The Start of My Journey, Part 1

I grew up hearing that my great-grandparents were from Denmark.  It wasn't until I was a little older that I learned that all four of my paternal great-grandparents immigrated to America.  I was in my teens when the realization hit me that it meant that my dad was 100% Danish.  That made me 50%.  I thought that was so interesting!  No one else I knew was descended from anyone Danish.  I felt very unique and special.

I've not been sure about where to start this blog as there are sooo many directions it could go all at once.  So, I've decided to start my blog's journey with the start of my journey researching my ancestry in Denmark.

I decided to start with my dad's maternal grandparents.  The reason being was simple.  I had made trips with my parents to Elk Horn, IA in the spring and winter for the town's Tivoli Fest and Jul Fest, respectively.  But it wasn't until about 2 years ago that I learned that my great-grandparents settled in Elk Horn when they first arrived in America.  In fact, they have a plaque on the Danish Immigrant Wall of Honor at the Danish Immigrant Museum there.  In Elk Horn, there is a Genealogy Center in which people can use the computers there to research family history.  They also have a huge collection of old newspapers and other resources for the area that are indexed.  Being as my dad's maternal grandparents settled there (his grandfather operated the blacksmith shop on main street), I was able to find newspaper birth announcements for my grandmother and 2 of her younger brothers. 

As I was researching this branch of the family tree, my dad shared with me that he thought that his grandfather might have had a sister living in Elk Horn also.  And he thought her name was Stine.  So, onward I searched. 

While I was disappearing to Elk Horn almost every Saturday to do local research in that area, I had also learned how to look at the church books in Denmark online.  I knew the name of the village my grandfather came from (Pandrup), so I began navigating my way through the Danish websites, decoding as I went, and found his birth record.  That record gave me his parents' names: Jens Pedersen and Ane Catherine Jensen.  From there, I was able to find his siblings' birth records.

My father's grandfather, Jens Peder Pedersen, had three brothers and three sisters.  He was the only boy who lived to adulthood.  His three brothers, Jens Erik, Jens Eriksen, and Knud, all died as very young boys.  His three sisters were Karen Elline, Inger Marie Petrea, and Ane Christine.  All three of the girls grew to adulthood, married, and had families of their own.

Ane Christine was the sister the family knew as Stine (shown in the front center).  And she did, in fact, immigrate to America. 

To be continued...