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Oklahoma Territory • 1908
The Inmates'
Watch
A gold pocket watch given by prisoners to the warden who treated them with dignity.
In 1908, the inmates of the Oklahoma Territorial Prison pooled their meager earnings to buy Warden Benjamin Franklin Van Dyke a gift. This watch became one of the most treasured possessions in the Van Dyke family—not for its gold, but for what it represented: compassion acknowledged, humanity recognized, dignity reciprocated.
The front face of the gold pocket watch, showing the time and wear from decades of daily use.
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How It Happened
Benjamin Franklin Van Dyke became warden of the Oklahoma Territorial Prison at a time when prisons were places of brutality. Inmates were routinely beaten, starved, and treated as subhuman. Rehabilitation was not a concept. Punishment was the only philosophy.
But Benjamin brought a different approach. He believed that even men who had committed crimes were still human beings deserving of basic dignity. He listened to complaints. He improved conditions where he could. He refused to tolerate unnecessary cruelty. He treated prisoners with fairness and respect.
"They noticed. They saw a warden who treated them as men, not animals. And when his term ended, they did something extraordinary."
The inmates took up a collection. These were men who earned pennies, if anything, for their prison labor. Many had no contact with family. They possessed almost nothing. Yet they pooled their meager resources together—every coin they could spare—and purchased a gold pocket watch.
They had it engraved with their gratitude. They presented it to Benjamin Franklin Van Dyke as he prepared to leave his position.
Think about what that meant. Men stripped of freedom, living in harsh conditions, with almost nothing to their names—they chose to give what little they had to honor the one person who had treated them with basic human decency.
The Story Made News
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch ran an article about the unusual gift. The story of the warden and the inmates' watch became a legend.
Historical Document
St. Louis Post-Dispatch Article
1908 • Oklahoma Territory
Original newspaper article documenting the extraordinary gift
[Newspaper scan to be added - family archives]
The article captured national attention, highlighting the unusual bond between a warden and the men he supervised.
What the Watch Represents
Compassion
Treating people with dignity costs nothing but means everything.
Humanity
Even in the darkest places, human connection is possible.
Legacy
Small acts of kindness echo across generations.
Benjamin carried that watch for the rest of his life. It hung from a chain in his vest pocket, a constant reminder of what had happened. Not the gold, not the monetary value, but the meaning.
When he pulled out the watch to check the time, he remembered the men who had given it to him. Men who had made terrible mistakes but still recognized decency when they saw it. Men who, given almost nothing by society, chose to give something back to the one person who had treated them as human beings.
The Inmates' Watch became proof that one person's decency can change lives.
The watch was passed down through the Van Dyke family. It became a story told at gatherings, a reminder of Benjamin's character, a symbol of what it means to treat people with respect regardless of their circumstances.
This was a man descended from Revolutionary War patriots, carrying the name of Benjamin Franklin and the blood of William Van Dyck. And he used that heritage not for self-aggrandizement, but to treat prisoners—the lowest of society—with basic human dignity.
That is legacy. That is what the watch represents.
The Revolutionary Connection
Benjamin Franklin Van Dyke carried two legacies: the watch from the inmates, and the Revolutionary War service of his great-great-grandfather William Van Dyck.
In 1901—seven years before receiving the watch—Benjamin had joined the Sons of the American Revolution, documenting his descent from William, who had fought at Monmouth in 1778. He was SAR Iowa State member #171, proud of his Revolutionary heritage.
But the watch meant more to him than any genealogical certificate. The SAR membership connected him to his past. The watch connected him to his character, to his choices, to the person he had decided to be.
1778
William at Monmouth
→
1901
SAR Certificate
→
1908
Inmates' Watch
From the battlefield of Monmouth to a territorial prison,
the Van Dyke family's story is one of honor and humanity.