The following is a letter from Ameilia’s father, Pennsylvania Governor Simon Snyder dated the 30th of January, 1813:

"I hope the practice I recommended, of reading by the boys in the evening, has been adopted, and the reading of a chapter in the New Testament or one of Blair's sermons on a Sunday, when there is no worship in our church. When there is, and the weather is tolerable, I trust you and all the boys attend. Your ensample may influence them. I would advise you to set apart, say two hours each day, for reading, and endeavor to store in your mind all that is worth recollecting. Write to me when you have an opportunity, or rather write when anything occurs to your mind worth communicating, and then you will be ready, and not hurried, when an opportunity offers. This is my method, or I never could get through half my business."3787