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HALF-CENTURY HISTORY FARMINGTON AVENUE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH 1851-1901
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GENEALOGY COLLECTION
M. L'
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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01105 5545
PEARL STREET CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
A
HALF-CENTURY HISTORY
OF THE
Farmington Avenue Congregational Church
ORGANIZED AS THE
Pearl Street Congregational Church
IN
HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT
1851-1901
PUBLISHED BY THE CHURCH
1901
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/halfcenturyhisto00hart
1415127
TO THE HONORED FOUNDERS OF THE Pearl Street Congregational Church TO
THEIR DESCENDANTS UNTO THE THIRD AND FOURTH GENERATION AND TO ALL FOR WHOM THE
Farmington Hbenue Congregational Church
MAY BE A RELIGIOUS HOME
THIS VOLUME IS INSCRIBED
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INTRODUCTION.
T HE completion of a half-century in the life of a church is an event which should not pass unnoticed. It suggests the propriety of publishing a history of the origin and experiences of the organization. This is especially desirable in the case of the Farmington Avenue Congregational Church, which was founded as the Pearl Street Congregational Church, has removed from its birth- place, now no longer in existence, and has made for itself a new home in another locality. In obedience to the common desire of those who have participated in its past, and that those who have recently entered its fellow- ship may become more familiar with the history of the church whose Semi-Centennial they have celebrated, this volume is issued. Two names, which God hath joined together, appear in its pages, but the body is the same. All that belonged to the one is the heritage of the other. So the history of the past is committed to those who will come after that they may honor its associations and cherish as their own the names of those who have lived in it. The account of the Pearl Street Congregational Church herein contained was prepared by the pastor in anticipation of the removal, and portions of it were read at a Memorial Service held in their house of worship
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June 25, 1899. A continuation of this history has been added to complete the record of the half-century. In this will be found an account of the church's removal to its new location, the building of its present house of wor- ship, and the services at the laying of the corner-stone and dedication of the edifice, which may be hereafter val- uable or interesting to members of the Farmington Avenue Congregational Church. The Semi-Centennial was celebrated on the 28th and 29th of March, the former date being the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the " Articles of Association," which constituted the Pearl Street Congregational Society and assured the formation of the church. A notice of this event is appended and concludes the volume. W. D. L.
THE PEARL STREET CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
O N the evening of the 17th of January, 1851, twelve gentlemen held an informal meeting to consider the feasibility of establishing a new Congregational Society in this city. The place of this gathering was the office of the Society for Savings, on Pratt street, of which institution Mr. Olcott Allen was then treasurer. The names of those twelve gentlemen in the order of record were: James B. Hosmer, Stephen Spencer, Olcott Allen, Thomas Smith, Tertius Wadsworth, Charles Goodwin, Lawson C. Ives, Newton Case, Noah Wheaton, John L. Bos- well, Joseph Church, and Albert W. Butler. Others, however, were even then interested in the movement. Some are known to have attended those preliminary meetings. These were David F. Robinson, William W. Turner, Nelson Hollister, Sheldon P. Thacher, Charles Boswell, Russell G. Talcott, Samuel S. Ward, John Warburton, James H. Holcomb, Erastus Collins, and Burgis P. Starr. Still others had been consulted, but they seem to have been then undecided as to whether they would unite in the enterprise.
What was the motive which brought these repre- sentative men of Hartford together and led to the
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organization of the Pearl Street Congregational Church? There is no better answer to this question than that contained in the address of Rev. William W. Turner, at the laying of the corner-stone of their edifice; and his words express the Christian princi- ple which has distinguished the history of this partic- ular Church of Christ. "There has," he said, "for a long time been an impression on the minds of indi- viduals that another Congregational society ought to be formed in this city, and an additional church erected. And although it had been a matter of con- versation at different times, nothing definite was, until lately, attempted." Then, after reviewing the steps incident to the formation of the "Pearl Street Congre- gational Society," he further says: "The question has been asked why this enterprise was undertaken, thereby implying a doubt whether another place of worship was needed. Most, if not all the places of worship in this city are well filled on the Sabbath; and in some of them it has for a long time been diffi- cult for all who have desired it, to obtain seats. It is almost twenty years since a Congregational Society has been formed in this town ; and within that time our population has nearly doubled. Very few places in the Union are better supplied with the means of grace and with commodious houses of religious wor- ship than Hartford. And yet we have a large num- ber of residents who are not connected with any relig- ious society, and who seldom are seen in any place of worship on the Sabbath. The desire that all might be supplied with the means of grace, and the hope that more might be induced to attend upon them by the opening of a new church, were leading motives in
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the present enterprise. And here it should be distinctly stated that this corner-stone is not laid in strife or contention. The members of this new Society are happily united with those who have hitherto worshipped with them, and feel strongly attached to their places of worship as well as to the pastors who have ministered to them in holy things. Had they regarded merely their own ease and inter- est, this enterprise would not have been undertaken .. Neither is this corner-stone laid in heresy or schism. It is not to give prominence to any peculiar views, or to any of the prevailing isms of the present time that this separate organization has been effected. But it is to worship God after the manner of our fathers, hold- ing the same faith and resting upon the same platform. It is with the sincere desire that the new church may be 'built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner- stone,' and that the new pulpit may ever faithfully exhibit the unchanged word of God in its ordinary acceptation as the only rule of faith and practice."
This, then, was the explicit declaration of the found- ers. They received it as their duty to leave pleasant church homes and establish another society in this town in order that religious privileges might be pro- vided for others who were neglecting public worship. It is evident that this noble purpose then had a strong hold upon the Christians in this community. In an article on "Church Colonization," published in the "New England Religious Herald," February 22, 1851, it was said: "A new church is needed in this city, and we hope will ere long be commenced, but who will take part in the enterprise ? Who will be forward to
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encourage and to go? There is force in the sugges- tion that the pastors should select precisely the men whom they would like to keep, and send them to the new church. Now is the time to take the incipient measures. The city is growing rapidly. There are not houses sufficient to supply the demand. One hundred tenements will, probably, be erected this year. A church should be ready to receive the new comers." It was also then predicted that within five years the places of those who withdrew from other churches would be filled by others-a prophecy which was abundantly fulfilled.
Still it must not be thought that the sundering of the ties which bound our fathers to their churches was not a sorrowful sacrifice. When the thirty-six original members who came from the First Church made their application for letters of dismission, it was in the most affectionate language. The original of this letter assures us that Deacon Turner wrote it in their behalf and it was blotted with his tears. After stating some of the reasons which led to the request, he wrote: "We have, by the leadings of Providence, been brought to consider seriously our own responsi- bility and duty in this matter, and we have come to the conclusion that we ought to share in the labor of this so important an undertaking. We could have more agreeably remained with you, brethren, in your beautiful sanctuary, where we have often seen mani- festations of the divine presence, where we have for so long a time heard the word of God ably expounded and eloquently enforced, and around which cluster many of the most precious recollections of our early history. It was in our hearts to live and die in com-
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munion with this venerable church, planted more than two hundred years ago by the pilgrim fathers, Hooker and Stone, and watered and cherished by the tears and prayers of eight generations of faithful pastors. We had thought that death alone could sunder those endearing ties which bind us to the minister of this people. We have never prized more highly than we do this day, the privilege of attending on his ministry and listening to the lessons of heavenly wisdom which he so judiciously draws from the words of God and so feelingly imparts to us from Sabbath to Sabbath with the manifest strong desire to save the souls of his hearers. It will never be laid to his charge that we have profited so little in the enjoyment of the means of grace, and made no higher attainments in piety. But the call of duty should ever be allowed to prevail over the pleadings of the heart. That call seems to come to us in the language of the prophet, 'Arise ye, and depart, for this is not your rest.' In obedience to that call we now take our leave of you, to enter upon our new field of labor. May we not hope that your blessing will go with us, while our affections still lin- ger with you." It must have been with emotion that the endorsement was made upon this letter: "The request of the persons named in this paper was granted by vote of the church Oct. 14th, 1852. Attest. J. Hawes, Pastor." The loss of Deacons Turner and Smith, who had served in the diaconate of the First Church for twenty-four and fourteen years respectively, is said to have been severely felt by their beloved pastor. Such were also the personal sacrifices which those made who came from the South and North churches. They obeyed the summons of duty in uniting to form this
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church for the sake of the good they might do to others and in the furtherance of the religious welfare of this town.
At the first preliminary meeting on the 17th of January, the twelve gentlemen present were unani- mously of the opinion "that the increasing population of the city required additional accommodations for the attendance of public worship, and that the time had arrived when measures should be taken for the forma- tion of a new Congregational Church and Society, and the erection of suitable buildings for their use." The question of location was discussed at this and subse- quent meetings. Some thought the edifice should be on Asylum street "to accommodate the population in the northern and western parts of the city." Others considered a more central location better for their pur- pose. On the 7th of February the prices of three sites were before them - the lot of Mr. T. M. Allyn, on the corner of Asylum and Trumbull streets, which could be purchased for twenty-five thousand dollars ; that of Mr. George Brinley, on the corner of Pearl and Trum- bull streets, which was offered for eight thousand dol- lars ; and that of Mr. William H. Imlay, on Pearl Street, two hundred and sixty-seven feet of which would cost them fifteen thousand dollars .* The pur-
* This location was then occupied by the Imlay residence, built by the owner's father, Mr. William Imlay, about 1790. It was a brick building, painted white, which stood on an elevation about six feet above the pres- ent sidewalk, and was reached by circular stone steps on both sides of a square landing. There were other buildings on the place, a garden with fruit-trees, and at the west end a small wooden building known as the "flour store." Mr Imlay also offered to sell 301 feet measuring westward from the eastern corner of the church lot, then the " Union Hall gangway," for $16,280, or 150 feet of the west end of his land measuring from the west line of the "old flour store," at $50 per foot. This latter location
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chase of the Allyn lot was thought to be inexpedient, and the Brinley lot was considered undesirable. Those who wished for a location further west, then brought forward the lot of Bishop Thomas C. Brown- ell, on the corner of Asylum and Ann streets, which could be had for thirteen thousand dollars. It soon became evident that the Pearl street location alone would accommodate those who were most deeply interested in the enterprise. The matter was finally left to a committee consisting of Messrs. Hosmer, Butler, and Ives, who were empowered to purchase one hundred and fifty feet of the west end of this lot, provided the requisite amount was subscribed. This would have located the church about midway between Main and Trumbull streets. After further consulta- tion and by the advice of Messrs. Robinson, Case, and Smith, the committee decided that the east end of the Imlay lot would be better, and that it was expedient to buy the two hundred and sixty-seven feet for fif- teen thousand dollars. This sum was guaranteed by fourteen gentlemen interested. The lot was therefore bought March 5th by Elisha Colt, Esq., president of the Exchange Bank, who, on the day following, con- veyed it to Messrs. Hosmer, Butler, and Ives, whence it passed to the Society on the 20th of June. Mean- while the committee were authorized to open a sub- scription paper to raise forty thousand dollars and to
was at first favored. The Society's committee sold, July 2, 1851, three lots from the 267 feet purchased -31 feet, 6 inches next west of the church lot to Wm. W. Ellsworth; 34 feet, 6 inches westward of this to Joseph Wales, and 44 feet, 4 inches to James C. Jackson. All these lots were 119 feet in depth. They received therefor $5,391.66, and from the buildings sold, $1, 040.34, thus reducing the cost of the church lot to $8,568.
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call a public meeting. As this meeting was held on Monday evening, March 3d, and the time was only decided on late the Saturday before, we must conclude that the fathers of this church, who certainly would rest on the Sabbath, arose very early that Monday morning to go about this important business. We have among the archives of the church a fragment of the blue paper notice sent out in calling this meeting, and it is the first printed document of the parish.
The record is that this meeting, which was held in the Lecture Room of the Center Church, was " numer- ously and respectably attended." The Hon. Thomas Day presided. Some were present to wish the project God-speed who did not intend to join in it. All the pastors of the Congregational Churches in the town had previously been consulted and were favorable. After the subject had been presented by Deacon Tur- ner and discussed, it was unanimously voted "that it is expedient to attempt to establish a new Congrega- tional Society in this city." Thus the enterprise was launched. The next morning a subscription commit- tee began the work of raising the required forty thou- sand dollars. It was soon ascertained that this sum could not be secured, and as all the subscriptions had been made on this condition, the project was in danger of failure. At this juncture Albert W. Butler came forward with the offer to give a bond for the payment of the interest on ten thousand dollars for five years, provided thirty thousand dollars could be raised. This proposition was gratefully accepted. We do not know what might have been but for Deacon Butler's generous and timely offer. Its immediate effect was to guarantee the success of the venture and generate
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a warm enthusiasm in the movement. Within three weeks the amount had been raised*, the bond ex- ecuted, and the committee were ready to call a meet- ing for the formation of the " Pearl Street Congrega- tional Society," which was the name they suggested. This meeting was held in the Lecture Room of the Center Church, on the evening of March 28, 1851, which is the exact date of the Society organization.
* The total amount subscribed was $32,610, of which about $9,000 was given by those who did not come to the church. The subscribers were as follows : Albert W. Butler, $5,000 ; David F. Robinson, $2,500; Thomas Smith, $2,500; Lawson C. Ives, $2,000; Newton Case, $1,500; James B. Hosmer, $1,000 ; David Watkinson, $1,000; Erastus Collins, $1,000 ; Geo. M. Welch, $1,000; Charles Boswell, $500; John L. Boswell, $500; Nelson Hollister, $500 ; Olcott Allen, $500 ; Daniel P. Crosby, $500; Austin Dun- ham, $500 ; Ebenezer N. Kellogg, $500; Noah Wheaton, $500; Burgis P. Starr, $500; Samuel Woodruff, $500; James M. Bunce, $500; Roland Mather, $500; Samuel S. Ward, $500; Edwin G. Ripley, $300 ; Henry French, $300 ; Hungerford & Cone, $250; Tertius Wadsworth, $250; Wil- liam L. Collins, $250 ; William W. Turner, $250; Christopher C. Lyman, $250 ; George Burnham. $250; Stephen Spencer, $250; A Friend, by A. W. Butler, $250; Russell G. Talcott, $250; A Friend, by R. G. Talcott, $250 ; Elisha Colt, $250; Lucius Barbour, $250: Eliphalet A. Bulkeley, $250 ; John B. Corning, $200; Joseph Wales, $200; B. E. Hooker, $200 ; Sheldon P. Thacher, $200, John Warburton, $200; Burrall Sage, $200 ; Robert Buell, $200; Drayton Hillyer, $200; Timothy Williams, $200 ; Simeon L. Loomis, $200 ; C. L. Covell, $100; George W. Moore, $100 ; Alfred Gill, $100; Charles H. Langdon, $100; Elizur T. Goodrich, $100 ; C. A. Taft, $100 ; Daniel W. Clark, $100 ; Benjamin W. Greene, $100; Lu- cius Case, $100 ; George W. Root, $100 ; Charles Hosmer, $100; Haynes L. Porter, $100 ; Joseph Langdon, $100; Daniel Phillips, $100; Henry R. Coit, $100 ; Roswell Brown, $100 ; Frederick Tyler, $100 ; Henry Keney, $100; Edwin Hunt, $50; Thomas Steele, $50; Samuel Coit, $50; Henry J. Johnson, $50; Horatio Fitch, $50 ; W. and A. Ely, $50; Franklin E. Pettibone, $50 ; Henry B. Camp, $50 ; H. L. Bidwell, $50 : W. A. Spencer, $50 ; S. Bourn, $50; W. H. Kelsey, $50 ; George S. Beach, $50; Horace Johnson, $50; Edmund G. Howe, $50; Lewis Sheldon, $50; Caleb M. Tal- cott, $25 ; W. W. Roberts, $25; Thomas R. Dutton, $25; Elisha K. Root, $25 ; Henry K. W. Welch, $15 ; E. T. Pease, $10; Cash, by A. W. Butler, $10: P. S. Riley, $10; Melvin B. Copeland, $10; Albert L. Butler, $3 ; Charles W. Butler, $2. In 1854, John Beach contributed $500.
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Articles of Association had been prepared, which at that time were signed by twenty-six gentlemen, who constituted its original members. This important document is as follows:
ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION.
We, the Subscribers, do mutually covenant and agree with each other, that we will, and we do hereby associate and unite ourselves together as an Ecclesias- tical Society, by the name of the Pearl Street Congre- gational Society; and that we will, as a Society, for the maintenance of gospel order, and the support of the Christian Ministry, connect ourselves with a Church to be formed according to the usages of the Consociated Churches of Connecticut, provided said church shall adopt and hold the Confession of Faith and Covenant, in all essential particulars, which is at this time held and acknowledged by the First Church in this city.
HARTFORD, March 28th, 1851.
Wm. W. Turner,
Albert W. Butler,
David F. Robinson,
James B. Hosmer,
Lawson C. Ives,
Erastus Collins,
Olcott Allen,
Sheldon P. Thacher,
Nelson Hollister,
Samuel Coit,
Russell G. Talcott,
C. H. Langdon,
George W. Root,
Thomas R. Dutton,
Henry K. W. Welch,
Joseph Wales,
George S. Beach,
Rodney Dennis,
Edward W. Parsons,
Burgis P. Starr,
Stephen Spencer,
John L. Boswell,
Newton Case,
Thomas Smith,
Melvin B. Copeland,
James M. Bunce.
At an adjourned meeting on the following even- ing, Messrs. Turner, Smith, Allen, Case, and Coit were chosen as Society's Committee; James B. Hosmer,
INTERIOR -PEARL STREET CHURCH
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Treasurer ; and Russell G. Talcott, Clerk .* The site purchased was also assumed, and a Building Commit- tee appointed, consisting of Messrs. Butler, Robinson, Hosmer, Ives, Collins, Boswell, and Parsons.
It will be noted by all who are conversant with ecclesiastical history that this manner of procedure was unusual. The organization of the Society antici- pated that of the Church. Steps were afterwards taken to secure a minister before a church had been formed. In this case, however, there were good reasons for such action. The founders did not wish to sever their relations with the churches where they worshipped until a new edifice had been erected. There was no reason for doing so, for they went not out in schism. The "Articles of Association " were deemed sufficient to insure the formation, in due time, of a Congrega-
The roll of members of the Society's Committee during the half- century is as follows : Wm. W. Turner, 1851-3; Thomas Smith, 1851-3 ; Olcott Allen, 1851-3; Newton Case, 1851-3; Samuel Coit, 1851-2; H. K. W. Welch, 1852-3; David F. Robinson, 1853-7; Roland Mather, 1853-5 ; Erastus Collins, 1853-5 ; Daniel Phillips, 1855-66, 1869-75 ; Nelson Hollister, 1855-7; Leonard T. Welles, 1857-65 ; George Rust, 1857-66; Jonathan B. Bunce, 1865-7; John B. Corning, 1866-76, 1879-86 ; Joseph S. Woodruff, 1866-8, 1873-7; Henry T. Sperry, 1867-9; Charles H. Prentice, 1868-73, 1879-83, 1886-7; Leverett Brainard, 1875-9; Charles E. Gross, 1876-9 ; Caleb M. Talcott, 1877-9, 1883-5, 1887-8 ; George M. Welch, 1879-83, 1885-6 ; Henry P. Hitchcock, 1883-4; Nathaniel Shipman, 1884-91 ; John G. Root, 1886-7 ; Charles R. Burt, 1887 to date; William P. Williams, 1888-98; Oland H. Blanchard, 1891-7; Lyman B. Brainerd, 1897 to date; Ward W. Jacobs, 1899 to date. -
The following have been Treasurers of the Society : James B. Hos- mer, 1851-5 ; Albert W. Butler, 1855-8 ; Roland Mather, 1858-66; John B. Eldredge, 1866-76 ; John G. Root, 1876-9; Ward W. Jacobs, 1879-92 ; Henry H. Goodwin, 1892 to date.
The Clerks of the Society have been as follows : Russell G. Talcott , 1851-60 ; Edward W. Parsons, 1860-3; William H. Hill, 1863-5; Leverett Brainard, 1865-6; Alphonso S. Hyde, 1866-77 ; Horace R. Morley, 1877-94 Archibald A. Welch, 1895-9; Franklin A. Morley, 1899 to date.
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tional church which should adopt the Confession of Faith and Covenant of the mother church in all essential particulars. There was therefore a period extending from March 28, 1851, to October 15, 1852, during which the Society was the only body and was erecting its edifice and otherwise making ready the home for the church. When the proper time arrived, the Society, after an order exceptional in Con- gregationalism, took the initiative in effecting a church organization, appointing a committee to decide upon the Articles of Faith and call a council to form the church. This was in accordance with their pledge in the " Articles of Association." During this interval of waiting the Society received the fol- lowing acquisitions: Nathaniel Shipman, Lewis Shel- don, Theodore M. Lincoln, Henry W. Taylor, Roland Mather, Caleb M. Talcott, George B. Hawley, W. Henry Dodd, Eliphalet A. Bulkeley, Sherman Board- man, Chauncey Howard, Daniel Phillips, Charles P. Welles, and William H. Kelsey. These augmented their number to forty, and any one who is familiar with the history of Hartford will recognize the worth of these men, who were the honored fathers of this parish. Some of them have sons and grandsons who are their successors in office and labor. The only one now remaining is the Hon. Nathaniel Shipman, who has faithfully held his post in the watch tower during this half century cycle of history. The only gentle- men who joined the Society before 1856 and now remain on its roll are, in the order of seniority, Frank- lin Clark, Pliny Jewell, and Charles H. Prentice.
On the evening of March 29th, after the adjourn- ment of the Society meeting, the Building Committee
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met. Albert W. Butler was elected chairman and Edward W. Parsons secretary. It does not appear from their records how their minds were directed towards Mr. Minard Lafever, an architect of New York ; but from the first he was their choice, and no other seems to have been considered. He came to this city and met the committee on the 9th of April. The afternoon was spent in discussing the projected edifice, whereupon the chairman was authorized to procure a plan from Mr. Lafever for "a church and lecture room." It was nearly a month before this plan was received. Two estimates on it were then prepared by Noah Wheaton, -- a well-known Hartford builder,-one with the spire and cornice in stone, and the other with the same in wood. This original plan is not known to have survived. Some objections to it were doubtless raised. A committee consisting of Messrs. Hosmer and Collins, accompanied by Mr. Wheaton, then visited New York and Brooklyn. As appears from their report, they failed to find there any church edifice adapted to the wants of the Society; but they also visited Mr. Lafever, and obtained from him a modifi- cation of the original plan, and also a design for a church fronting the street. These were submitted to the Society on the 19th of May. We can hardly appreciate the points made in this discussion of plans. Mr. Robinson favored the original design. Mr. Smith advocated the modified plan without the interior finish of the columns, around which many a pewholder has played " hide and seek" with the minister during the years. Some seem to have objected to a meeting- house with its side to the street, which was an innova- tion, and at the time excited much adverse criticism.
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