Edgar Leslie Van Dyke, son of Loyal and Minerva (Hogg) Van Dyke, was born on September 7, 1890, in the home of his mother's parents, who his father was working for at the time. The family then moved to Shelton, Nebraska, where Edgar's father worked for a sheep farmer. When the drought hit in 1894, the family moved to Colorado where they lived for the next 6 years. Edgar started school in Colorado, while the family was living in the Plateau Creek area, near Mesa, about 40-miles east of Grand Junction. When Edgar's father fell ill, the family moved back to Nebraska. They rented a farm near Loup City until purchasing their own farm 2-miles north of Broken Bow in 1915.
Shortly after, Edgar decided to leave home, attracted by the availability of homestead land in northern Minnesota. He had just gotten established there when World War I broke out, and Edgar joined the military.
After leaving the service at the end of the war, Edgar married Hazel Bourassa, daughter of George Abdallah and Ellen (Brunelle) Bourassa. They had their first 3 children, Marjorie, Rachael, and Howard, while living on the Minnesota homestead. Eventually flooding from a newly-built dam forced them from their property, and they returned to Nebraska. They farmed in Nebraska and up in Canada, working for Hazel's family, then finally headed west, where Edgar worked for his Uncle Will Hogg on his dairy farm in Salem. After a couple years, Edgar and Hazel bought a small farm in nearby Dundee, Oregon, which they farmed for many years. Here tragedy struck, and Hazel fell ill and died.
More information on the ancestors and descendants of Edgar and Hazel is available here.
Edgar and Hazel had the following children:
| Marjorie Ruth VanDyke | Born July 14, 1920 near Baudette, Lake o'the Woods, Minnesota. Married Lyle Harding Vassallo on August 1, 1943 in Newberg, Oregon. Lyle and Marjorie had eight children: Anthony "Tony" Roy, Jerry Louis, Carol Anne, Paul Douglas, Gregory Lyle, Cynthia Jean, Catherine Louise, and Cecilia Marie Vassallo. Marjorie died at home on New Year's Eve 2018 at the age of 98 surrounded by her family. |
| Howard Loyal VanDyke | Born May 14, 1922. Died young at the age of 9, in July 1931 in Saskatchewan, Canada. |
| Edgar Leslie VanDyke | Born October 7, 1923 and died as an infant in January the following year. |
| Rachel Marie VanDyke | Rachael married Eldon Vaurice Parker in McMinnville, Oregon, and they had two children: Donald Ray and Lila Marie (Parker) Wirick. |
| Adrienne Mae VanDyke | Born November 27, 1927. Adrienne married Charles Warren Milne. |
Edgar remarried to Josie Watson, who had 2 children from a previous marriage, Kay and Walt, who Edgar came to love very much. Edgar and Josie continued to farm until advancing years started to slow them down. They then sold the farm and bought a house in Portland, where Edgar worked until retirement.
After retirement, Edgar and Josie enjoyed visiting friends, traveling around the country, playing at the beaches and fishing. They took the greatest joy in seeing their children and grand children develop into the fine citizens that they are.
Many of Edgar's memories of his life were documented in a letter he wrote in 1976. More genealogical information on the family may be found here.
