Emma Vondra 1891- 1982

Emma Vondra, 9 years old

Emma Vondra was born in the sod home on the Vondra farm in Eden Township, Hyde County, South Dakota on March 19, 1891. Emma remained with her family her whole life. Her family later moved to Union Township, by Rice Lake, so that they would have access to water. They had a home built of wood there.

Emma attended country school, probably through eighth grade, as did her siblings. After her mother's death, Emma did much of the cooking and running of the Vondra home. She was an excellent cook and baker. She baked kolache and buchty, Bohemian pastries.

Emma was the last member of her family on the farm, having outlived her parents and brothers. When the home place was sold after her brother John's death in 1962, Emma had a home built in Highmore, South Dakota and moved to town.

After Emma moved to town, she continued to host holiday meals for her family. She never drove, and didn't have a car. She depended on her sisters and other family to drive her shopping and to other needs. She had a large dining room table, probably from the family home, set up in her clean garage. She was accustomed to cooking for a large family and her holiday meals included several types of food. She often had 4 types of meat, including a goose or duck, as was the custom at home. She usually had ham. The one dish that her family often had was homemade pickled pigs feet. The feet and hocks were cooked with spices and then cooled. The meat was cut from the bone, placed in a cake pan and covered with the juice the meat was cooked in. This was cooled. When it was cool and jelled, the fat was scraped from the top. The meat was served with vinegar poured over the top.

The local area where the Vondra lived in Union Township, was known as Ziegler, after a local doctor. The Ziegler post office was in the Vondra home and Emma served as the postmistress for a while. She resigned her position and her sister Anna took over that position for a period of time.

Emma, Josie, Anna Vondra, back, Helen Barbara Vondra in the front

1905 Census card, Emma Vondra

Emma Vondra, Olga Mencl, Agnes Vondra, back row, Will Vondra, front

1915 Census Card, Emma Vondra

1935 Census Card, Emma Vondra

1945 Census Card, Emma Vondra

William Vondra

William Vondra, March 17, 1889 to November 11, 1947

Will was born in the sod home in Eden Township,  Hyde County, South Dakota. Will, as I always heard his sisters refer to him, was the 9th child born to Marie and John Vondra. He seemed to be favored by his sisters. He liked to be well dressed. 

Will, as was true of all of his brothers, never married. He lived his whole life on his parent's homestead in Hyde County, South Dakota.

The obituary says the he was known as Bill. That may be true, but I always heard his sisters refer to him as Will.

There was damage to the newspaper that had Will's obituary. The right side towards the top shows the affect to Will's obituary, with the the next page of the paper showing.

1905 census -- 16 years old

1915 Census -- 26 year old

 1935 census--45 year old

1945 Census -- 55 years old

World War I Draft card

Frank Vondra 1886 - 1929

Frank Joe Vondra was born on July 4, 1885 in the Vondra sod home in Eden County, South Dakota.  Frank had a twin brother who was deceased at birth. The twin was buried on the prairie outside the sod home. The twins were the first children born to John and Marie after they came to America.

Frank attended country school and according to the record, received a common education. Many people of this time went to school through 8th grade.

Frank, like all of his brothers, never married. He worked on the farm and drilled water wells in the state of South Dakota. He drilled the well that served the city of Highmore, South Dakota for many decades.

1905 Census

1915 Census

John Francis Vondra (son) 1888 - 1962

John Vondra, May 12, 1888 to September 7, 1962

Son of John Vondra and Marie Sedlacek Vondra

John was born on the farm in Union Township in the sod home. He was the eighth child in the family, two having died.

1900 census record, Vondra family

1905 census card

 

1915 census card, John Vondra, (junior)

John Vondra, WW I draft registration card

WW I draft registration

WW II Draft registration, front of card

WW II, draft registration, back of card

1945 Census Card

John Vondra, son of John and Marie Sedlacek Vondra at
Faulkton Lake with Jimmy Jarvis

George Sporrer Story

from Hyde Heritage, copyright 1977, page 441

Donald, Gerald, back, Helen, Shirley, middle,
Richard, Josie, and George, front row

George Sporrer Story

by Josie Sporrer

George Sporrer was born January 16, 1894 to Frank and Anna Sporrer at St. Mary's, Iowa. When he was fourteen years old they moved fourteen miles south of Seneca, South Dakota. Here the family ranched and farmed.

He married Josephine Vondra in 1920. They set up farming in Hyde County where they lived until they moved to Highmore in 1942.

George was engaged in well drilling with considerable success. He drilled wells until poor health caused him to quit this work.

They raised a family of five children: Donald, Gerald, Richard, Helen and Shirley. Two boys died in infancy.

George died in 1964 and Donald died in 1968 from the result of a car accident.

Helen married John Melbourn and they live in San Diego. Shirley married John Kuchenberg and recently moved to Thorton, Washington. Richard lives in Altoona, Iowa. Gerald lives in Highmore. He married Melvina Hirsch. Josie lives in Highmore.

John and Marie Vondra

from Hyde Heritage, copyright 1977, pages 497 - 498

John and Marie Vondra

By Mrs. Elmer Lusk (Ruth Thurston)

Painting of Marie and John Vondra

John Vondra was born July 14, 1836 at Hoslov (also known as Usilov), Bohemia, Czechoslavakia. He attended school and grew to manhood in Czechoslovakia. His trade was blacksmithing and he served as a gunsmith in the War of 1866. He married Marie Sedlacek in 1976.

Marie Sedlacek was born May, 1857 in Mlynic, Bohemia, Czechoslovakia. She also attended school and grew to womanhood in Czechoslovakia.

In the spring of 1884, John and Marie and their family of four children –James, born January 6, 1877; Mary, born February 2, 1978; Joseph, born February 22, 1881; and Agnes, born March 26, 1884—came to America and lived in Chicago for a few months. Another child, Lottie, had died in infancy in Bohemia. 

In the fall of that year, they came to Dakota Territory and settled in Northwest Eden Township in what was known as the Bohemian Settlement, and lived there about two years. Frank and a twin, who passed away in infancy, were born here July 4, 1886 and John on April 14, 1888. John, Sr., then homesteaded in Union Township and established the home near Rice Lake where he could be sure of an adequate supply of water. They lived in a sod house in Eden Township and again at the new location until John built one of the first frame houses in the area. Indians often came through the country by horse and wagon and camped by Rice Lake because there was wild game to be had for food and water for their horses.

Seven children were born to them after they located in Union Township. They were William, March 17, 1889; Emma, March 19, 1991; Jessie, January 6, 1993; Anna, April 12, 1894; Bessie, September 27, 1895; Josie, March 12, 1897; and Helen, February 6, 1905.

Although the days were filled with many hours of hard labor, everybody was always ready for an evening get-together. They traveled with horse and buggy or wagon and sleds in the winter, to dances, basket socials, literaries, and church services conducted by traveling or visiting preachers. These “doings” were held in the various homes or local schoolhouses. Many of the young people learned from their elders, to play musical instruments so there was always music available for dancing. The early settlers were very dependent upon each other for help so communities were very closely knit together for everybody’s well-being.

The Vondra children all attended rural school and several of the girls went on to high school and normal school and became teachers.

Jim bought his own farm and ran a big rig for his own and custom plowing and he ran a threshing outfit for many years. He passed away December 19, 1947.

Mary married Martin Bouzek. They lived in Eden Township and raised a family of two boys and five girls. Mary passed away July 5, 1957.

Joe worked as a hired hand at various places. He passed away August 30, 1967.

Agnes taught school and married Joe Thurston March 30, 1910, and they had two girls. Agnes passed away April 16, 1942.

Frank had his own farm in Union Township and ran a well drilling rig. He passed away December 20, 1929.

John (son), after serving in the Army in World War I, and William stayed on the home ranch until they passed away—William, November 11, 1947, and John, September 7, 1962.

Emma also stayed on the home ranch with her brothers until John passed away and then she sold the ranch and moved to Highmore.

Jessie married Samuel Hall Jarvis of Faulkton, August, 1917, and they had two boys and three girls.

Anna married Schuyler Hanson, January 20, 1921 and they had two boys and one girl. They lived on a farm in Union Township until retiring and moving to Highmore.

Bessie taught school before marrying Ray Hanson August 27, 1927. They lived on the Al Ollman farm in Illinois Township for several years.

Josie married George Sporrer, December 20, 1920; they lived on farms in Union Township, and later moved to Highmore. Their family consisted of three boys ad two girls. Two children (boys) died in infancy. Josie also taught school before and after being married.

Helen married Harris Scott of Provo, South Dakota and they made their home on farms near Chadron and Hay Springs, Nebraska, until Harris passed away. They raised one girl and one boy. Helen taught school in the Provo-Edgemont area before being married, and in Nebraska for several years.

Marie passed away August 21, 1912 and John continued to live on the ranch with some of his children until his death June 18, 1933. They were laid to rest in the Bohemian Cemetery in Eden Township.

The Zeigler Post Office was located at the Vondra home for many years.

John, Sr., had continued his trade as a blacksmith and farmed.

Rita’s notes

Emma served as the post mistress of the Ziegler post office that was in the family home for a period of time. At one point in time, she resigned and Annie was post mistress. 

Schuyler Hanson (and Anna Vondra)

from Hyde Heritage, copyright 1977, pages 229-230

Schuyler Hanson (and Anna Vondra)

Written by Howard Hanson (their son)

Schuyler and Anna (Vondra) Hanson,
wedding day.

Schuyler L. Hanson was born in Richland County, Wisconsin on February 1, 1892 to Nels and Thea Hanson. There were fourteen children in the Hanson family. The family came by train to Redfield, South Dakota then by wagon to Seneca in March of 1907. They built up a farm eight miles south of Seneca. Schuyler spent most of his younger years working with his father. He worked on threshing rigs in North Dakota in 1912 to 1916, going to North Dakota with his own team of horses and bundle rack and then drove the team and bundle rack back after threshing season. He also picked corn by hand in eastern South Dakota and Iowa the same years as working in North Dakota. He entered the U.S. Army in September 1917 and was in the Machine Gun Battalion 89th Division and was a Private First Class. They sailed for France on May 17, 1918, was in all the major U.S. engagements against the German Army and returned to the U.S. May 1919 and was discharged from the Army June 4, 1919.

Schuyler married Anna Vondra of North Hyde County on January 19, 1921. To this union three children were born, Howard, Margaret, and Robert.

Anna is the daughter of John and Mary Vondra, early pioneers of Union Township. Anna was born in

Will Vondra, Hall Jarvis, Robert, Schuyler, Ray and
Howard Hanson

a sod house. Schuyler and Anna established their home in Section 1 of Union Township. They entered a partnership with Schuyler's brother Ray at this time. Ray made his home with them until the spring of 1927 when he moved to Illinois Township and married Bessie Vondra. The partnership continued on in ranching in Union, Illinois and Franklin townships. Because of the drought of the '30's the cow herd of 200 were shipped by train to Centerville, South Dakota in November of 1934 for the winter, then shipped back to Holabird, South Dakota in March of 1935, from there they were taken to the Crow Creek Indian Reservation until the fall of 1941 when they were brought back to Union Township. Schuyler and Ray had bought land in Faulk County at this time. The partnership in the personal property was dissolved in the spring of 1943 and Schuyler entered a partnership with his two sons. This partnership continued until the fall of 1955 when it was bought by son Howard.

Schuyler and Anna moved to Highmore in September 1952 where they have since made their home. Schuyler served on the school and township boards of Union Township for a number of years. He was also Hyde County Commissioner from 1940 to 1952. He was also a Director of the First State Bank of Highmore from 1953 to 1963. He was a member of the Highmore City Council 1954 to 1956 and also served three years on the Farmers Home Administration Board. He was chairman of the Building Committee for the Memorial Auditorium of Highmore. Schuyler is now 84 years old and he and his wife Anna live at 411 Maple S.E. in Highmore.

Since this was written Schuyler passed away, May 28, 1976.