USA > Illinois > Carroll County > The history of Carroll county, Illinois, containing a history of the county-its cities, towns, etc., a biographical directory war record statistics, portraits of early settlers and prominent men history of the Northwest Illinois miscellaneous matters, etc > Part 19
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947.616
20,989
1,452,905|
759,074
Alexander
13,836
17,761
1,915
700
368 625
6,2-10
1,064.052
461,097
Boone
137.307
29,886
2,658
241,042
599
35,871
466,985
579,127
Brown ..
57,062
35,491
25.608
13,276
117.502
4,742
337.769
70,852
Bureau
398,611
41,866
15.803
465,236
724
43,811
3,030.401
987,426
Calhoun
37.684
63.443
2,754
75
221,298
186
234,041
26,234
Carroll
186,864
29,793
33,302
418,073
260
25.721
1,367 965
775,100
Cass ..
92.902
33,493
6,604
12,165
127,054
2 772
1.146.990
168,784
Christian
241.472
19,803
19,173
18,360
504,041|
10.722
1,883,336
383,821
Clark
118.594
102,201
5,420
195.118
7.308
614.532
212.628
Clay
146.922
80,612
5.225
1,894
85.737
3,221
1,019.994
269.945
Clinton
150,177
48.868
8,722
500
610.888
1,619
813 257
446,324
Coles ...
208.337
45,214
3,274
2.651
154,485
8,825
2,133.111
315.954
Cook
348.824
19,635
17,337
144,296
4,904
20,171
570,427
1.584.225
Crawford ..
105,505
78,350
27,185
60
212,924
15,497
581,964
136,255
Cumberland
75,342
40,334
5,604
550
84,697 190
21,018
1,023.849
1,087,074
De Witt ..
168.539
29.548
17.633
106,493
11,695
11 540
1,311,635
216,756
Donglas
147,633
11.897
7.316
7,683
65,461
9,017
1,680,225
225,074
DuPage.
164,874
17,243
3.851
106,096
693
7.532
331,981
860,809
Edgar.
465,458
66,803
14,282
13.283
247,360
37,508
2,107.615}
290,679
Effinghamn.
120,343
56.330
26,206
195,716
19.759
620,247
386.073
Ford
141.228
2,996
63.976
42,571
1,008
11,577
565,671
154.589
Franklin
80,749
3,994
86,710
365
111.324
5.195
653.209
222,426
Fulton
228.132 49.572
68,750
2.565
83.093
51%
509,491
27.164
175.408
93.242
29.653
21,700
150
4,93(
295.971
269.332
Hamilton.
88,996
93.878
3,343
129
92.347
11.672
735.25%
203,464
Haneock
311.517
43,385
18.480
181,378
232,750
133,533
1,510.401
579,599
Hardin
28.117
44,771
107
13
32,306
865
172 651
26,991
llenderson.
140,954
34,705
14,243
161.112
69,062
96,430
1,712,901
229,286
Iroquois.
322,510
22,478
63,498
57,160
10.480
23,255
430,746
Jackson
78,548
87,642
5,991
890
329.036
5:24
611,951
149,931
Jasper
90,867
67,023
12,250
87.808
9.165
461,345
149,214
Jefferson .
118,951
94,888
778
100.553
5,93-
887,981
Jersey
94,147
51,427
1,363
282,758
555
7.185
1,286,326
874,016
Johnson
57,820
3
79,141
188,826
325
23.618
674,33:
785,608
Kankakee.
312,182
10,978
10,598
103,466
480
12,935
637.399
772,408
Kendall.
164.004
14,244
2,283
90.681
1,249
5.16:
681,267
468,890
330,829
41,566
25.155
267,764
7,654
113.547
2,708,31!
Lake.
207,779
21,072
24,399
168,914
221
5.87
517.35:
699,069
533,724
2.356
271,181
2.19%
48,30.
3,077.02.
131,386
Lawrence .
87,828
72,738
3,273
450.793
2.260
14,829
1.656,978
903,197
Livingston
377.505
12,46%
41,788
198.056
40,96%
37.232
4,221,64!
490,226 454,648
231.059
81,224
7,343
160
861,39>
2 404
1,051,544
459,417
Madison.
89.450
13,675
550
1,207,181
3 68:
2.127.549
475,252
Marion.
173.081
4,142
173,65%
14,517
1.034,057
389.446
Marshall
166.057
2,976
106.129
900
49,18%
2,648.72€
272,660
Massac
25.151
33.39₺
30
72.316
544
133,136
22,097
MeDonough
261.635
52.541
14,035
273,871
52.40]
1,362,490
MeHenry.
230.566
53,293
57.998
401,790
29.26
1.145.005
910,397
McLean
494,978
49,087
211.801
10,95:
39.824
3.723 37:
911.127
Menard.
134,173
13.952
36.152
45.793
4.28
1.973 88
235.091
Mercer.
222 809
45.977
22.588
289,291
13,203
40.778
2.054.96%
Monroe.
92.810
83.369
666
651,767
1,42:
543.71>
276,682
47,804
8,495
59
744.891
3,29€
1.527,898
293,456
60,217
1.376
18,196
357.523
5.53' 3.198.835
198,724
144,220
24,783
13,112
17,128
196.436
6.670
1.753 141
316.883
43,643
14,913
497.038
5,580
157,504
1.787.066
170,729
48.666
2,516
92,361
31.843
99,50%
969,224
338,760
Piatt.
94.454
5.978
13,897
26.382
39.762
9.24>
1.029.725
233 785
128,953
9,302
130
1 057,497
25,303
1.399,188
Pope.
55.980
87,754
70,457
2,309
315,958
Pulaski.
19.319
12.516
4.174
28,137
796
7.707
334,259
Richland.
75.079
50,618
2 025
150.268
3.401
482.594
Saline ...
72.309
70,393
809
83.011
568
531,51(
Sangamon
41.74>
51,085
19,932
56,221
165.724
20,841
440.975
85,331
14,633
1,610
18
266 105
930
Shelby
310.179
74.908
9,314
15,526
452,015
23.686
2,082.5781
Stark.
138,129
13.375
2,783
2.550
1,562 621
1,008
Stephenson
251,857
43.167
13,701
527,394
2.118
135,362
Tazewell
229,126
45,268
14,846
72.410
59.027
Union
75,832
83 606
5,300
180.231
1,737
679.753
Vermilion
360,251
53.078
31,122
44,806
249,558
52,476
2,818.027
54,063
37.558
509
202.201
421.361
Warren ..
266. 187
27 294
14,583
186,290
5.712
72,212
2.982,853
Washington
177 592
55.852
1 931
672.486
2.576
836.115
Wayne
117.352
146,794
10. 186
266
164.689
8,665
1 179,291
White
92.398
78.167
869
184,3211 264
31.658
2.162 943
880 838
Will ..
419.142
24,261
6.335
135,286
1,996
8,030,
1,131,458 655.710
180,986
Winnebago.
241.373
15.237
408,606
2,468
137.985
1,237.406
868.903
Woodford
225,504|
23.135
178,139
108,307
20.426]
2,154,185|
744,581
Champaign
419.368
16,789
58,50%
102.577
123,091
45.752
3,924,720
721,375
De Kalb.
334,50%
17,722
6,551
398,059
122,703
528
352.371
129.152
Edwards,
58,912
57,585
830
193,669
223.930
131,711
1,508,763
261.390
Gallatin ..
415
1,051.313
64,029
Grundy.
193,999
6,256
Henry
265,904
12,620
31,459
462,379
445
35.766
2,541,68%
519,12(
71.770
JoDaviess
156.517
82,070
45,779
92.191
2,468
343,29>
74,525
Kane ...
240.120
34,646
12,071
7,409
120,206
1,339
26,16:
1,182.69₺
659,300
Logan.
321,709
17,394 18,153
9,115
55,239
196,613
29,22:
2,214.46>
1,182,90 - 362,604
Mason .
209,453
31,739
31,013
73,261
125,638
1,121
656,36:
Lee.
322.212
Macon.
205.259
Macoupin
257.032
28.260
36,135
Montgomery
Morggall .. Moultrie.
263.992 141,540 334,892
Perry
93.754
68,470
220
350,446
1,01t
384,44€
130,610
161,419 67,886
16,511
Putnam
37.271
17,184
1.170
450
1,031,022
3.235
510 080
204.634
Rock Island.
155.214
31,239
20,755
243,541
2.279
20,003
1,459,652
69.793
397,718
Schuyler.
96,195
62.477
21,294
89,304
247,658
23,073
4,388,763!
752.771
637.812
316.726
St. Clair
231.117
76.591
2,016
124.630
30 534
1,149 878
1.423 121
1.615,679
2.062,053
124,473
Wabash ..
Whitesides
239 809
21.823
37.310
457.455
1,868.682
Williamson
128,448
116,949
1.618
176
170.787
6.228
418
870.521
436.051 110,793 601.054
533,398
Randolph
140.764
162.274
414.487
276.575
119.359 13.463
Scott
476.851
960,620 505,841
Pike.
44,922
222
195.735
86,519
Knox
787,952
LaSalle
48.117
1.509,642
Fayette.
187,196
93,460
16.786
351,310
25.328
962.525
497.395
Greene.
577,400
14.798
403.075
171.880
Total
19.329.952| 5.061.578 |1.491.331
10.133.207 19 995. 198 2.456.578 129.921.39:
42,658
30
244,220
21,627
Bond.
145,045
42,613
40.366
34.931
452.889
152.251
668.424
Ogle ...
Peoria.
280,717
36,14ł
270
799,81(
668.367
285,949
558,367
123.823
4,076
4,505
399
264,134
408
61,579
200
132,417
401,432
37,238 25,217
Woodl'nd
HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY.
In January, A.D. 1818, the territorial legislature of Illinois petitioned Congress for the admission of the territory into the Union as an inde- pendent state. At that time Nathaniel Pope was territorial representative (delegate) in Congress, and it was through him the petition was presented to Congress. By reason of a pressure of other business, the petition was allowed to remain in abeyance until the following April, when, with certain amendments prepared by Mr. Pope, it became a law, and Illinois was de- clared to be a sovereign and independent state of the American Union. The amendments proposed by Mr. Pope were, first, to extend the northern bonndary of the new state to the parallel of 42 degrees, 30 minutes north latitude; and second, to apply the three per cent. fund, arising from the sales of the public lands, to the encouragement of leaving instead of to the making of roads leading to the state, as had been the practice on the admission of Ohio and Indiana.
" These important changes," says Ford's History of Illinois, " were proposed and carried through both houses of Congress, by Mr. Pope, upon his own responsibility. The territorial legislature had not petitioned for them-no one at that time having suggested or requested the making of them, but they met the unqualified approbation of the people of the state."
Under the ordinance of 1787, there were to be not less than three, nor more than five, states, erected out of the territory northwest of the Ohio River. The boundaries of these states were defined by that ordinance. The three states of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, were to include the whole territory, and were to be bounded by the British possessions on the north. But Congress reserved the right, if they thereafter found it expedient, to form one or two states in that part of the territory which lies north of an east and west line drawn through the southern bend of Lake Michigan.
"That line, it was generally supposed," continnes Mr. Ford, "was to be the north boundary of Illinois."" Judge Pope, seeing that the port of Chicago was north of that line, and that it would be excluded by it from the state, was led to a critical examination of the ordinance which resulted in a clear and satisfactory conviction that it was competent for Congress to extend the boundaries of the new state as far north as they pleased, and he found no difficulty in convincing others of the correctness of his views.
The same ordinance vested Congress with the power, if they should find it expedient, to establish a state north of Illinois, in that part of the northwestern territory which lies north of the parallel running through the southern bend of the lake. "Under this provision, Wisconsin, at one time, laid claim to certain part of the northern section of Illinois, includ- ing," said Mr. Ford, at the date of his writing (1847), "fourteen counties, embracing the richest and most populous part of the State."
When Illinois was admitted into the Union in 1818, the whole people numbered only about forty-five thousand souls. Of these. some two thou- sand were the descendants of the old French settlers at Kaskaskia, Prairie
13
222
HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY.
du Rocher, Prairie du Pont, Cahokia, Peoria and Chicago. These people lived in the style of the French peasantry of more than two hundred years ago. They had made no improvements in anything, nor had they adopted any of the improvements made by others. The other forty-three thousand were made up by people from Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Vir- ginia and Pennsylvania. In that year (1818) the settled part of the state extended a little north of Edwardsville and Alton; south, along the Missis- sippi to the mouth of the Ohio; east, in the direction of Carlysle, in Clinton county, to the Wabash, and down the Wabash and the Ohio to the confluence of the Ohio with the Mississippi, where Cairo has since been built. But the country included within these boundaries was not all occu- pied at that time. Between the Kaskaskia River and the Wabash, and between the Kaskaskia and the Ohio there was a large wilderness that could not be traversed in less than three days. The entire northern part of the state was a trackless prairie. But gradually the settlements extended north- ward. Year by year immigration increased, but, as a rule, the early settlers selected homes in the timbered districts, leaving the prairies as worthless for agricultural uses, because of the scarcity of timber for fencing and other purposes. Gradually, however, a change came over the minds of men in regard to these things, and the prairies were sought after and put under cultivation; and as their easy subjection to farm tillage and rich returns came to be known, their fame spread abroad, and Illinois began to be regarded as a very Valparaiso .* But with all their wealth and productive- ness the prairies of Northern Illinois remained comparatively unknown, and almost entirely unoccupied by white men until after the close of the Black Hawk Indian troubles, in 1832.
The first part of Northern Illinois to be permanently occupied by white men, so far as any records can be found, seems to have been La Pointe (now Galena). As to who made the first settlement the authorities differ. Ford's history ascribes that honor to Colonel James Johnson and a party of miners, from Kentucky, who located there in 1824, and commenced mining operations about one mile above the present site of the city. Another authority gives the honor to Ira Barker, who went from Terre Haute, Indi- ana, with an exploring party in the Summer of 1824. This party made the entire journey across the state without seeing a single white man or sleeping in a house until they reached La Pointe, which, on their arrival, only boasted three or four log huts. The same authority from which this information is derived says that in the same Summer three other men. Smith, Meeker and Harris, also arrived at the same place, La Pointe. Whatever the differences of opinion as to who were the first settlers there, all agree as to the time -- the Summer of 1824. These men, it is fair to presume, were all mining adventurers, and the extraordinary success that attended their ventures indneed a great rush there in 1825; while in 1826 and 1827 fortune hunters poured in by thousands. In 1825 Galena was mapped out, and February 17, 1827, Jo Daviess County was organized. With the ex- ception of the Galena miners of 1824, and a few scattered fur traders, there were no white settlers in all of Northern Illinois at that time.
The first settlements made in Carroll County were at Savanna, in 1828. In November of that year, George and Vance L. Davidson, Aaron Pierce and William Blundle, and their families, who had gone to the lead mines
* Spanish for Vale of Paradise.
223
HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY.
at Galena during the great excitement attending their early discovery and development by white men, removed from the mining district and settled at what was then known as the "Council Bluffs of the Upper Mississippi." This name was derived from the high, rocky bluff's that overlook the river at Savanna, and from the faet of an Indian couneil house having been built there. This house was built of poles and the bark of trees, and was two stories high, and sufficiently large to hold 1,000 persons. This old council house was still standing when the above named families came there, and was occupied by the Pierce family as a frontier hotel, and may be recog- nized as the first hotel or tavern opened in Carroll County. The Pierce family eontinned to occupy this old conneil house as a residence and house of entertainment until a log cabin could be built.
Settlements in Western and Northwestern and Northern Illinois at that date were few and far between-the Galena mining district being by far the largest, as it was the nearest to the new settlement made at the " Council Bluffs of the Upper Mississippi" by the Davidson, Pierce and Blundle families. Westward across the Mississippi and far away towards the setting sun the country was unknown to white men, and uninhabited save by Indian tribes. It was one vast wild, the stillness of which had never been broken by the voice of civilization and the resounding strokes of industry as they fell upon river, forests and flowery prairies. Eastward to Dixon's ferry, the prairie was just as wild as that from which it was divided by the Father of Waters, and the nearest settlement on the south was at Albany. Thus situated the new settlement was an isolated one -- almost entirely shut out from civilization and civilizing influences, and to the hardy and resolute men and women who commenced it belongs the honor and the glory of being the advance guard of that large multitude of intelligent, refined and wealthy men and women who came after and swept on before them even to the golden siopes of the mighty Pacific ocean.
In a historical sketch of the county, prepared by Hon. James Shaw, of Mt. Carroll, and read by that gentleman at Lanark, July 4, 1876, there is the following reference to some of the surroundings of these pioneers, which we transfer to these pages as a part of the county's PAST :
"The Indians were numerous and friendly. Game and fish were abundant, and so were musquitoes, flies and raccoons, also blackbirds, crows and other birds of prey. In fact, the first corn fields had to be guarded from the depredations of the latter. River navigation was then done mostly by keel boats, by cordeling, poling, sailing and rowing, and the usual time from St. Louis to Galena was 30 days. Skiff voyages were often made to St. Louis. In July, 1828, Aaron Pierce and Marshal B. Pierce, his son, went to Bond County, this state, where they first made a temporary settlement on coming to the West, and drove their horses and cows to their new home at (now) Savanna." These, it is to be assumed, were the first domestic horses and cows known to the territory now embraced in the present County of Carroll.
The Winter of 1828-9 was spent in building eabins, making and haul- ing rails and preparing the ground for spring crops. These pioneer families had moved from the mines in wagons drawn by oxen, and, coming in November, when the season was too far advanced to make hay, the oxen were subsisted upon the green grass that was protected and sheltered from frosts and snows by the thick growth of wild rushes that grew abundantly along the bottom lands.
224
HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY.
From November, 1828, to the Spring of 1830-1, these families lived alone, but about the latter date John Bernard and three other men, named, respectively, Hays, Corbin and Robinson, joined the little colony, and set about making farms on claims they selected. Says Mr. Shaw in the paper already quoted: "John Bernard settled on the place now known as the 'Hatfield" place, and Hays and Robinson on the farm now owned by George Fish. Corbin took up the farm now owned by Noah McFarland. Corbin built his house or nest in a tree, eight feet from the ground, to keep away from the snakes that abounded there." These men were all bachelors when they first settled here, but all of them subsequently became convinced that it was not good for man to be alone, and took wives unto themselves.
Up to the breaking out of the Black Hawk War, in 1832, the families of George and Vance L. Davidson, Aaron Pierce and William Blundle, and the " old bachelors," Bernard, Hays, Robinson, Goss and Corbin, and a man named Upton, constituted the entire population of the lower river part of Jo Daviess County. When Black Hawk and his tribe of Pottawatomies declared war against the whites who had settled on various parts of their hunting grounds, the women and children of the settlers at the " Council Bluffs of the Upper Mississippi," were removed to Galena for safety, while the men remained to take care of their stock, cultivate their crops, etc. " To provide for their own safety," continues Mr. Shaw, " they built a small block-house fort of logs, near the point of the bluffs and not far from where the residence of Mr. M'Dupuis now stands. In this fort they withstood the fire of the Indians all of one afternoon withont the loss of life, but their horses and cattle were not so fortunate. During that afternoon attack. Upton, who was a wild, daring, generous man, but of intemperate habits, and withal a kind of favorite with the settlers, had quite an adventure. When the attack commenced, he was out hunting, and not far from the site of the " Whitton farm " had shot a deer and was in the act of cutting its throat when he saw a band of Indians advancing in a circle towards him, with the evident intention of making him a prisoner. He didn't stop to finish the slaughter of the deer, but, re-loading his rifle, he struck ont for the fort at a pace that has never since been equalled on the Upper Mis- sissippi savannas." Bullets flew thick and fast from the Indian guns, but Upton ran so fast they did not reach him, or dodged so quick as to escape their range, and escaped unharmed, although it was said that one ball did cut off the strap of his powder horn. As he neared the fort he heard the firing, and, turning from his course, sought concealment and safety in a cave, about half a mile above the present village site, which has ever since been known as " Upton's cave." He remained in the cave until darkness came on. The besieged men remained in the fort until nightfall, when. under cover of darkness, they made their escape to the river and started for Galena in a skiff. From his place of concealment Upton could hear the plashing of the skiff's oars and the murmuring voices of the occupants, and hailed them and thus escaped with the rest. It was said that, as the little boat was rounding to take him on board, the occupants urged him to jump in before it had got within forty feet of the shore. During the afternoon, when the Indians were after him, Upton had done some pretty good jump- ing as he thought, but forty feet was a little more than he was willing to undertake, particularly as the night was dark and he didn't know the depth
*An open, grassy plain of large extent, and destitute of trees.
225
HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY.
of the water. He was particularly anxious to keep his powder dry. It was also said before leaving the fort the men drew lots to see who should first go out and reconnoitre the surroundings and hunt up their boat. The lot fell upon Aaron Pierce, who, though his hair almost lifted his hat from his head, did his duty like a brave man. Mr. Goss happened to be outside of the fort when the attack commenced and was shut off from the main entrance by the Indians, but climbed up on the top and let himself down through the chimney.
The Black Hawk War was not of long duration, and in 1833 the influx of settlers to this part of the state was pretty large, and many accessions were made to the " Upper Mississippi Council Bluffs " colony, the first settlers having returned as soon as the danger had passed. In 1832 Luther H. Bowen, a surveyor, after assisting in establishing the boundary line between Illinois and Wisconsin, settled at Galena, where he engaged as a clerk in some of the heavy smelting works. In 1835 he came down to the "Council Bluff's of the Upper Mississippi," and bought the claim inter- ests of George Davidson and Aaron Pierce, in sections four and nine, where the village of Savanna was founded. In 1836 he returned and laid off the town, and soon after commenced business by opening a store, and where he continued to live until his death, lamented by all, May 5, 1876-a period of forty years, during which time he was recognized as one of the most public-spirited men of the county, and in which he was called to fill several positions of trust and honor, in all of which he was approved by his fellow- citizens as a good and faithful servant.
When Mr. Bowen subdivided his land into town lots, he named the place Savanna, by which name it will hereafter be called in these pages. The name was suggested by the marshy plains lying south of and adjoining the town site, which were supposed to resemble the savannas that abounded along the course of the lower Mississippi river.
The first post-office in this part of the Galena or Joe Daviess territory -for it was a territory then, embracing all the country north of the 41st parallel of latitude and west of Cook County-was established at Savanna, in 1836, and Mr. Bowen was appointed postmaster.
Soon after Mr. Bowen opened his store, another was opened by Pierce & Davidson, and still others followed from time to time, for the Savanna settlement was the only one of importance between the villages of Galena and Rock Island, and a few years later became of almost as much import- ance as either of those places, a prominence it maintained until towns and trading places grew up with the settlement of the country east to Rock River and the Kishwaukees. Freeport then-although a prominent trade and railroad center now-was known as Winnisheik (Indian) village.
In August, 1837, Dr. Elias Woodruff came from Orange County, New York, and took up his residence here. John W. Fuller and David L. Bowen had also become Savannans, and, being men of spirit and enter- prise, became prominently identified with the town and its subsequent his- tory. Dr. Woodruff, John Fuller and David L. Bowen are still living, at the date of this writing. [November, 1877.] Dr. Woodruff in 1851 opened a drug store in a small frame building on the main street of the village, and in which he has continued business without interruption to the present. About the same time, Aaron Pierce, who had, in 1828, occupied the old council house as a residence and hotel, or tavern, built a frame hotel on the site now occupied by the home of John B. Rhodes, but it was afterwards
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HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY.
moved further down town, and is now known as the Chambers House. In 1837, Mr. L. H. Bowen also erected a hotel building, which was christened the Mississippi House, but the name was afterwards changed to the Wood- ruff House. This building of forty years ago is still standing and occupied as a hotel.
Miss Fuller, a sister of John W. Fuller, taught the first Savanna school in the Summer of 1837. In the Winter of 1837-S Dr. Woodruff taught the vil- lage school in a log building that stood down toward the lower end of town. He was the first male teacher and likewise the first physician to prescribe and administer fever and ague remedies, then, as in all new countries, the pre- vailing diseases. And north of the 41st parallel of latitude he was the frontier physician. West to the Pacific Ocean, there was no other one, and no need of one, for that vast region of country, now so full of life and civ- ilization, was a wild, uninhabited by white men. It is said to the credit of Dr. Woodruff that he never failed to respond promptly to all calls, whether rich or poor, and that no settler was ever allowed to suffer and languish for want of medical treatment and medicine, no matter how poor he might be; that fees did not concern him nearly as much as the health of those among whom he had cast his fortunes.
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