The road to Svallerup was paved with good intentions and lined with gold.  Fields and fields of gold.  The weather changed its mood with every bend of the road.  I had a beautiful drive today across Denmark.

Svallerup Kirke. I found myself at the church I had visited so many times via google maps.  What the satellite didn’t show was how the cemetery was a beautifully landscaped garden and how it surrounded the church.  It also didn’t show that the gravesides had names like Andersens, Jensens, Christiansens, Larsens and Pedersens….many many Pedersens.  I snapped them all up but I’m fairly certain that none of them belong to our line.

Parish home for Nils Pedersen and his father, Peder Pedersen.

It seems like even the Rector is a Pedersen.

So I went inside and nobody was there.

And then I saw the baptismal font.  It looks old.  We know that Peder Pedersen, my great great grandfather was baptized on March 7th, 1819 in Svallerup.  We know his son Nils Peter Pedersen was born in Svallerup Dec 10th, 1867, and most likely baptized (but we don’t have the record yet.)  Could this font be the font?

As I was going to leave, an older man pulled up in a car.  My Danish is nonexistent and his English was minimal.  I did manage to say Philipsdal farm and he said it was down the road a few kilometers.  This led me on an afternoon and evening adventure that I will save for tomorrow.