The last of the wealthy men in the Bruun family in Hadsel, Hans Rener Bruun (1803-1867) had two sons who grew up. The youngest, Frederik Severin (1835-1873), according to Helga Bruun’s family chronicle, worked for a period as a clerk at W.D Hals in Stokmarknes. As the youngest son, it was not an option for Frederik to inherit the business from his father.
We do not know much about Frederik’s life, but in the collection of the Bruun family we find a few objects related to the young man.
In a paper box decorated with a romantic scene in the green, lay a letter and a lock of hair. The lock of hair is wrapped with blue sewing thread and the letter is beautifully carried by hand, perhaps by a woman? Or maybe a man?
In the letter, the person writes that the lock of hair is a pledge of “the most sincere and tender love for you” Furthermore, it says that “I swear to you the purest, faithful and unfailing fidelity (and love) until death I am yours eternally faithful and unforgettable”
The letter is signed A. Thomesen. We do not find any A Thomesen in the church records from the period, so we do not know who this was. From the fact that the letter and the lock of hair were kept safe by Frederik, we can maybe assume that he felt something of the same way about the letter writer.
Unfortunately, there was never a marriage between Thomesen and Frederik. He died as a bachelor, of typhoid fever in 1873, only 38 years old.
What happened to the letter writer is not known.
Thanks to Åsa Elstad for assistance with the transcription.