12 November 1870 • Buffalo, N.Y. (MS: CtY-BR, UCCL 00533)
I came into the world on the 7th inst., and consequently am about 5 days old, now. I have had wretched health ever since I have made my appearance. First one thing & then another has kept me under the weather. One hour it would be wind—next, indigestion—next, colic—& as a general thing I am have been chilly & uncomfortable.
I am not corpulent, nor am I robust in any way. At birth I only weighed 4½ pounds wh Ⓐemendation with my clothes on—& the clothes were the chief feature of the weight, too, I am obliged to confess. But I am doing finely, all things considered. I was at a standstill Ⓐemendation for 3 days & a half, but during the last 24 hours I have gained nearly an ounce, avoirdupois.
They all say I look very old & venerable—& I am aware, myself, that I never smile. Life seems a serious thing, what I have seen of it—& as my observation teaches me that it is made up mainly of hiccups, disagreeable unnecessary washings, & wind in the bowels. But no doubt you, who are old, have long since grown acu accustomed Ⓐemendation & reconciled to what seems to me such Ⓐemendation a disagreeable novelty.
My father said, this morning, when my face was in repose & thoughtful, that I looked precisely as young Edward Twichell1explanatory note of Hartford y used to look some 18 12 Ⓐemendation months ago.—chin, mouth, forehead, expression—everything.
My little mother is very bright & cheery, & I guess she is pretty happy, but I don’t know what about. She laughs a great deal, notwithstanding she is sick abed. And Ⓐemendation she eats a great deal, though she says that is because the nurse desires it. And Ⓐemendation when she has had all the nurse desires her to have, she asks for more. She is getting along very well indeed.
My aunt Susie Crane has been here some ten days or two weeks, but goes home today & Mrs. Granny Fairbanks of Cleveland arrives to take her place.
I was not due here u on this planet until some about the first week in December, but my mother took a hurried drive to the depot one day & the consequence was that it was all the doctors & nurses could do to keep me from looking in on the family that night. But Ⓐemendation by faithful exertions they got me staved off till two weeks, & by jings I missed the earthquake.2explanatory note
But we appear to Ⓐemendation be all right now, uncleⒶemendation, & some day we’ll come & see you & my young cousins.3explanatory note
P. S. Father said I had better writteⒶemendation, because you would be more interested in me, just now than in the rest of the family.
letter docketed by Joseph Twichell: (Langdon natus)
Born on 10 August 1867 (“Hartford Residents,” Twichell Family, 1).
The drive to the depot apparently was with Mary Mason Fairbanks on 19 October (5 Nov 70 to Orion, n. 5click to open letter). The earthquake struck at about 11:15 a.m. on 20 October, jolting the northeastern and north central portion of the continent as far north as Quebec and as far west as Cincinnati. In Buffalo the tremors reportedly were “quite violent” (Buffalo Commercial Advertiser: “The Earthquake,” 21 Oct 70, 3; Buffalo Express: “The Earthquake,” 21 Oct 70, 1; “Another Earthquake!” 21 Oct 70, 2; “The Earthquake,” 22 Oct 70, 1).
In addition to Edward: Julia Curtis Twichell, born on 9 January 1869, and Susan Lee Twichell, born on 15 October 1870. Ultimately the Twichells had nine children, the last born in 1884 (“Hartford Residents,” Twichell Family, 1).
MS, Joseph H. Twichell Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University (CtY-BR).
L4 , 236–238; MTB , 1:417 excerpts; MTL , 1:177–78, with omissions; MTMF , 140 n. 1, brief excerpt.
It is not known when Twichell’s papers were deposited at Yale, although it is likely that he bequeathed them to the university upon his death in 1918 ( L2 , 570).