D. O. (David Oyer) Van Slyke

Born in Herkimer, New York, in 1818, David Oyer Van Slyke later made his life in Wisconsin, where he was known as a Methodist minister. Genealogical and memorial records identify him as Rev. David Oyer Van Slyke, note his service in the 30th Wisconsin Infantry during the Civil War, and place his death in Galesville, Wisconsin, in 1890.

Van Slyke is chiefly associated with Found at Last: the Veritable Garden of Eden, first published in 1886. In that unusual and now little-known work, he argued that the biblical Garden of Eden could be located along the Mississippi River near Trempealeau County, Wisconsin. The book blends religious interpretation, regional observation, and a distinctly nineteenth-century confidence in solving big historical mysteries.

That mix of faith, speculation, and local pride gives his writing its lasting interest. Even today, Van Slyke stands out as one of those forgotten authors whose single surviving book opens a window onto the beliefs, humor, and intellectual ambition of his time.