History of the Military company of the Massachusetts, now called the Ancient and honorable artillery company of Massachusetts. 1637-1888, Vol. II, Part 11

Author: Roberts, Oliver Ayer
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Boston, A. Mudge & son, printers
Number of Pages: 594


USA > Massachusetts > History of the Military company of the Massachusetts, now called the Ancient and honorable artillery company of Massachusetts. 1637-1888, Vol. II > Part 11


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


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Daniel Jones (1754). AUTHORITIES: Boston Records; Mass. Archives.


David Mason (1754). AUTHORITIES : Felt's Annals of Salem; Massachusetts Centinel, Sept. 24,


1794; Allen's American Biography; Boston Globe, Dec. 25, 1889.


1 Felt's Annals of Salein, Vol. II., p. 185.


1754]


HONORABLE ARTILLERY COMPANY. 69


them in an oak thicket back of Devereux's Hill, three quarters of a mile from Foster's shop. Meanwhile, the British were approaching Salem, but were delayed by a broken bridge and hoisted draw. After considerable parleying, Col. Leslie promised that if "the draw were lowered, and he permitted to lead his men thirty rods beyond, he would then countermarch, and leave the premises." Rev. Thomas Barnard - who delivered the Artillery election sermon in 1789 - advised the colonists to comply with his propo- sition, which they did ; and Col. Leslie, with his command, returned to Marblehead and thence to Boston without capturing Capt. David Mason's (1754) cannon. In April, 1775, he marched, with about five hundred men, to Medford. He immediately entered the artillery service, and was prominent with Col. Richard Gridley in organizing a regi- ment or train of artillery. June 21 the Provincial Congress issued commissions to Gridley, Mason (1754), and others. Upon the reorganization of the army in 1776, the officers of the artillery were : Henry Knox, colonel; William Burbank, first lieutenant-colonel, and David Mason (1754), second lieutenant-colonel.


On the nights of the 2d, 3d, and 4th of March, 1776, a vigorous cannonading was kept up by the colonial artillery, to divert the enemy's attention while Dorchester Heights were being occupied. On the third night, while Washington himself was present, a brass gun exploded, and Lieut .- Col. Mason (1754) was wounded. April 3, 1776, the artillery, ammunition, etc., were ordered to New York, whither also Col. Mason (1754) proceeded as soon as possible. He was soon after promoted for gallant service. Dec. 20, 1776, Col. Knox submitted to Congress a detailed plan for the establishment and maintenance of a continental artillery, including arsenals, magazines, etc. The matter having already received the attention of Congress, it determined, Dec. 24, to establish three arsenals or magazines, - one in Virginia, one in Pennsylvania, and one at Brookfield, Mass. Gen. Knox, who was appointed brigadier-general of artillery, Dec. 23, 1776, did not approve of the selection of Brookfield, and Springfield was finally determined upon by Congress. To Col. David Mason (1754) was given charge of the establishment and erection of these works at Springfield. They were at first, in 1778, located on Main Street, but were subsequently removed to their present location on training- field hill. He remained at Springfield for several years. In 1786, Col. Mason (1754) became lame, and continued so until his death, which occurred in Boston, Sept. 21, 1794.


Died "in this town, Sunday morning last [Sept. 21], in the sixty-eighth year of his age, after a long and painful illness, which he maintained with that fortitude and resigna- tion characteristic of a true disciple of Jesus Christ, Col. David Mason [1754], a worthy and useful citizen, and an early and active defender of the liberties of his country. At an early period in life he discovered a genius for tactics and the art of gunnery, and his extensive knowledge in each of these sciences made him eminently useful, throughout every period of the Revolution. So early as the year 1763, by permission of our govern- ment, he raised and organized the present artillery company of this town, now com- manded by Capt. Samuel Bradlee [1765]. In the beginning of the contest between Great Britain and America, he was appointed by the Committee of Supplies, as the most proper person to collect materials and military stores for the defence of the country, and ever after proved himself a zealous and warm advocate for its liberties.


"' Alas ! tho' 'tis an awful thing to die, Yet after the dread path thou once hast trod, Heav'n lifts its everlasting portals high, And bids the pure in heart behold their God.'


.


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" His funeral will proceed from the house of his son-in-law, Mr. Daniel Tuttle, in Back Street, this afternoon at four o'clock, at which time his friends and acquaintances are requested to attend without more particular invitation." 1


The record of the Artillery Company for 1754 is as follows : -


" April 1.st. 1754. The Company being under Arms, it was unanimously Voted, That the Rev. Mr Samuel Porter, of Sherburne, be desired to preach the next Artillery Elec- tion Sermon, and that the present commission officers of the Company, Capt Thomas Edwards [1724], Lt Samuel Pratt [1734], & En. Thomas Drowne [1737] and John Phillips, Esq. [1725], Treasurer, be a committee to wait on him and desire the same. " Attest : JOHN LEVERETT, Clerk.


"April Ist. 1754. The evening being spent at Capt Thomas Edwards [1724], it was Voted, That the Field Officers of the Militia of the town of Boston, together with Col. John Chandler [Jr. (1734)], Capt Samuel Watts [1733] and Col Isaac Royall [1750], be a committee to reply to any petition that may be preferred to the General Court by the Company of Cadets, under the command of Col. Benjamin Pollard [1726], that may be detrimental to this Company. Voted, That the present Commission Officers of the Com- pany be a committee to examine the list, &c. and make report to the Company in May next, for their approbation, of what persons they think are proper to be excused of the fines due from them to the Company. Attest : JOHN LEVERETT, Clerk.


" May 6th. The Company being under Arms, Capt Thomas Edwards [1724], being one of the Committee, to wait upon the Rev Mr. Samuel Porter to desire him to preach the next Artillery Election Sermon, reported to the Company, that he had accepted the same. The evening being spent at Sergt Torrey's [1752], it was Voted, That thirteen pounds, six shillings and eight pence, lawful money, be paid by the Treasurer of the Company to the Commission Officers, towards defraying the charges of the dinner upon the ensuing Election day, and the Company to dine with them. Voted That Mr. John Wendell, tertius [1745], be excused from paying what fines are due from him to the Company to this time. Attest : JOHN LEVERETT, Clerk.


"June 3'd 1754. The Company being under Arms, it was Voted, That the commis- sion officers,2 Capt Thomas Edwards [1724], & En. Thomas Drowne [1737], with the Treasurer John Phillips, Esq. [1725], be a committee to wait upon the Rev. Mr. Samuel Porter and return him the thanks of this Company for his sermon this day preached.3 "Attest : JOHN LEVERETT, Clerk.


"Sept. 2'd. The evening being spent at Lt. John Welch's [1736], it was unani- mously Voted, that every member of this Company shall for the future appear upon training days in white hose. Attest : JOHN LEVERETT, Clerk."


Rev. Samuel Porter, of Sherborn, delivered the Artillery election sermon of 1754. He was originally from Hadley ; was born Dec. 2, 1709 ; graduated at Harvard College in 1730, and was ordained at Sherborn soon after. He married, Oct. 20, 1735, Mary Coolidge, of Cambridge, and died Sept. 17, 1758, aged forty-nine years.


1 Columbian Centinel, Sept. 24, 1794.


2 Lient. Samuel Pratt (1734) is omitted in this sentence as one of the commissioned officers. He is believed to have died while in office, and between April I and June 3, 1754.


3 " Monday last [June 3, 1754] being the An- niversary for the Election of the Officers of the


ancient and honorable Artillery Company, after a sermon suitable to the Occasion, preach'd by the Rev. Mr. Porter, of Sherburne, the Company made choice of Capt Ralph Hartt [1739] for their Cap- tain; Mr. John Welch [1736], Lieutenant, and Mr. Joseph Edwards [1738], Ensign, for the ensuing year." - Boston Evening Post, June 10, 1754.


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1755]


The officers of the Artillery Company elected in 1755 were : John Symmes


1755- (1733), captain ; Thomas Savage (1739), lieutenant ; Newman Greenough (1740), ensign. Moses Deshon1 (1737) was first sergeant; John Gore (1743), second sergeant; Isaac Cazneau (1744), third sergeant ; Joseph Gale (1744), fourth sergeant, and Samuel Torrey, Jr. (1752), clerk.


Capt. Benjamin Edes (1760), in company with John Gill, began, April 7, 1755, the publication of the Boston Gazette or Country Fournal. Their office was in King Street, near the east end of the town-house. This paper was issued until the Revolution, April, 1775, when it suspended ; but Mr Edes (1760) revived it at Watertown, returned with it to Boston in November, 1776, and there continued its publication until 1798.


Gov. Shirley was active in military affairs; Braddock was defeated, and the people of Boston were alive to the situation. Two thousand stand of arms, purchased by the town of Boston, arrived from England, and a regiment was raised in Boston for the war. May 28, Rev. Mr. Checkley preached a sermon to the company under Capt. Thomas Stoddard (1744), about to proceed to the seat of war.


Capt. Moses Deshon's (1737) company in Col. Richard Gridley's regiment,2 on its return from Crown Point, was fourteen days in marching from Albany to Boston, two hundred and five miles. The following-named officers of that company were members of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company : Moses Deshon (1737), captain ; Samuel Sellon (1765), corporal.


The families, forced from their homes in Nova Scotia, began to arrive. Two hun- dred of them were allotted to Massachusetts, to be dispersed over the State by a legisla- tive committee, whose chairman was Samuel Watts, Esq. (1733).


The unjustifiable claims of France on certain portions of North America, the forcible expulsion of a company of British settlers from a tract of land beyond the Alleghany Mountains and near the Ohio River, by a body of French troops, and the building of a fort to command the entrance into the country on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, thus excluding the English from a valuable portion of their possessions, gave indications of a long-continued struggle.


The members of the Artillery Company recruited in 1755 were : Samuel Ballard, Samuel Barrett, Edward Carnes, Barnabas Clarke, Isaac Decoster, Samuel Dyer, John Forsyth, William Hyslop, John Joy, Henry Perkins, Benjamin Phillips, Francis Whitman, Samuel Whitwell.


Samuel Ballard (1755) was born in 1719. He married, June 4, 1741, Elizabeth Pickering. He was elected constable March 9, 1746. His name is also mentioned in the selectmen's minutes, May 4, 1763, when complaint was made that the chimneys of a house owned by Mr. Samuel Ballard (1755) were unsafe. He was a member of the


Samuel Ballard (1755). AUTHORITIES: Bos- ton Records; Procs. St. John's Grand Lodge, A. F. and A. M.


1 "Fort Edward Sept. 23, 1756 These may Certify that Major Moses Deshon [1737] of Colo. Thatchers Regt is unfit for duty by reason of Indis- position of body. JOSEPH BRIDGHAM.


" Major Deshon [1737] has Liberty to go down to Albany for the Recovery of his health. " P. LYMAN.


" Sept 23, 1756." - Mass. Archives, Vol. XCIV., p. 429.


2 " In Col. Richard Gridley's regiment at Crown Point in September, 1755, Capt. Nathaniel Thwing [1736] was captain of the Lieut .- Colonel's Company; Capt. Thomas Stoddard [1744] was captain of the First Company; John Wendell [1745] was its lieu- tenant; Moses Deshon [1737] was captain of the Fourth Company. The regiment marched from Boston, Sept. 24, 1755." - Mass. Archives.


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HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT AND


[1755


militia in Boston, rose to the grade of captain, and was second sergeant of the Artillery Company in 1759. He was a Freemason, and walked in the Masonic procession, Sept. 12, 1767, when the remains of Jeremy Gridley, grand master of Masons in North America, were buried. Samuel Ballard (1755) died March 5, 1793, aged seventy-four years.


Samuel Barrett (1755), merchant and barrister, of Boston, son of Thornton and Hepzibah (Williams) Barrett, was born in Boston, June 28, 1722. He married, July 28, 1743, Mary Shedd. Mr. Whitman (1810) says Samuel Barrett (1755) was probably a grandson of Samuel (1717).


Mr. Barrett (1755) was a constable of Boston in 1755 ; clerk of the market in 1759, 1760, and 1763 ; warden in 1768 and 1772 ; fireward in 1776, and overseer of the poor in 1777, and subsequently. Aug. 26, 1776, he was chosen one of the census-takers from Ward 6, and Nov. 11 of that year was one of the committee to collect an account of the damage since the Boston Port Bill. He visited the public schools with the justices and others, July 10, 1772 ; was appointed on committees to petition the General Court on various matters, and served on other and important committees of the town. He became a captain in the militia, and was appointed a justice of the peace, March 4, 1774. He was a member of the Masonic Fraternity ; also of the New North Church, and for several years held the office of deacon.


July 26, 1776, he was appointed by the Committee of Correspondence, Inspection, and Safety, to take charge of the inhabitants of Boston residing in Ward 12, both on the alarm and train-band lists. He was second sergeant of the Artillery Company in 1760, lieutenant in 1766, and its captain in 1771. On the first field-day after his election as captain of the Artillery Company, Sept. 2, 1771, he presented a new stand of colors to the Company. Monday, Sept. 3, 1798, the Artillery Company completed the field duty of the day by attending his funeral, with side arms, in uniform. His wife, Elizabeth, sister of Josiah Salisbury (1759), died Nov. 5, 1798, aged fifty-three years.


"On Saturday last [Aug. 25, 1798], this town and his numerons friends, as well as his own family, suffered a heavy loss in the death of Samuel Barrett, Esq., LL. D. [1755]. This gentleman, in the early part of his life, having received a liberal education, followed the honorable profession of merchant, and evinced integrity and ability to all who were connected with him. In the period of our late Revolution, which his patriotism led him warmly to support, he was employed in procuring supplies of clothing, etc., for the American army, which was much indebted to his care and diligence. After the peace, quitting his mercantile pursuits, he went into the study of the law, for which his classical taste and love of literature well qualified him. For several years he acted as a justice of the peace with unimpeached honor and impartiality, and at the time of his death was a judge of the Court of Common Pleas for the County of Suffolk, and a notary public for the port of Boston. The many who employed him in this capacity will bear witness to his accuracy, punctuality, and despatch in doing their business, as well as to his open and honorable conduct in every department of life. Their esteem and confidence attended him in life, and their regret and sorrow for his death embalm his memory. Mild and amiable in his disposition, sensible and well-informed in his mind, and con- ciliating in his manners, he was universally beloved. His death was very sudden, and took place in the 60th year of his age." 1


Samuel Barrett (1755). AUTHORITIES : Bos-


1798. 1 Columbian Centinel, Wednesday, Aug. 29, ton Records; Whitman's Hist. A. and H. A. Com- pany, Ed. 1842.


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Edward Carnes (1755), rope-maker, of Boston, son of Lieut .- Col. John (1733) and Sarah Carnes, was born in Boston, Sept. 8, 1730. He married, (1) March 1, 1753, Joanna Jenner, who died in Boston, July 2, 1772 ; (2) Sarah Cheever ; and he died Aug. 19, 1782, aged fifty-three years. He was a brother of Capt. Thomas Carnes, who joined the Artillery Company in 1754.


Edward Carnes (1755) was elected by the town a scavenger in 1762 and 1763, and was one of the visitors to the public schools, July 5, 1769. He was chosen, Aug. 26, 1776, to take the census, etc., of Ward 7, in Boston, and Aug. 28, 1776, was drawn a juryman for the trial and condemnation of vessels ; was elected a surveyor of hemp in 1777, also from 1779 to 1782 inclusive, and, May 22, 1777, served as a juryman in the trial of such persons as the town represented "to be inimical to these states and dangerous to the public safety." In the " Records of the Town of Boston," Edward Carnes (1755) was called "Captain " in 1778, and " Major " in 1779. Sept. 4, 1778, he was " drawn out of the box " for a juryman in a maritime court. He was fourth sergeant of the Artil- lery Company in 1758 ; ensign in 1766, and lieutenant in 1769. He was active in the Boston militia, passed through the several grades, and was the last major of the Boston regiment prior to the Revolution. He was drafted for service in the Continental Army, Dec. 19, 1776.


Major Carnes (1755) was a member of the Masonic Fraternity. He belonged both to the Second and Masters' lodges in Boston, and first appears as a member of the St. John's Grand Lodge in 1767. His attendance upon the meetings of this grand body was quite regular until 1774. In 1773, he was recorded as junior grand warden.


At the completion of Bunker Hill monument, the last stone was raised to its place in the presence of the government of the association, July 23, 1842, the American flag being waved from the stone during its ascent by Edward Carnes, Jr., grandson of Major Edward Carnes (1755).


Barnabas Clarke (1755), of Boston, married Hepzibah Barrett, May 19, 1748. The only town office to which he was elected was that of constable, in 1756, from which service he was excused.


Isaac Decoster (1755), of Boston, son of John and Elizabeth Decoster, was born in Boston, April 2, 1728. He married (published), Oct. 25, 1750, Martha Hart, of Boston. He was fourth sergeant of the Artillery Company in 1757, and was sworn as a constable of Boston, March 11, 1754. He was at Louisburg in 1755-6, and at Halifax in 1760. In his letter from the latter place, June 23, 1760, he speaks of belonging to a lodge there, which implies that Halifax was his residence. Feb. 3, 1761, Mr. Decoster (1755) was master of Lodge No. 2, at Halifax. He is the first named in the charter of the Lodge of St. Andrew, of Boston, and was master of that lodge from 1756 to 1760. He was in Scotland pending the proceedings for that charter, and was designated as the first master. Mr. Decoster (1755) was probably made a Mason in Halifax, but was refused recognition by the First Lodge, of Boston. His Masonic relations in Boston alone give us the prin- cipal information in regard to him.


Edward Carnes (1755). AUTHORITIES: Bos- ton Records; Early Masonic Records; Wyman's Charlestown Genealogies and Estates.


Isaac Decoster (1755). AUTHORITIES : Bos- ton Records; Early Masonic Records.


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Samuel Dyer (1755), son of Jonathan and Hannah Dyer, was born April 3, 1729. Capt. Dyer (1755) was elected warden in 1768 and 1778, and fence-viewer from 1764 to 1774 inclusive, and from 1778 to 1781 inclusive ; also, was an assessor in Boston from 1778 to 1781 inclusive. In 1780 he is called in the records "Deacon." He was first sergeant of the Artillery Company in 1760, and rose to the grade of captain in the militia.


John Forsyth (1755), of Boston, son of Alexander and Deborah Forsyth, was born Nov. 5, 1731, and was baptized two days after, at the Second Church in Boston.


John Forsyth (1755) was elected a scavenger from 1755 to 1760 inclusive, and clerk of the market in 1763. He became a captain in the local militia.


William Hyslop (1755), merchant, of Boston, son of James Hyslop, came from Humly Parish, East Lowden, Haddington County, Scotland. He was baptized Sept. 20, 1714. He came to America about 1740, beginning his life here " as a peddler with a pack on his back," and six years later he was engaged in Boston as an importer of Scotch goods from Glasgow, particularly Bibles, of which he sold very many. His store was on Codman's Wharf, which was sold to the city of Boston for the Quincy market-house by the heirs of John Codman, to whom Mr. Hyslop (1755) had previously conveyed his part of it, and it was burned down in the great fire of 1760. The site is now covered by the granite stores of South Market Street. In 1760, Mr. Hyslop's (1755) store was in Quaker Lane, and in the list of the persons burnt out by the great fire of that year, in Quaker Lane, William Hyslop (1755) is mentioned first in the News-Letter. His early residence was next east of Concert Hall.1


March 11, 1750, he was elected a constable of Boston, but declined to serve, and paid the usual fine. He was third sergeant of the Artillery Company in 1758.


On his retirement from active business, he resided on the farm in Brookline owned for many years by the Boylston family. Dec. 15, 1766, the selectmen of Boston notified the assessors that William Hyslop (1755) ought to be taxed for the property he owned in Boston, though living in another town.


On the division of Mr. Hyslop's (1755) estate between his son and daughter, the homestead fell to his son David, who occupied it for several years. He devised it to his wife during her life, and after her death to his sister Sumner's children. Thirteen acres were sold to the city of Boston for the water reservoir, and the remainder to Mr. Morti- mer C. Ferris.


William Hyslop (1755) married, Oct. 25, 1750, Mehitable, daughter of David and Elizabeth Stoddard. She was born June 5, 1719, and died Nov. 19, 1792. Her husband survived her about four years, dying Aug. 11, 1796, in the eighty-third year of his age. They had five children, of whom David, Elizabeth, and William lived to be married. David and William had no children. Elizabeth married, Sept. 30, 1779, Increase Sumner, governor of Massachusetts. She was first betrothed to Rev. John Hunt, asso- ciate pastor of the Old South Church, who was invited to deliver the Artillery election sermon in 1774. He declined to accept on account of ill health, and died Dec. 30, 1775.


Samuel Dyer (1755). AUTHORITY : Boston Records. John Forsyth (1755). AUTHORITY : Boston Records. William Hyslop (1755). AUTHORITIES : Sum- ner's Hist. of East Boston, p. 274 et seq .; Boston Records, Selectmen's Minutes, 1767, pp. 244, 245,


etc .; Hist. Sketches of Brookline, p. 301; Pilgrims of Boston.


1 In a deed of the Concert Hall property, dated Sept. 30, 1754, that property is bounded on the east " by the house and land of Wm Hyslop [1755] now occupied by Mrs Steele, 49 ft." It was here that Mr. Hyslop (1755) first lived in Boston.


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Mr. Hyslop (1755) was a member of Brattle Street Church, and a strong Scotch Presbyterian. On the introduction of an organ into that meeting-house, Mr. Hyslop (1755) discontinued his attendance there, and became a regular worshipper at the church of Rev. Mr. Jackson, in Brookline. He was generous to the poor, and universally kind ; was a member of various benevolent societies, and left a large legacy for mission- ary work among the Indians.


"Saturday, 13th August. Mr Hyslop [1755], one of the owners of this Island [Noddle's] was buried this afternoon, it is said he has left eighty thousand pounds worth of property, and only two children."


His grandson, Gen. William Hyslop Sumner, joined the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company in 1819, and was its captain in 1821.


John Joy (1755) was a housewright in Boston. He was published, Oct. 4, 1750, to marry Sarah Homer, of Boston. His residence was on Leverett Street, but owned other property on Water Street. He was elected constable of Boston in 1756 and 1757, but was excused from serving; fence-viewer from 1766 to 1774 inclusive, and visited the schools July 1, 1767, and July 1, 1772. He was town warden in 1769. March 5, 1774, he was elected on a committee to consider measures for providing a suitable place for the carts and sleds, with hay, firewood, etc., and " the Inhabitants of Corn-Hill thereby eased of that Incumbrance."


Capt. Joy (1755) was an addresser of Hutchinson in 1774, and of Gen. Gage in 1775. In 1776, he went with other royalists to Halifax; was proscribed and banished in 1778. He was in England in 1779. Mr. Joy (1755) was a member of the Boston militia, and, after several years of service, attained the grade of captain.


He received the Masonic degrees in the First Lodge, in Boston, and became a member thereof in 1760. He was junior warden of that lodge in 1762-3, senior warden in 1764, and master from 1769 to 1771 ; junior warden of the Masters' Lodge in 1765, senior warden in 1766, and master in 1772. Jan. 27, 1775, John Joy (1755) was con- stituted junior grand warden of St. John's Grand Lodge. He died in England in 1798.


Henry Perkins (1755), son of Edmund and Mary Perkins, was born in Boston, Aug. 20, 1710. He was elected constable in 1743, but refused to serve, and paid the fine ; was scavenger in 1752 and 1760. In 1757 he was third sergeant of the Artillery Company.


Benjamin Phillips (1755), of Boston, son of Benjamin and Hannah Phillips, was born in Boston, June 3, 1715. He was published, Aug. 20, 1752, to marry Elizabeth Bourne, of Marshfield ; and, (2) March 17, 1757, he married Margaret Cunningham, of Boston. He was elected, March 10, 1766, a warden of the town, which seems to have been the only town office he ever held. He was third sergeant of the Artillery Company in 1760. He was a loyalist, and a protester against the Whigs in 1774.




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