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1600s – 1900s
Four Centuries from Dutch Dikes to Oklahoma Plains
The Van Dyke story is, at its heart, a story of movement. From the waterways of the Netherlands where families took their names from the dikes that held back the sea, to the Atlantic crossing that brought them to New Netherland, to the Revolutionary War service in New Jersey, to the great westward expansion through Ohio and Iowa, and finally to the Oklahoma frontier—each generation pushed further west, carrying with them the heritage of those who came before.
This map traces that remarkable journey. It begins in the 1600s with Dutch origins, follows the family through colonial settlement and Revolutionary War service, tracks the westward migrations of the 1800s, and culminates in Benjamin Franklin Van Dyke's legal practice in Oklahoma Territory and the birth of his granddaughter Lenore in 1918.
Click any location to explore the stories, key events, and people who shaped that chapter. Use the "Play Journey" button to watch the migration unfold across time.
Netherlands
1600s
New Netherland
1600s-1700s
Click locations to learn more about this historic journey
1600s
Van Dyck family in Netherlands
The Netherlands
1600s
First Van Dycks arrive in New Netherland
New Netherland (New York/New Jersey)
1700s
Settlement in Somerset County, NJ
Somerset County, New Jersey
1756
William Van Dyck born
Somerset County, New Jersey
1778
William at Battle of Monmouth
Somerset County, New Jersey
Early 1800s
Migration to Ohio
Ohio
Mid 1800s
Move to Iowa
White Pigeon Township, Iowa
1862
Benjamin Franklin Van Dyke born
White Pigeon Township, Iowa
1890s
Benjamin moves to Oklahoma Territory
Oklahoma Territory / Greer County
1907
Oklahoma statehood, Constitutional Convention
Oklahoma Territory / Greer County
1918
Lenore Arnett born in Greer County
Oklahoma Territory / Greer County
1931
The Inmates' Watch story
Oklahoma Territory / Greer County
The Van Dyke migration mirrors the broader story of American westward expansion. Each move was driven by opportunity, available land, and the promise of a better future for the next generation.
Dutch immigration to New Netherland (1614-1664) brought European farming and water management traditions. The Van Dycks were part of this founding generation of what would become New York and New Jersey.
By 1778, the family was established in Somerset County, NJ. William Van Dyck's service at the Battle of Monmouth represented not just military duty, but a choice to fight for the land his family had worked for generations.
The post-Revolutionary period opened vast territories. Ohio, Indiana, and Iowa beckoned with promises of affordable farmland. Each generation moved further west, following the expanding American frontier.
Oklahoma Territory represented the final frontier. Benjamin Franklin Van Dyke brought his law practice here in the 1890s, participating in the 1907 Constitutional Convention and serving as a warden during statehood.
From Dutch water engineers to Revolutionary War patriots to Oklahoma frontier lawyers—the Van Dyke story is the American story writ small, a family's journey across four centuries and thousands of miles.