Four Lines

Four grandparents. Four distinct family lines. Four centuries of American experience—from Dutch colonial settlements to Revolutionary War battlefields, from westward migration to Oklahoma Territory, and through a full century of modern America.

Through Lenore Arnett Young's line came the Van Dykes—Dutch New Netherlanders who sent nine patriots to the Revolutionary War, including William Van Dyck who stood at the Battle of Monmouth. Through James Young came the Montgomerys. Through Norrine Rambaud came French heritage. Through Bradley McMichael came the Rhoads family and their own Revolutionary service.

These lines converged in Oklahoma Territory, where Benjamin Franklin Van Dyke—attorney, warden, and photographer—captured pioneer life through glass plate negatives. His granddaughter Lenore would live from 1918 to 2018—a century that spanned horse-drawn wagons to smartphones, the Dust Bowl to the internet age.

This collection explores these four lines as they wove together to form one American family story.

Explore the Story