Commemorative biographical record of Hartford County, Connecticut : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Pt 1, Part 157

Author: J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1336


USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > Commemorative biographical record of Hartford County, Connecticut : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families, Pt 1 > Part 157


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Mr. Roberts was one of the early tobacco pro- ducers in the vicinity of Silver Lane, and was a keen business man, who did business on a cash basis only. In politics he was a Democrat up to the breaking out of the Rebellion, when he became a Republican, to which party he adhered until the day of his death ; at one time he was elected assessor on this ticket, and filled the office only through a sense of public duty, as he much preferred devoting his time to his private affairs. His specialty was farming, and of this he made a decided success.


On April 9, 1839, Mr. Roberts was married, by Rev. Dr. Spring, to Miss Charlotte Corinthia Cowles, who was born Oct. 30, 1817, in East Hart- ford, and was a daughter of Anson and Anna (Ken- nedy) Cowles. This lady died June 26, 1895, the mother of the following children: Charles W., born May 30, 1840; George T., who was born July 31, 1842, and died Dec. 19, 1843 : Martin, born Nov. 3, 1847, who first married Ellen Burnham, and later Hattie Gillespie, and is now living in Hockanum; William, born Dec. 3, 1850; and Frank, born Feb. 12, 1854.


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Although not a church member Ira T. Roberts was a God-fearing man, and held that salvation was the reward of an individual's personal deserts. His wife was of strong religious tendencies, and her in- fluence for good never met with opposition from her husband. Mr. Roberts was decidedly domestic and social, especially with relatives; he was well read on all subjects, did more thinking than talking, but was fond of argument. His "word was as good as his bond" at all times, and he was held in the high- est esteem by all his friends and neighbors. He was an excellent manager, accumulated a handsome property, and at his death disposed of it to his four sons in so equitable and business-like manner as not to cause a single word of dispute or contention over its distribution. The remains of both parents were interred in Center cemetery, East Hartford, and their memory is most affectionately cherished by their children and other surviving relatives.


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Charles W. Roberts, of the sixth generation of the honored Roberts family of East Hartford, re- ceived an excellent education in his early days, and still regards the schools of his youth with fond affection. While a friend of better schools, leading to the highest forms of education, and altogether progressive, he would like to see introduced some system of study of the old-time economy, believing that the school room, as well as the home, is a place where the value of a dollar as well as the value of time and all things else should be inculcated. One of his first teachers was Horace Cornwall, of his home district, and he later walked four miles to Hartford and four miles back each day, to be in- structed at the North school of that city. At the East Hartford Academy he was under such tutors as l'otter, Comfort and Rogers. At the age of eighteen years he returned to the homestead, where he and his brothers worked in perfect harmony to- gether, dividing the results.


In November, 1861, Mr. Roberts was united in marriage with Miss Adelaide L. Brewer, who was born in Hockanum in July, 1839, and was a daugh- ter of Ashabel Brewer, and immediately after mar- riage took possession of his present dwelling, which he had erected in preparation for the event. Here have been born to them three children: Lena, who died at the age of twelve years ; Homer C., who mar- ried Miss Jennie Goodwin, of East Hartford, and is now employed by the Connecticut Mutual Life In- surance Co., of Hartford; and George T., who fell into a vessel containing boiling water, and was scalded to death when three years old.


Mr. Roberts at once engaged in market garden- ing on moving to his own place, and in partnership with his brothers conducted a retail business on Market street, where the police station now stands, and where they controlled the trade in home produce. Along the 'seventies Mr. Roberts withdrew from the cultivation of garden produce and turned his attention to the cultivation of tobacco, which for


a number of years he raised extensively. He was very well satisfied, when he went into the field, to meet a hand that could do as much work as him- self. In 1871 he began buying and selling tobacco, and throughout the 'seventies did an excellent trade ; at one time he acted as buyer for several large houses, but since 1895 has done nothing in the buy- ing line. Until 1874 Mr. Roberts was a Republican in politics, was then a Democrat until 1896, and then returned to the Republican party as a sound-money man; however, in town politics he is neutral. He has filled many positions of honor and trust, his fellow citizens having implicit confidence in his integrity and great reliance on his judgment. In 1872 he was elected selectman by the Republicans, and served until 1878; was town auditor for several years in the 'eighties; and in 1888 and 1889 was town treasurer; then for six years he filled the office of first selectman, succeeding Ashbel Gillman. He has been prosecuting attorney of East Hartford since the organization of the town court in 1897, filling the offices most satisfactorily. Mr. Roberts also became a member of the board of Hartford bridge commissioners on the establishment of same, in 1889 by virtue of his position as first selectman of the town of East Hartford. In 1893 the State assumed the management of the bridge, and the Legislature appointed a commission of three, of which Mr. Roberts was one. In 1895 the Act was repealed, and the Legislature appointed a new com- mission, consisting of eight members, Mr. Roberts being one of the number ; he still holds the position. He has also represented his district in the State Legislature, having been elected as a Democrat in 1882, 1887 and 1895. In the session of 1882 he was a member of the committee on Agriculture ; in that of 1887 was a member of the committee on Roads and Bridges; and in that of 1895 was a member of the committee on Finance, having for his coadjutor the present Gov. Lounsbury and the present Lieut .- Gov. Lyman J. Mills. Mr. Roberts was also a charter member of the East Hartford Grange, and was a member of the Knights of Honor when that order had its existence. He is a trustee of the Co-operative Savings Society of Hartford, and has always led a progressive, prominent and useful life.


Mr. Roberts is one of the best-read men in the county, one whose consideration would at once sug- gest a college education. He has been a close stu- dent of science, history and general literature, and takes great interest especially in scientific studies that to the common mind would be but dry reading. He is witty and jolly, and his sense of humor far exceeds the ordinary. He is progressive, and takes greater pleasure in looking forward than backward. His friends and acquaintances are extensive through- out the county, and he is justly classed with the representative and advanced citizens of the State of Connecticut.


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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.


HON. D. ELLSWORTH PHELPS, probate judge for the town of Windsor, is a member of an honored pioneer family which is now numerously represented in this section. His ancestors settled in Windsor previous to the organization of the town, and their foresight, enterprise and public spirit did much to establish the free institutions of which later generations have reaped the benefit, while the prestige of the name has been well sus- tained in modern times, our subject's endorsement of any movement being recognized as a potent in- fluence in its favor.


The Phelps family in America is descended from two brothers, William and George, who came from England in 1630 on the ship "Mary and John," in company with a younger brother, Richard, of whom all trace was lost after he went to the Barbadoes, in 1635. Their motive in coming was the desire for religious liberty, and Rev. Mr. Warham, of whose church in England William Phelps was an original member, was the leader of their party. William Phelps was a native of Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England, born about 1599, and at the time of his emigration had a wife and five children. He located first in Dorchester, Mass .. where he took a prominent part in town affairs, and his first wife died there. In the spring of 1636 he removed to Windsor with his children, and during his later years he made his home on a tract of land on the road between that village and Poquonock, three-quarters of a mile northwest of Broad street, his death occurring July 14. 1672. After his removal to Windsor he married Mary Dover, a native of England, who came over on the "Mary and John," with Rev. Mr. Warham's little colony.


(II) Samuel Phelps, the next in the line of descent to our subject, was born about 1625, and was the second son and third child of William Phelps by his first wife. On Nov. 10, 1650, he was married, in Windsor, to Sarah Griswold, a native of Kenilworth, England, who came to Amer- ica in 1639 with her father, Edward Griswold, an early settler at Poquonock.


(III) William Phelps, son of Samuel, was born Nov. 3. 1660, and died Nov. 21, 171I, at his home in Poquonock. On Jan. 4. 1693, he married Han- nah Hayden, born Nov. 6, 1668, who survived him, and was married later to a Mr. Smith. Seven children were born to William and Hannah Phelps, their names with dates of birth being as follows : Hannah (Mrs. Harmon). Oct. 13. 1694: Phoebe, Sept. 1, 1696 ; William, Jan. 13. 1698 : Lieut. Daniel, March 21, 1700; John (Deacon), March 21, 1703 ; Elizabeth, July 23, 1706; and Charles, Oct. 13, 1708.


(IV) Lieut. Daniel Phelps was married Nov. 9, 1728, to Mindwell Buckland, by whom he had the following children: Mindwell, born Sept. 30. 1729, who was married to Isaac Griswold May 19. 1748: Daniel, born April 26, 1730, died Feb. 16, 1804; Sarah, born April 26, 1730; Hannah, born


Feb. 4. 1731 : Roger, who is mentioned below ; Eunice, born May 27. 1739; Eunice (2), born in 1742, who was married, Jan. 5, 1756, to Bildad Phelps ; and Aaron, who died in 1820, when over sixty years of age.


(V) Roger Phelps, our subject's great-grand- father, was born in 1735, and resided in Windsor on the original homestead of William Phelps, the pioneer, his death occurring there Jan. 27, 1811. His wife, Deborah Filley, who was born in 1743. died at Windsor Aug. 31, 1792. They had four children : Amelia, born 1772, died in 1801, un- married : Olive, who never married, resided with her brother Roger, at Windsor; Roger, known as Deacon Roger, is mentioned below ; Deborah mar- ried Fitz J. Allyn, of Windsor.


(\'1) Deacon Roger Phelps, the grandfather of our subject, was born March 22, 1780, and became a leading agriculturist of Windsor, his home being at the old farm on the Poquonock road, where he died March 28, 1864. On Oct. 31, 1803, he mar- ried Rhoda Barber, born April 22, 1783, died March 31, 1864, daughter of Jerziah and Loanna Bar- ber, and they had a large family of children, most of whom lived to maturity. ( I) Cicero, born 1804. was a farmer, and removed to Milo, Bureau Co., Ill., in his later years. On May 11, 1837. he mar- ried Betsey Crane, and they had five children, Eliz- abeth, Cicero, Roger W., Daniel and John. (2) Daniel B., father of our subject, is mentioned be- low. (3) Rhoda B., born July 28, 1810, married John W. Dunlap ( deceased ), of South Hadley, Mass., and had one child, Edward. (4) Amelia, born Feb. 23, 1813, died Nov. 14. 1840, unmarried. (5) William R., born Sept. 12, 1815, died in 1870 at Peoria, Ill., where he was engaged in mercantile business. In early life he was for some time a member of the firm of Drake & Phelps, merchants, at Windsor. He was married (first), in Novem- ber, 1838, to Miss Susan Remington, of Suffield, Conn., and (second), in August, 1851, to Mar- garet Thompson. By his first wife he had one daughter, Julia E., and by the second he had a son, William Roger. (6) Catherine, born Sept. 15, 1818, was married, May 4, 1842, to Rev. Austin Cary (deceased ). On May II, 1852, she married Rev. Matthew Kingman ( deceased ), and she now resides at Amherst, Mass. She has had seven children, Austin, William, Ellen, Maria and Sarah (all deceased ), and Kate P. and Morris B., living. (7) Timothy S., born Oct. 30, 1820, is a promi- nent agriculturist of Windsor town. On Dec. 19. 1843, he married Elizabeth S. Loomis, who died Oct. 30, 1852, leaving three children, Timothy D., Anna E. and Albert L., all now deceased. On May 18, 1859, he married Ellen Ellsworth, by whom he had four children, Albert E., Ellen J .. William R. (deceased), and Catherine M. (8) Mary J., born Aug. 1, 1823, died May 13, 1851. unmarried. (9) Janette L., born Nov. 5, 1827, died June 25, 1830.


DEellsworth Thilfe


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(VII) Daniel B. Phelps, the father of our sub- ject, was born Dec. 25, 1807, near Windsor Cen- ter, on the original Phelps homestead, now the "town farm." He was educated in the local schools, and for a time was engaged in teaching, but soon turned his attention to brickmaking as a business. As he had but limited capital he began in a small way, but liis energy and careful management en- abled him to secure a good trade. In 1857 he formed a partnership with three builders, and en- gaged in the business on a larger scale than had previously been attempted in the town, the venture proving successful in every way. He remained at the head of the firm until 1864, and his death oc- curred in Windsor Nov. 9, of that year. He was noted for his enterprise and sound judgment, and at his death left a handsome estate, including our subject's present homestead. While he was not a politician he was always interested in National questions, being first a Whig and later a stanch supporter of the Republican party. During the war he was active in furnishing supplies to the army, visiting most of the camps near Hartford. On April 4, 1831, he married Miss Delia Drake, who was born Dec. 17, 1809, daughter of Bildad and Keziah Drake, and a member of one of the oldest families of Windsor. Our subject's pres- ent homestead, which was purchased by his fa- ther previous to this marriage, was formerly known as the "Drake homestead," and a building occupied in 1737 by Phineas Drake, the well-known pioneer. is still standing. Mrs. Delia Phelps died May 6. 1846, leaving one child, Delia, who died May 18, 1846. On March 21, 1849, Mr. Phelps married Miss Phebe Lyman Ellsworth, and they had seven children, of whom our subject was the eldest. (2) Ella J., born July 12, 1850, died Sept. 9, 1852. (3) Daniel W., born Feb. 19, 1852, was married, Feb. 28, 1872, to Mary Jane Loomis, of Windsor, who died March 11, 1890. Four children were born to them-Ella L., Dec. 26, 1874: Mary E., Oct. 6, 1876; Catherine W., Oct. 28, 1878; and Daniel W., April 30, 1881. Daniel W. Phelps now makes his home with his children in Omaha, Neb., where he is engaged in mercantile business. (4) Charles, born Nov. 10, 1853, died Dec. 13, 1854. (5) Agnes Amalia, born Feb. 20, 1856, married Arthur M. Wilson, of Windsor, on Oct. 21, 1884. (6) Walter G., born Jan. 4, 1858, formerly a civil en- gineer on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincey rail- road, married, Dec. 9, 1885, Grace H. Goodell, of Hartford, Conn., and died in Hartford Nov. 18, 1887, leaving one son, Dwight G., born June 8, 1887. (7) Theodore L., of Omaha, Neb., is a civil engineer on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincey railroad. He was born Feb. 6, 1860, and married Annie E. Mills, of Windsor, Jan. 18, 1898. Our subject's mother was born Sept. 20, 1820, in East Granby, and is still living. Her father, David Ellsworth, was a prosperous miller and farmer of that town, and she is of the sixth generation in


descent from Josias Ellsworth, the pioneer, and his wife, Elizabeth Holcomb, the line being traced through Jonathan Ellsworth, who married Sarah Grant ; David, who married Jemima Leavitt (the parents of Chief justice Oliver Ellsworth ) : David (2), who married Phebe Lyman; and David (3), Mrs. Phelps' father, who married Alma Gillespie.


(VIH) Judge Phelps was born Feb. 8, 1849, at the present homestead, and from the age of sixteen he has had the management of the farm, his brothers having turned their attention to other business. His education was acquired in the pub- lic schools and at the Windsor Academy. His farm is managed with admirable system, and he is prominently identified with various business enter- prises, having been president of the Windsor Creamery Co., and of the Hartford County To- bacco Growers Insurance Co. (against hail). He has been a stanch believer in the principles of the Republican party since boyhood, and his fidelity to the public welfare has made him a popular candi- date for office. He has served as justice of the peace and on the school committee and board of relief, and in 1892 was elected judge of the pro- bate court of his town, an office which he fills with dignity and ability. In 1887 he served as a mem- ber of the General Assembly, and has been elected to the Assembly of 1901. At present he is also treasurer of the First School Society of Windsor. In manner he is unostentatious, making everyone at ease, and fraternally he is connected with the Masonic Fraternity as a member of Washington Lodge, No. 70, at Windsor.


On June 17, 1884, our subject married Miss Mary L. McCormick, daughter of James and Jen- nette (HIale) McCormick, of Windsor, and to them have come two children: James McC., born Aug. 1, 1885, who died June 30, 1894; and Alma Gilles- pie, born Sept. 21, 1887. Mrs. Phelps, who is one of the social leaders of their town, is active in religious work, and a member of Grace Episcopal Church.


LAWRENCE SEYMOUR FORBES. In re- cent generations many of the descendants of the early families of Connecticut, who for generations had successfully tilled the soil, have branched out in various lines of business, carved out fortunes, built up great industries, and developed a fine busi- ness talent which has been latent from lack of op- portunity. Among that number is Mr. Forbes, the subject of this sketch, one of the best-known citizens of East Hartford, president of the East Hartford Manufacturing Co., and chief owner of its plant at Burnside.


Mr. Forbes is a representative of one of the oldest families of the town, being of the seventh generation in descent from Capt. James Forbes, the founder of the family in America, who was banished from Great Britain in 1654. His line of descent is as follows: (1) Capt. James Forbes, the progeni-


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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.


tor, who died Nov. 27, 1692; (2) James Forbes ( May 14, 1677-1752) ; (3) Timothy Forbes ( 1716, Oct. II, 1776) : (4) Timothy Forbes (June 14, 1743-Sept. 14, 1800) ; (5) Timothy Forbes (July 3, 1773) : (6) Mahlon Forbes ( Oct. 14, 1803-May 8, 1891) ; (7) Lawrence Seymour Forbes, our sub- ject (born Jan. 28, 1847).


Capt. James Forbes, of Caithness, Scotland, was a younger son of Duncan Forbes, first Laird of Culloden, and provost of Inverness, and brother of John Forbes, second Laird of Culloden. James Forbes was captain in the Royal army, and fought under Montrose. He was captured at the battle of Philiphaugh, near Selkirk, Scotland, in 1645, and for a time was imprisoned in the Tower of London, then banished to America. He reached Connecticut in 1654, and for many years, until his death, was a prominent resident of the Colony.


Timothy Forbes, the grandfather of our subject, married Elizabeth Treat, and lived as a farmer on the old homestead at Scotland (now Burnside), in a house, still standing, which was built about 1766, on land which has now been in the possession of the family for over two hundred and forty years. Here, too, was born Mahlon Forbes, the father of our subject. He attendeed in his boyhood the schools of Scotland district, and later was a student in the East Hartford school, taught by Salmon Phelps. Mahlon Forbes was reared as a farmer boy, and adopted farming as a vocation. Later he succeeded to a butcher business which had pre- viously been conducted by his brother George. In those early days only home-grown beef was slaugh- tered, and the butcher bought from surrounding farmers the cattle which he killed and dressed. Mahlon Forbes was an excellent judge of live stock, conducted that business very successfully, and also continued to carry on farming operations through life. He married Miss Sarah Lawrence, of Spring- field, Mass., born May 4, 1807, daughter of Will- iam Lawrence and his wife, whose maiden name was Murphy, and they had children as follows : Mary E., born Aug. 15, 1830, who is unmarried, residing on her father's home farm at Burnside; Annie Marie, born April 15, 1832, now Mrs. E. R. Fitch, of Burnside, a resident of the old home farm; Timothy, born April 10, 1834, died May 12, 1834; Ellen A., born Oct. 18, 1835, now Mrs. Orrin Con- verse, of Stafford Springs, Conn .; John W., born Feb. 28, 1838, a resident of Burnside : George H., born March 8, 1840, a broker of New York City; and L. Seymour, born Jan. 28, 1847, subject of this sketch.


and efficient official, faithful to every trust. In re- ligious faith he was a member of the M. E. Church, and was a very prominent and active worker in the church, a liberal contributor to all worthy religious causes, and the recipient of many oficial honors in church organization. In his home, religious wor- ship was sacredly observed, and the Sabbath Day was held in the greatest reverence. Mahlon Forbes was also a zealous advocate and supporter of the public schools, recognizing their inestimable value in molding the character of American citizenship. His reputation for honesty and integrity was very high. He lived to a ripe age, dying May 8, 1891, aged eighty-seven years. His wife died Sept. 15, 1875, and both are buried in East Hartford ceme- tery.


Our subject in his boyhood attended the dis- trict schools of Scotland, and among his teachers were Edgar A. Burnham and Miss Martha Bunce. He also attended a private school at East Hartford, conducted by Salmon Phelps (to whom his father had also been a pupil, a circumstance that is all the more remarkable, when it is remembered that his father was forty-four years older), and still later attended the East Hartford High School; but his school days ended when he was sixteen years of age. At seventeen he opened his business career as an er- rand boy in the First National Bank, at Hartford, and for seventeen years he was in the employ of that institution, rising from the position of errand boy to that of teller. He resigned the latter po- sition in 1881 to enter business for himself, becoming treasurer of the East Hartford Manufacturing Co., at Burnside, with which he has ever since been con- nected, and of which he is now president and prin- cipal owner. The company manufactures the finer grades of writing paper. Mr. Forbes has thor- oughly mastered the details of every department of the business, and the prosperous condition of the company's affairs attests the able management of its president.


Mr. Forbes married Miss Fannie Ilinds Larkum, born June 23, 1852, at Bridgeport, daughter of Charles Cooley and Sarah J. (Childs) Larkum. The name Larkum was formerly spelled Larcom or Larcomb. The family is of Huguenot extraction, and is descended from Mordecai Larcom, who set- tled at Ipswich about 1633, and later lived at Bev- erly, Mass. Charles Cooley Larkum was born at West Hartford, Conn., June 15, 1818. He was one of four children, Horace, George, Charles and Will- iam, all of whom are now deceased, and only five of their descendants are now living: Mrs. Forbes ; Mrs. Amanda Wheeler, of Hartford, and William Larkum, children of George; and Mrs. Mary A. Batterson and Mrs. Gertrude Howell, daughters of Horace. When Charles C. Larkum was a boy his father died, and, as was customary in those days, he was put on a farm to earn his own support. He ac- quired a knowledge of the saddler's trade, and fol-


In politics Mahlon Forbes was a Democrat early in life, but in 1860, on the slavery issue, he became a Republican, being an Abolitionist. He was not a politician in the modern acceptation of the word, but was a leading spirit in the party, and served as a representative in the State Legislature and as a member of the board of selectmen with Mr. Stanley, known as the war selectman. He was a thorough ; lowed it successfully in Hartford, whence he re-


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moved to Bridgeport, and later in 1854 to Hartford. During the Civil war he enlisted in Company B, 2Ist Conn. V. I., and served for three years, winning a promotion to first sergeant. He participated in seven battles, and was never absent from his com- pany on account of sickness or wounds. He gave up his trade a number of years prior to his death, when it was no longer profitable, and became a farmer and tobacco grower. Sarah J. Childs, his wife, was born in Middle Haddam, Conn., July 14, 1818, a daughter of Buckley and Sally (Tracy) Childs. Her mother, Sally Tracy, was born in Col- chester, Conn., and was a representative of an old Connecticut family, being a daughter of Daniel and Eunice (Poham ) Tracy. Daniel was a son of Nehemiah and Susanna (Smith) Tracy; Nehemiah, son of Winslow and Rachel ( Ripley ) Tracy ; Wins- low, son of Capt. John and Mary ( Winslow ) Tracy ; Capt. John, son of Lieut. Thomas and Mary ( Ma- son ) Tracy. Lieut. Thomas Tracy, the progenitor of the family in America, was born in 1610, on the Tewksbury estates, England. He landed at Salem, Mass., in April, 1636, and in 1660 removed to Con- necticut, becoming one of the original proprietors of Norwich, that State. He was one of the leading men of Norwich, where he died Nov. 7, 1685. To Buckley and Sally (Tracy) Childs were born nine children, seven daughters and two sons, of whom only one daughter, Martha, now Mrs. Abram Pet- tibone, of Waukegan, Ill., now survives. Charles Cooley Larkum lived to the age of seventy-eight years. His wife died at the age of fifty-six, and both are buried at East Hartford. In politics Mr. Larkum was a Democrat early in life, but later he voted the Republican ticket. He was a member of Rodman Post, G. A. R., at East Hartford. Mr. and Mrs. Larkum had three children : Harriet, who died at the age of four years; George, who died in childhood ; and Fanny H., the wife of our subject.




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