The Van Dyke Family

There Is No Such Thing As A Small Genealogical Research Project. Family Histories Like Precocious Children Always Challenge Their Authors With More And More Questions. Paul C. Van Dyke Discovered This Fact When He Wrote A Genealogy Of His Branch Of The Van Dyke Family In The Late 1950S. That Project Led Mr. Van Dyke To Explore And Research The Whole History Of The Van Dyke Family In America. This Excellent Book Based On Primary Sources Recounting The Dutch Settlement Of New Jersey Is The Fruit Of Those Years Of Research. It Is Fundamentally A Dutch-American History. Incorporating A Wide Variety Of Historical Accounts Original Documents And Illustrations Mr. Van Dyke Has Written A Compelling And Richly Informative Account Of Nine Generations Of Van Dykes And The Nearly Three Centuries Of American History That Serve As A Backdrop. Thomas Van Dyck Of Amsterdam Was The 16Th-Century Patriarch Whose Story Opens The Book And The Author Also Includes Helpful Background Information On Holland'S Golden Age Of Exploration And The Dutch East India Company. Thomas' Son Jan Van Dyck And His Family Immigrated To New Amsterdam In 1652 Eventually Settling In New Utrecht On Long Island. Jan Jansen Van Dyck Was The Third Generation And His Son John Van Dyck Participated In The Large Dutch Migration (C.1711) To The Millstone Valley In Middlesex And Somerset Counties In The Prerevolutionary Province Of New Jersey. The Subsequent Generations Of Van Dyck Farmers In New Jersey Were Well-Respected Patriotic Members Of Such Communities As New Brunswick Princeton Trenton Ten Mile Run Penns Neck Rocky Hill Harlingen Griggstown Bridgepoint Kingston Millstone Somerville Franklin Montgomery And West Windsor. When They Deemed The Time Appropriate Some Of These Hard-Working And Versatile Dutch Broke With The Farm Tradition To Enter Upon Various Commercial Occupations And The Professions As Exemplified In The Final Chapter And Appendices Of The Book. Every Chapter Opens With A Genealogical Note That Provides Vital Statistics Such As Birth Marriage And Death Dates. The Names Of Spouses And Children Are Always Included In The Narrative Accounts Of The Subjects. Numerous Appendices Furnish Additional Details Often Through Transcriptions Of Original Wills Deeds Military Records Etc. A Bibliography And Separate Indices For Subjects And Surnames Are Included. (