Peder Hilmar Bjerkmann

Peder was the 4th son and 8th child of Andreas and Gustava. Even though Grandma's scrapbook had no photographs of him, I had known about him for some years, having come across him in the transcribed records of Norway on familysearch.  I only knew his name and birth date - and my brother had told me he died when he was in his teens.
When I connected with my cousin in Norway, she had told me that Peder died of tuberculosis when he was 16 years old - and she sent a photograph of him. I was in awe of this photograph. It was the most haunting photograph I had ever seen - and brought such a sadness to me. 
The photograph was taken shortly before Uncle Peder died; and looking at the picture right now - Gr. Grandpa Andreas looking stoic with a clenched fist; Gr. Grandma Gustava in her attempt to be brave, but the blank stare in her face speaks volumes of her sadness; and Peder, looking frail and weak, with the hopelessness reflecting in his eyes - the sorrow just emanates from this photograph.

I often wondered why there were no photo's of Peder in Grandma's scrapbook. I can understand - and, maybe, surmise - the reason for none of Karl and Olga. They were so much older than Grandpa that he may not have known them all that well (and Karl supposedly left for the U.S. in the year before Grandpa was born). I can understand why the two baby Bredine's were not in the scrapbook. They died so young and photography was probably almost non-existent for most people. There were pictures of Ivan, Hjalmar and Nora - but no Peder. Was it such a painful memory to Grandpa to even have a photograph of his brother?