History Timeline

  • 1200

    Prehistoric Families

    Prehistoric Families
    Prehistoric clans were organized around a patriarch- with the development of agriculture it became necessary to organize around geographic areas ruled by political figures rather than the head of the family.
  • Church Influence in Eaurope

    In medieval Europe, the family was influenced by the church and feudalism.
  • The Democratic Family

    A family that emerged at the end of the 18th century as a separate and private group in society where mates were selected through preferences and children were nurtured.
  • Industrial Revolution

    After the Industrial Revolution, work was no longer centered in the home. The men went away from home for work and family roles were more defined.
  • Polygyny and the Family

    In the mid 19th century, polygyny- the practice of having multiple wives- existed in certain religious factions and in some Native American cultures.
  • Ellen Swallow Richards Born

    Ellen Swallow Richards Born
  • The Companionate Family

    A family in which a husband and wife are partners who married because they loved each other; rather than out of a sense of moral duty.
  • The Nuclear Family

    The Nuclear Family
    The family group consisting of parents (usually a father and mother) and their children in one household.
  • The Traditional Family

    A married couple and their biological child or children in one household.
  • The Postmodern Family

    The contemporary family that is more diverse than in the past in terms of family structure and relationships.
  • The Modern Family

    Consisted of breadwinning husband, a housewife, and their children.