Amanuensis Monday: Grandparents "Hurrah," The first Rowland-Ament birth

NOTE: Amanuensis Monday is a genealogy blogging prompt used by many in the blogging community. The word, according to Google, means: "A literary or artistic assistant, in particular one who takes dictation or copies manuscripts."

My sister, her husband, and I are going through old family letters together. This is a wonderful sharing experience between our family. We hope anyone who is interested will benefit from our work and that there will be many more letters to come.

                              Letter #212
                                            Rochester N.Y. 8/11/14
Dear Children, 6.P.M- 57 state St
Hurrah; Hurrah;
Is that the proper way to
express our exuberance of joy over the cable-gram
that came to Rochester Saturday night at 8.45 P.M
if not what can we say to express our feelings.
Just think of it grand pa and grand ma, shame
on you to put us in such a position and we
so young looking that no one will believe us.
We are very thoughtful to receive the cable and we
feel that it carries a message of love and cheer
way beyond our comprehension. We thank our
Heavenly Father for this gift to you and to
us because you know we claim him as our
own, also for his care for you in bringing
you safely through. Of course we are anxious to
know who he looks like, color of eyes, hair etc,
whether he is a Rowland or an Ament in looks and
disposition. Whether you have carried him yet
Henry, and we are wondering just how graceful
you will be the first time. Well to go back
a bit we were eating breakfast at 9 oclock Sunday,
eleven of us when Mr Welch came over to say that
I was wanted on the phone. I hustled for my pocket
to get my Code words and ran over sure
enough Uncle Ed on this end of the line said
[page break]
2
“Fonda” I told him that I would look and see what
that meant but when I went back they had cut us
out so that after trying for ten minutes to raise
him I hustled back to tell the folks that
it was a boy born on Sunday and strange to
say on your anniversary day. Congratulations
on both. Well the Greens the Suicoles(?) the Gages
the Welches old + young big + little rejoice with
you and want to be a part of the congratulations
and they are all in earnest about it. It don’t
seem to any of them any more than it does
to us that you have been gone three years.
Poor “Butter” what will become of him, surely
C(?) A. R. will be a bone in the flesh for him.
Grandpa and Grandma were very common words
Sunday + Monday I wonder just what they mean
anyway. Just a slip of paper with the word
“Fonda” is all the proof that we have or expect
to have for four weeks to come. Leave the a
off and it makes a good word for a starter don’t
it? Well we surely glad that it’s over or rather
that he has come to pass. Always rather anxious
times and especially when there is so much con-
jecture as to the sex, quantity etc. Are we glad
that it is a boy we sure are and we would
have been equally glad if it had been a girl
And we are more than glad to know that it
was not both a boy and a girl.
[page break]
3
What rivalry there will be between the Kent girl baby
and the Rowland boy baby. Are they Americans or
Chinese and will he have to be naturalized?
I have just been down to the barber shop to get
a hair cut (not as nice a barber as you have Henry)
so that I’ll look younger. Gramp is all right but
this youngster’s gramp is going to be a young one.
Don’t forget the Kodak pictures one a month at least
you will miss it if you don’t take them and we
will miss them more. You must remember that
we won’t have a chance to see the real article for
two years yet so the snap shots will be worth a good
deal to us. Grandpa + Grand ma Rowland (how selfish
I had almost forgotten their claim) are up in the North
ern part of Michigan but we got a telegram off
Sunday P.M so they knew it at least by Monday
morning. Two days old already how the time does fly.
Now don’t take him too seriously because he is the
first born. Remember that he don’t need to be rocked
to sleep lay him down on the bed and retire. You
see Gramp has been through it and knows by ex-
perience, come again. Any thing else you wish to
know why just cable and gramp will be only too
glad to serve you. Gee but this is awful almost
three pages and all about one little baby boy born
in China why one would think baby boys were
born only once or twice in a generation.
When this reaches you I hope daughter will be
up and about as usual that son Henry will
have gotten down to earth again and that our
little grand son will have become some what

NOTE: When I locate the 4th page of the letter I plan to update this post. No promise on when that will happen. 

Select individuals included in this letter:
From Charles Phillip Ament ("Grandpa") and Mignonette Orlup Ament ("Grandma")
regarding the birth of Charles Ament Rowland ("C.A.R.")
to Henry Hosie Rowland and Mildred May Ament