year Was 1921
The Year Was 1922
The Year Was 1923
The Year Was 1924
The Year Was 1925
The Year Was 1927
The Year Was 1929
The Year Was 1930
The Year Was 1933
The Year Was 1934
The Year Was 1935
The Year Was 1936
The Year Was 1938
The Year Was 1939
The Year Was 1941
The Year Was 1943
The Year Was 1947
The Year Was 1952
The Year Was 1955
The Year Was 1960
The Year Was 1964
The Year Was 1969

35 thoughts on “Year End Summary of The Year Was…

  1. Thanks for the year end summary. My hardest ‘brick-wall’ family vanished around 1789, and there is good speculation that my first traceable family member, was raised by friends of his parents. He would have been 4 in 1789, in Philadelphia. A killing flu, hitting hardest in urban areas, just might explain where everyone suddenly went!

    Merry Christmas to everyone!

  2. Thanks for “The Year Was…” aritcles. However, your 1908 article was lacking in at least one ‘earth-shaking’ event. Besides being the year my father was born, 1908 was also the year of the Tunguska Event or the Great Siberian Explosion. This is believed to be the demise of an asteroid and equivalent to the most powerful bomb ever denotated by the U.S. This ‘Tunguska Event’ happened on June 30, 1908, the very day that my husband’s uncle was born!!

    Merry Christmas, to all.

  3. Thanks a lot for this summary with links. I had missed a few of these articles and they are very informative.

  4. Is it possible to get a copy of all of these ‘The year was”? I missed them and I think they are great!

    Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all.

  5. Please broaden “The Year Was” series to include more history about other countries, such as Britain, Europe and Canada. This will make the series even more useful to family historians who want to learn more about what life was like for their ancestors.

  6. I have been able to get copies of some of these “Years” but not all of them are in a printer friendly version. A couple of them that have the “click here for a printer friendly version” access actually come up with something else – not the Year article. Please indicate how we may get them from “the library” – that would be wonderful. Thankyou.

  7. I have loved this series you have been writing about “The Year Was…” I am in the process of collecting information concerning my pioneer ancestry in preparation for writing their biographies, and it is so helpful to me. I hope you continue to add information about what their lifestyle was like in a particular year, as well as the events which shaped their lives at that time. Thanks so very much.

  8. I really love this series. It helps me understand the events shaping the country/world at the time of my ancestors. I realize a lot of work goes into the feature & I thank you for your efforts. I too would like the “printer friendly” feature to be on each one. In checking my printouts against the list I find that I have missed several so I will go back & catch up. I also found that I have 3 that are not listed – they are 1777 – 1783 & 1938. Thanks again for all your hard work.

  9. How do I get to this “The Year Was” page and others similar from the Ancestry.com main web site. I can find to item that would direct me to these entries.

    Thank you

  10. As we approach 2008 in less than a half hour I just wanted to say thanks for covering all those past years. Looking forward to 1953 (my year) and 1928 (my mom’s year). Happy New Year!

  11. Thanks for the “The Year Was” pages – they are wonderful capsules. I did find an error in the link to 1838. It is really 1938.

  12. I agree. The Year Was…. is a great section. And it made me want to know more about the countries my ancestors are from. I think the http://www.wikipedia.org site is great for that. Pick the country, check the history section and look for the history timeline. There are often great articles on historical figures, georgraphy, culture and events that might be useful to get your head around the brickwalls we face trying to figure out the whys and wherefores they got here.

    Helen

  13. Since I had missed a number of the articles, I decided to go back to the very first one and start copying them so that I could put them in a looseleaf binder. The article for 1834 seems to be missing, even though it is listed in the index. Continuing on, imagine my surprise when “1838” turned out to be “1938”. I am really enjoying the articles and also the comments that have been added. Will you be filling in the missing years?

  14. By my count you’ve done 92 — and they’re great. One descrepancy in your list is 1838 — you have 1938 attached to this link. Otherwise, amazing that you’ve kept up with all this. Like you say, what a history lesson. Here’s my list of your monthly “That was the Year.” These may have discrepancies, too, since that happens to all of us.

    1776
    1777
    1783
    1789
    1794
    1800
    1803
    1806
    1807
    1809
    1810
    1811
    1816
    1818
    1819
    1820
    1822
    1823
    1825
    1827
    1829
    1830
    1831
    1832
    1834
    1835
    1837
    1840
    1841
    1843
    1845
    1847
    1848
    1849
    1850
    1852
    1853
    1854
    1855
    1857
    1859
    1860
    1863
    1865
    1966
    1868
    1869
    1870
    1871
    1872
    1873
    1876
    1879
    1880
    1882
    1884
    1886
    1888
    1889
    1890
    1892
    1893
    1895
    1896
    1897
    1899
    1900
    1903
    1906
    1907
    1908
    1910
    1913
    1914
    1915
    1917
    1918
    1920
    1922
    1924
    1927
    1929
    1933
    1935
    1938
    1939
    1941
    1947
    1952
    1955
    1960
    1969

  15. I have loved reading all the The Year Was. I have printed out most of them. But I think having all of them in one folder would be a great history lesson for my grandchildren.
    I do plan to use copies of them in my Family History Records.
    It tells us how the world was doing things in years past.
    Thank you Emma Odom

  16. Thank you for this very important and interesting list. However, I am also interested in the year 1909 which does not appear on the list. Any suggestions for getting additional informtion on 1909.

    Thanks for any help you can provide.

    Take care,
    Bill

  17. This is by far the most interesting site for doing family histories. I love this site. Please keep up the good work. I only wish you could include some Greek history. I can’t seem to find anything on my family from Greece, but I can find plenty on my husband’s Italian history. Thanks again for a great job.

  18. I also use “the year was” as a part of my genealogy work. I place it very near the birth information or the first information I have on a family member. It makes it much more
    interesting to read this “history” when it pertains to the time
    period of your relatiive & it sometimes answers questions we may have about their lives. I also have used a black piece of
    fabric to place behind heirlooms or personal items that belonged to this person, photographed them and then did journaling to help make this person more “real” to the reader.

  19. Thank you so much for your hard work. This info adds so much to writng family histories.

  20. The only list on the website was for the year ending 2007.
    What Happened?

  21. Thanks for these yearly highlights. I have all but about 2 or 3 of them in a notebook, for reference as I need them. Some day I hope to read them through just as a world history book. Keep them coming!

  22. These mini-highlights would be a great daily history lesson for the homeschooler, like a one-a-day vitamin!

  23. Just wanted to let you know the 1834 article is missing. Displays “We’re sorry. The page you tried to access is no longer available.” when you click it.

  24. The new list skipped 1777 (posted 6 Jul 2007) and 1783 (posted 29 Jun 2007). I’m amazed that you could keep track as well as you did. I have to print out the list and check off each year as I add it to my three-ring binder which, by this time, is getting pretty full. Keep up the good work!

  25. Would it be possible for you to display the whole series so we might copy the whole thing rather than one by one?

  26. Thank you, Juliana. “The Year Was”, helps me to put my ancestors in the historical context of their time. I really love this series. I have printed and saved each one. This summary helps me to keep track and catch up on any that I may have missed. How convenient you make it for me! Thank you for all your hard work.
    Cheryl

  27. You left out the year 1867, but that’s OK I did a search and found it anyway. Thanks for these articles.
    Mary V

  28. I am not getting this subscripsion any more .what has happened ?
    thank you Gene Ruble

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