The American Revolution secured independence, but it did more than that—it opened the west. The Treaty of Paris in 1783 gave the new United States territory stretching to the Mississippi River. Suddenly there was land, endless land, beyond the Appalachians. And American families, including the Van Dykes, began to move.
This is the story of migration—of families who had been rooted in New Jersey for generations pulling up those roots to chase opportunity westward. From the forests of Ohio to the prairies of Iowa, the Van Dyke family moved with the American frontier, each generation pushing a little farther, building new homes, raising children who would remember the old places as stories but know only the new land as home.
The Great Migration West
After the Revolution, America faced a population problem. The original thirteen states were filling up. Young men looked for land they could afford, for space to establish their own farms and raise families. The answer lay west—in territories that were opening for settlement as Native American tribes were pushed aside by treaties and force.
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established the process for turning western territories into states. Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin would all be carved from this "Northwest Territory." The Louisiana Purchase in 1803 doubled the nation's size, opening even more land. The promise was simple: move west, claim land, work hard, and build something of your own.
Each generation of Van Dykes moved a little farther, carrying the family story westward with them—from the Hudson River valley to the prairies of Iowa, following the expanding edge of American settlement.
For families like the Van Dykes, moving west meant leaving behind community, church, extended family—the social networks that had sustained them for generations. It meant traveling by wagon through rough terrain, fording rivers, facing disease, and arriving in places where the nearest neighbor might be miles away.
But it also meant opportunity. In Ohio in 1800, a man could claim 160 acres for pennies an acre. In Iowa in 1850, prairie land was practically free to those willing to work it. Each westward move was a gamble—giving up security for the chance to build something bigger, better, more prosperous for the next generation.
The Van Dyke family made that gamble repeatedly. From New Jersey to Ohio. From Ohio to Indiana. From Indiana to Iowa. Each move was a story of courage and hardship, of log cabins and prairie dugouts, of children born in new territories who would grow up American in a way their grandparents who fought the Revolution could never have imagined.
By the time Benjamin Franklin Van Dyke was born in 1862, the family had been moving west for decades. The next logical step would take them beyond the Mississippi, beyond Iowa, all the way to Oklahoma Territory—the final frontier before the land ran out and the westward movement reached the Pacific.
Westward Movement Timeline
Treaty of Paris
Revolutionary War ends. United States gains territory to the Mississippi River. The way west is open.
Northwest Ordinance
Congress establishes process for creating new states from western territories. Ohio, Indiana, and beyond will follow this template.
Louisiana Purchase
United States doubles in size overnight. The continent stretches to the Rocky Mountains. Iowa and beyond become American territory.
Ohio Settlement
Van Dyke families begin moving from New Jersey to Ohio. They clear forest land, establish farms, and join communities in the new state.
Indiana Statehood
Indiana admitted to the Union. The next generation of westward migrants finds opportunity in the new state.
Indiana Settlement
Van Dyke families establish themselves in Indiana. Some stay, creating permanent roots. Others will move again.
Iowa Migration
The prairie calls. Some Van Dyke families push farther west to Iowa, where prairie grassland promises rich farming if you can break the tough sod.
Benjamin Franklin Van Dyke Born
Born during the Civil War, Benjamin will be the generation that reaches Oklahoma Territory—the final frontier of westward expansion.
Oklahoma Opens
Oklahoma Territory opens to settlement. Land runs create chaos and opportunity. The last great wave of American westward migration begins.
Why Families Moved West
The motivations were always the same: land, opportunity, and the chance to build something better for the next generation. In the east, land was expensive and scarce. If you were the second or third son, you weren't inheriting the family farm—you had to make your own way. Moving west was the answer.
It wasn't just economics. There was something powerful about the idea of new beginnings, of blank slates. You could leave behind old debts, old reputations, old constraints. In Ohio, in Indiana, in Iowa, nobody knew your family history. You were judged by what you could do, not who your grandfather was.
The cost was community. Every westward move meant leaving behind the church where your family had worshipped for generations, the cemetery where your ancestors were buried, the neighbors who had known you since childhood. Letters would be written, but months would pass between them. Children would grow up never knowing their cousins who stayed behind.
But Americans kept moving anyway. The Van Dyke family, like millions of others, made the trade: security for opportunity, community for independence, known for unknown. And with each westward move, they became a little more American and a little less Dutch, carrying the name but creating something entirely new in the vast interior of the continent.