Frank J. Vandrovec was born near Tabor, Bohemia on May 3, 1851. In 1875 he married Petronella Kalina. Their union produced four sons and two daughters; one daughter died in infancy in Bohemia. Three boys, Anion, John, and Frank Jr., were also born in Bohemia and made the trip to Valley City, North Dakota with their mother in the fall of 1886. Frank Sr. had preceded them to Valley City in the spring of that year. The two youngest children, Joe and Mamie (Mrs. Charles Paulson), were born in the sod shanty on the homestead.
The family stayed in Valley City the first winter before moving to the sod shanty on the southwest quarter of section 14 in what was then called Township 141 , Range 59 west, but is now known as Stewart Township. They lived in the sod shanty for several years until they acquired better living quarters.
Frank Sr. broke this land on section 14 with oxen. When he purchased the west half of section 15 in 1890, however, he disposed of his oxen and purchased work horses. Later, with his sons, he bought the south half of section 16 and the northeast quarter of section 23, giving them 960 acres of Barnes County soil.
In 1914 Frank and Petronella retired. They traveled and spent the winters in California in 1916 and 1917 and then purchased a home in Valley City in 1918. After Petronella died in 1921 Frank made his home between the city and his children's farms until he passed away in 1929.
Frank J. Vandrovec was one of those able men who came to Barnes County in the early days, saw the opportunities of the area, and settled to make his home. Frank was a hard worker; fair with all men. He gave his children a heritage in real estate, citizenship, and church life that continues in the present generations.
Source: Barnes County History 1976 Page 257