John Van Dyke was born in Lamington, Somerset County, NJ on April 3, 1807. There is no indication that he attended or graduated from a college. He did study law, was admitted to the NJ Bar in 1836, and commenced law practice in Brunswick, NJ when he was only 19 years old.
He became a Prosecuting Attorney of Middlesex County in 1841, and was Mayor of New Brunswick in 1846 and 1847. During that time he was also President of the Bank of New Jersey at New Brunswick, NJ.
He ran for the U.S. Congress in 1846 and was elected and served in the 30st and 31st U.S. Congresses from March 1847 to March 1851. He did not run for reelection to the 32nd U.S. Congress. He then resumed his law practice in Brunswick, NJ.
In 1856 he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention. He served as a Judge of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1859 to 1866. He moved to Minnesota in 1868, and settled in Wabasha, Wabasha County, MN. He became a Member of the Minnesota State Senate and served from 1872 to 1873. He then became a Judge of the Third Judicial District of the State of Minnesota and served from 1873 to 1878.
John Van Dyke passed away in Wabasha, MN on December 24, 1878, at the age of 71. He was interred in Riverview Cemetery, Wabasha, MN.
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PROMINENT DUTCH AMERICANS, CURRENT AND HISTORIC
EIGHT PROMINENT DUTCH AMERICAN FAMILIES: THE ROOSEVELTS, VANDERBILTS AND OTHERS, 2015
FIFTEEN PROMINENT DUTCH AMERICAN FAMILIES: THE VAN BURENS, KOCH BROTHERS, VOORHEES AND OTHERS, 2015
PROMINENT DUTCH AMERICANS IN U.S. GOVERNMENT LEADERSHIP POSITIONS, 2015
DUTCH PEGELS INVOLVED IN WARS
ALLIED EUROPE CAMPAIGN—1944/1945: TACTICAL MISTAKES, 2017
THE SECOND WORLD WAR IN THE NETHERLANDS: MEMOIRS, 2017
FRENCH REVOLUTION, NAPOLEON AND RUSSIAN WAR OF 1812, 2015