Revolutionary War

Somerset County, New Jersey, in 1776 was not a simple place of clear loyalties. It was a patchwork of Dutch-descended farmers, English settlers, Quaker pacifists, and families whose economic ties to both Philadelphia and New York created competing allegiances. The Revolution split communities, turned neighbor against neighbor, and made survival a matter of careful navigation.

The Van Dyke family sided with the Patriots. This was not necessarily a foregone conclusion—many Dutch families in New Jersey remained neutral or even loyalist, preferring the stable rule they'd known under British governance to the uncertainty of revolution. But William Van Dyck and his community chose independence.

Somerset County saw repeated military action. British and Hessian forces raided farms, confiscated supplies, and occupied towns. The Continental Army marched through on campaigns between New York and Philadelphia. Militia units like Captain Vroom's were called up repeatedly—for guard duty, for escort missions, for battles like Monmouth when Washington needed every available man.

For families like the Van Dykes, the war meant years of disruption. Crops went unplanted when men were called to service. Livestock was requisitioned by armies on both sides. The war economy made everything expensive and uncertain. But they endured, and when the war ended, they had helped create something new: an independent American nation where their descendants would build lives for generations to come.