USA > Michigan > Lenawee County > History and biographical record of Lenawee County, Michigan, Volume II > Part 23
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ENRY HOADLY was born in Lewis county, N. Y., March 19, 1816. He lived there until about the year 1832 when his parents moved to Allen, Alleghany county, where he resided until 1836. He was brought up a farmer, and worked with his father until he was nineteen. In the fall of 1836 he came to Michigan, and landed in Detroit in September, and went to Pontiac, where he lived with his brother Horace, who was a farmer, until the following spring when he came to this county and worked at cliopping and clearing land, until he paid for one hun- dred and three acres just over the State line, in Amboy, Fulton county, Ohio, moving there in the spring of 1838. There were a great many sugar maple trees on his land, and the first work he did after getting his log house up was to make sugar. He suc- ceeded admirably in making sugar, and after about two months, when he had about 500 pounds carefully stored, one night while he and his wife were staying with a lady whose husband was away from home, his house burned down, with all its contents. It was
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near morning when it burned, and it was supposed at the time that it was set on fire by Indians, who were quite numerous there then. This event so discouraged Mr. Hoadly that he never did any more work on the farm, and soon after traded it for forty acres of new land on section 15, in Fairfield. He immediately built another log house and lived there until 1852, when he sold out and purchased 140 acres of land on the same section, built a good frame house, cleared twenty acres, and lived there about two years, when, in 1856, he traded with Aden Barnaby for a farm on sec- tions 15 and 16, where he now resides. Since that time he has built a large brick house and two barns, and set out a good apple and pear orchard. Mr. Hoadly has always been an active, hard- working man, never indulging in excesses of any kind. In relig- ion he was moderate and earnest, and was for many years an active member of the Free Will Baptist church of Fairfield, but with- drew for what he considered good cause. In politics he has always been earnest and sincere, with a patriotic and loyal motive. He first voted the Whig ticket, but afterwards advocated Republican principles, and has, since its formation in 1854, acted with that
party. He has done his share in supporting and establishing schools in his township, and has paid his school tax cheerfully. He has subscribed liberally towards the construction of three different churches in Fairfield. He also contributed $100 to the Hillsdale college. October 29, 1837, Henry Hoadly was married by H. Russell, Esq., to Miss Seraph S. Hoadley, daughter of Jared and Lucy Hoadley, of Fairfield, by whom he has had six children, as follows: William Albert, born November 3, 1842, died May 4, 1849; Lucy, born May 6, 1845, died March 13, 1846; Eliza- beth J., born January 22, 1847, now the wife of Frank W. Cornell, of Adrian; Alice E., born August 12, 1848, wife of a man who represented himself to be a preacher who called himself Charles Asbury, but it was afterwards discovered that he came from Kentucky, and his name was Overton T. Asbill, who was a deception and a fraud; Lucy A., born June 19, 1850, now the wife of Sidney A. Rathbun, of Fairfield ; Seraph S., born May 2, 1854, now the wife of Edward Youngs, of Adrian. Mrs. Seraph S. Hoadly was born in Manlius, Onondaga county, N. Y., October 28, 1818, and came to Michigan in 1836. Her father, Jared Hoadley was probably a native of Vermont, and went to Onon- daga county, N. Y., when he was a young man. He was a car- penter and painter and glazier by trade, and followed it many years. After he was married he went to Sandusky county, Ohio, and purchased a farm. In 1833 he came to Michigan, and after- wards settled over the line in Amboy, Fulton county, Ohio. He
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OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
died in Niles, Mich., in 1865. About the year 1813 he married Miss Lucy Williams, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Williams, of Manlius, N. Y., who died in November, 1820.
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UTHER HASKINS was born in Augusta, Maine, August 30, 1808. His father, John Haskins, son of John and Charity Haskins, was born (probably) in Taunton, Mass., January 8, 1785, where he resided, with the exception of about four years, when he lived in Maine, until 1834. He was a carpen- ter and joiner, but owned a small farm in Taunton. In the fall of 1834, four families, Sylvester Boody, wife and five children, Wil- liam Haskins, wife and one child, John Haskins, wife and nine children, and Luther Haskins and wife, twenty-three in all, came to Michigan and all settled on adjoining farms in Rollin, this county. John Haskins located 280 acres of land on sections 24 and 25, in Rollin, and 19 in Rome. He improved considerable land, built very good buildings, and became a thrifty farmer. He never did much at his trade after he care to Michigan, except to build his own buildings, and build the Rollin town house. He died June 20, 1851. November 8, 1807, John Haskins married Temperance Ham, by whom he had two children, Luther and Wil- liam. Mrs. Temperance Haskins was born in Maine, May 13, 1789, and died in Augusta, March 21, 1811. John Haskins was twice married after her death. Luther Haskins came to Michigan with his father, in 1834, and located a farm on section 26, in Rol- lin, where he now resides. When he was a young man he worked in a machine shop and cotton factory in Taunton, Mass., but after- ward learned the carpenter's trade with his father. He never fol- lowed his trade much after he came to Michigan. He built his own house and barns, and assisted other settlers more or less, but has paid most of his attention to farming. In 1835 he was warned out to go to the Toledo war, and reported for duty at Tecumseh. He went all through the war without a scratch, and returned home after an absence of one week. He has cleared up his farm and has a good home, notwithstanding the fact that he was for many years sick more or less during the first years of his settlement here. April 13, 1834, Luther Haskins married Abigail M. Jackson,
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daughter of Joshua and Abigail (Bayliss) Jackson, by whom he had one child, Henry B., born in Rollin, April 13, 1835, now a farmer of Rollin. Mrs. Abigail Haskins was born at Newton Falls, Mass., November 9, 1814, and came to Michigan with her husband in 1834. Joshua Jackson was born March 27, 1787, at Newton, Mass. Abigail T. Bayliss, his wife, was born August 6, 1792, in Taunton, Mass. J. Jackson died July 27, 1854, at Bridge- water, Mass. His wife died July 25, 1832, in Taunton, Mass. Henry B. Haskins now resides on his father's homestead, and car- ries on the farm. He is a native of Rollin, and has always lived in the township. January 12, 1860, he married Mary M. Mun- ger, daughter of Benjamin and Sarah Munger, of Rollin. She died June 10, 1861. February 24, 1863, he married Mary M. Lester, daughter of Grant and Eliza Lester, of Hudson, by whom he has had two children, as follows. Edson B., born in Rollin, November 29, 1865; Roy W., born in Rollin, April 13, 1878. Mrs. Mary M. Haskins was born in Camden, Hillsdale county, Mich., December 1, 1844. Her father, a native of New York, was born August 4, 1807, and was a pioneer of Rollin. He mar- ried Eliza Ann Sullivan, daughter of John Sullivan, by whom he had ten children, Mrs. Haskins being the seventh child and oldest daughter. Mrs. Eliza Ann Lester was born in New York, Sep- tember 21, 1820, and died in Camden, Hillsdale county, in 1850.
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HESELTON BAKER was born in Auburn, N. Y., May 15, 1832. He lived in Auburn for a few years, when his parents moved to Pittsford, Monroe county, where his father opened a jewelry store, but subsequently moved to Rochester and engaged in the same business, and carried it on until the cholera scourge of 1834, when he died. After `the death of his father Cheselton went to Lewiston, Niagara county, where his mother owned a farm. Cheselton worked upon this farm for some time, but afterward he went to Hamilton, Canada, to learn the jeweler's trade with his uncle, Thomas Baker, but, after remaining in Ham- ilton for about two years, his uncle was burned out, losing most of his property. Cheselton then returned to Lewiston. He occu- pied his time on a farm for two years more, afterward lived about
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OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
one year in Youngstown, Niagara county, and in the spring of 1857 he came to Michigan and first settled in Jackson and engaged in the harness business for about six months, when he sold out and came to Adrian. In the fall of 1857 he went to "railroading," in the employ of the Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana rail- road, as a brakeman on a freight train. After acting as brakeman for about eighteen months he was promoted to conductor of extra freight trains, and after a short time was given a regular freight train between Toledo and White Pigeon. After about two years' service on the main line, air-line and the Detroit branch, he was given a "mixed train," which ran between Adrian and Detroit. After running that train for several years, he was given a through express train between Toledo and Chicago, which "run" he con- tinued to hold until the Michigan division was established between Toledo and Elkhart. He continued as conductor until 1877, at which time he abandoned "railroading," and has occupied his time mostly since in farming. Cheselton Baker's father, Larkin Baker, was a native of Vermont, but when quite young moved to Monroe county, N. Y., with his father, who was a Baptist minister, sta- tioned in or near Rochester. Mrs. Olive (Totten) Baker was born in Lewiston, Niagara county, N. Y. Her father was one of the first settlers of Niagara county, and purchased a large tract of land of the Holland company, four miles cast of Lewiston. Mrs. Baker died in Jackson, Mich., in March, 1877. October 15, 1853, Cheselton Baker married Miss Mary Ann, daughter of Samuel and Lucy Haeslip, of Youngstown, Niagara county, N. Y., by whom he has had three children, as follows: Melvin Larkin, born in Youngstown, N. Y., August 2, 1855, now of Toledo, Ohio; he was married to Miss Ella Osborn, of Adrian, Mich., June 13, 1875; Clara, born in Adrian, October 13, 1858, was married to Lieut. F. B. Hull, now chief clerk of the L. S. & M. S. division superintendent's office, Toledo, Ohio; one daughter died in infancy. Mrs. Mary A. Baker was born in St. Catharines, Canada, Novem- ber 12, 1836, and went to Lewiston, Niagara county, N. Y., with her parents in 1837. Her ancestors on her father's side were Irish and German. Her grandfather, John Haeslip, with two brothers, came from Ireland early in the eighteenth century, and settled on the Chippewa river in Canada, purchasing large tracts of land. A large number of the inhabitants of the village of Welland are de- scendants of John Haeslip and his brothers. Mrs. Baker's father first settled on a farm, which is now all within the limits of St. Catharines. He was a soldier in the British army in 1812, and participated in the battles of Lundy's Lane, Chippewa, Queens- town Heights, and Niagara. Mrs. Baker's mother was a daughter
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of John Barber, of Rutland, Vt. Mr. Barber went to Canada and settled near the present city of St. Catharines, establishing the first woolen mill in that part of the Province. Samuel Haeslip was born at Welland, Canada, in 1792, and died there in January, 1876. Mrs. Lucy (Barber) Haeslip was born in Rutland, Vt., in 1797, and died in Michigan City, Ind., in 1866.
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OSEPH S. KIES was born in Sempronius (now Moravia), Cayuga county, N. Y., July 13, 1820. His father, Alpheus Kies, was born in Woodstock, Windham county, Conn., April 18, 1788, where he lived until he was about sixteen years old, when he moved with his parents, Joseph and Mary Kies, to Cayuga county, N. Y. Joseph Kies was a pioneer of Cayuga county, being one of the very first settlers of the township of Sempronius (now Moravia), where he purchased land from the government, and cleared up a large farm, which was afterward divided among his five sons. Joseph Kies had two brothers, who were in the French and Indian war. The oldest one was killed by the Indians at Detroit, and his effects being sent home, another brother enlisted and came to Detroit, and died of small-pox. His effects were also sent home, when Joseph enlisted, served under General Mont- gomery, and was at the siege of Quebec. The first brother that enlisted had a very nice powder horn, which, after his death, was carried by both the other brothers, was given to Alpheus by his father, and it is now in the possession of Joseph S., being prized by him as a memento of the old colonial days, and the great strug- gle for liberty and nationality which his ancestors took part in. Alpheus Kies lived in Moravia, and followed farming until 1829. In the spring of 1828 he came to Michigan and purchased land on sections 4 and 5, in Tecumseh (now Clinton). The following spring, 1829, he came again, erected a house, dug a well, cleared ten acres, sowed it to wheat, and returned to Moravia for his family. About the 1st of October he came on with his family and occupied his house, which was the first building erected on the site of the present village of Clinton. Other families came in the fol- lowing year, the Fisks, Baldwins and St. Clairs being the first. Mr. Kies then began to think about founding a village, the Chicago
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OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
turnpike passing through his land, and the river Raisin forming his western boundary. He made several donations of small parcels of land to mechanics and others who would settle, and in 1830 gave the name of "Clinton" to the settlement, after Governor De Witt Clinton, of New York, of whom he was a great admirer and warm friend. The village fast grew in size and importance, and in 1836 it did more business and had more inhabitants than at the present time. During the summer of 1831 Mr. Kies erected a two-story hotel, it being the first frame building erected. He kept the hotel only a short time, when he rented it to Dr. Reuben Pierce. Mr. Kies was a farmer and paid most of his attention to that calling. He cleared and improved 240 acres, and resided in Clinton until his death, which occurred in October, 1864. He was a man of comprehensive mind, with traits of character that peculi- arily fitted him for a pioneer and founder of a village. Patient and persevering, kind and generous, with courage enough to over- come difficulties, and good common sense sufficient to profit by ex- perience, he was always a very prominent, much respected man in Clinton, and all of the old settlers bear him the kindest mem- ory. February 17, 1808, Alpheus Kies married Elizabeth Lazell, daughter of Calvin and Elizabeth Lazell, of the old town of Sem. pronius, Cayuga county, N. Y., by whom he had six children, Joseph S. being the second son and third child. Mrs. Elizabeth Kies was born in Ashfield, N. H., October 16, 1790, and died in Clinton, December 20, 1877. Joseph S. Kies came to Michigan with his parents in 1829, and has been a resident of Clinton for fifty-one years. He, with his brother, George D., and his sister, Mrs. Sarah E. Clark, are the oldest living residents of the village. Joseph S. Kies followed farming and nursery business until he was thirty years old. In the fall of 1849 he engaged in the hardware business in Clinton, in company with Alonzo Clark, which he fol- lowed until 1864, when he sold out and purchased a farm, which he still carries on. During the years 1867-8 the Clinton woolen mill was built, Mr. Kies being one of the stock company which built it, being active in the organization of the company, and erect- ing the building. In 1869 Mr. Kies was made president of the woolen mill company, and has managed its affairs ever since. The manufactures of the Clinton woolen mills bear a good reputation, and are purchased as fast as manufactured. It is one of the most successful mills in Michigan, and its business is in a flourishing condition. It has been kept in constant operation since it first started, which can only be said of at least one other similar institu- tion in Michigan. Mr. Kies has served as supervisor, justice of the peace, and in other town offices. September 28, 1846, Joseph S. (28)
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Kies married Frances E. Parks, daughter of James and Lucretia Parks, of Clinton, by whom he has had five children, as follows: James A., born July 5, 1847, died in October, 1863; Mary Ida, born January 10, 1849, now the wife of Dr. Samuel Chandler, of Saline, Washtenaw county; George A., born January 8, 1851, a resident of Tecumseh village; Kate, born December 20, 1853. now the wife of Professor Fred. Field, of Manchester, Washtenaw county ; Willie. J., born June 30, 1856, also a resident of Tecum- seh. Mrs. Frances E. Kies was born in Meadville, Pa., October 19, 1823, came to Michigan in 1831 with her parents, and settled in Detroit, and came to this county and settled in Clinton, in 1835. James Parks was born in Salsbury, Conn., April 20, 1792, and died in Clinton, this county, in 1859. October 31, 1815, he mar- ried Lucretia Kirby, daughter of Hezekiah and Lucretia Kirby, of Sheffield, Mass., by whom he had eleven children, Frances being the fourth child and third daughter. Mrs. Parks was born in Middletown, Conn., August 12, 1795, and is still living in Clin- ton, in very good health.
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IMEON DAVIDSON was born in Lodi, Seneca county, N. Y., June 26, 1804. He was the son of John and Catha- rine Davidson, who were natives of New Jersey, and pio- neers of Seneca county, N. Y. Simeon Davidson was raised a farmer, but he learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed for several years. He came to Michigan in 1831, and settled on section 30, in Macon, this county, and resided there until 1854, when he purchased a farm on sections 25 and 36, in Tecumseh, consisting of 670 acres, at the same time owning 160 acres in Macon. The farm which he purchased in Tecumseh was consid- ered nearly worthless. The soil was light, and it had been "run out," but Mr. Davidson thought he could bring it up, which he succeeded in doing, and made it one of the most desirable and productive farms in the county. He cleared off about 200 acres of it, built good buildings, etc. During the first few years of his residence in Lenawee county, he followed his trade, when not obliged to work on his farm. He built many of the first houses, barns, mills and bridges in the northern portion of the county,
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OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
and after the county began to be settled, and the people were able to build, he engaged in contracting and building, employing a gang of men. No man in the northern half of Lenawee county was better known than he. His first settlement in Macon was at a time when the country from Tecumseh to Monroe was an al- most unbroken wilderness, when the few scattered pioneers were poor in this world's goods, with little to sustain them but strong muscles, stout hearts, faith in God and their own unflinching en- ergies. If he had but little to spare in these trying days of pio- neer life, he was ever ready "without money and without price " to divide that little with those more destitute than himself. When a log cabin was required to shelter an emigrant and his family, he was the first invited to the raising, and the first to respond to the call, and when frame dwellings and farm buildings of more pretensions succeeded the primitive structures, unless he could be present with his cheering voice as master of the occasion, the rais- ing would frequently be postponed until convenient for him to attend. In fact, as one of our most enterprising, energetic and liberal minded men, he has been long and favorably known throughout Southern Michigan. As a farmer, he was eminently successful; as the auctioneer of Northern Lenawee, his services were regarded as indispensable. In all public measures for the promotion of the social, religious, moral and educational interests of his neighborhood, and for the general development of the re- sources of the country by railroad or otherwise, he was ever ready to bear his full share of the burden. He was liberal without ex- travagance, economical without meanness, a good husband, a kind parent, and as a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, a christian without offensive zeal, or undue pretension, ever ready to aid the poor and sympathize with the afflicted; it is not strange that from an early period to the day of his death, he was almost universally greeted wherever known, by the familiar name of " Uncle Sim." Although of ripe age, he passed away in the midst of an active and useful life, regretted by the whole community. He donated liberally for the construction of the fine brick church edifice at Ridgeway village, giving over $4,000 to the building committee. About the year 1829 Simeon Davidson married Ce- rena Miller, daughter or Capt. Isaac and Anna Miller, of Lodi, N. Y., by whom he had five children, as follows: George W. and Clarissa, deceased; Minor M., born in Macon, this county, May 8, 1832, a farmer of Tecumseh ; Jehiel, born same place, May 19, 1835, a resident of Tecumseh village; Francisco, born same place, May 23, 1838. Mrs. Cerena Davidson was born in Lodi, N. Y., and died in Macon, this county, in March, 1840. Her parents
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were of German extraction. They came to Michigan about 1833, and settled in Macon, this county, where they both died. Fran- cisco Davidson has always lived in Lenawee county, has followed farming, and now owns a farm on section 36, in Tecumseh. He was married March 26, 1862, to Miss Elizabeth C. Laycock, daughter of Henry and Susan Laycock, of Tecumseh, by whom he has had three children, as follows: George S., born April 23, 1866; Loana M., born November 18, 1869; Guy J., born May 25, 1872, all born in Tecumseh. Mrs. Elizabeth Davidson was born in Leoni, Jackson county, Mich., September 11, 1840. Her father came to Michigan in 1831, and settled in Leoni, Jackson, county, on government land. He died there in 1846. He was born April 10, 1811, in the State of New York. Her mother was born in Lodi, Seneca county, N. Y., August 21, 1810, and is still living. She was married the second time to Asa Gilmore, a pioneer of Lenawee county.
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HESTER C. VAN DOREN was born in Adrian township, Lenawee county, Mich., October 12, 1842. His father, Jacob E. Van Doren, was born in Romulus, Seneca county, N. Y., September 19, 1815. He was the son of Cornelius Van Doren, who was born in Hunterdon county, N. Y., in 1785, where he lived until after he was twenty-one years old, when he moved to Romulus, Seneca county, N. Y. He lived there until 1816, when he sold out and moved to Shelby, Orleans county. He lived in that county where he owned a farm until 1835. In June, 1835, he sold his farm there and came to Michigan and purchased eighty acres of land of Samuel Hopper, on section 22, in Adrian township. There was a log house on the land, and about twelve acres chopped over. He cleared this farm and erected good build- ings, and it is now in the hands of his widow and children. He was a soidier in the war of 1812, but never participated in any battle. He was always a farmer and a hardworking, honest, per- severing man, a good neighbor and warm friend. He lived on his farm in Adrian from 1835 until his death, which occurred August 14, 1857. In 1810 he married Miss Nelly Hagaman, daughter of Francis Hagaman, of Romulus, Seneca county, N. Y., by whom
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OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
he had ten children, Jacob being the third child. Mrs. Nelly Van Doren was born in New Jersey, April 27, 1791, and is still living on the old homestead in Adrian. She moved with her parents to Seneca county, N. Y., when she was a child. Both Mr. and Mrs. Van Doren's ancestors came from Holland and settled in New Jersey. Jacob E. Van Doren came to Michigan with his parents in 1835, and lived with them until he was twenty-one years old. He was brought up to farming and always followed it. He owned several farms at different times in this county, and was a careful, legitimate farmer. He always lived in Adrian township during his residence in Michi- gan. He died at his home, August 25, 1868. February 19, 1840, Jacob E. Van Doren married Miss Drusilla Burgess, daughter of David and Elizabeth Burgess, of Adrian township, by whom he had one son, Chester C. Mrs. Drusilla Van Doren was born November 29, 1818, and died. May 11, 1872. Her father, David Burgess, was (probably) born in New York city, May 9, 1789, and died in Adrian township, April 29, 1860. Her mother was Miss Elizabeth Hagaman, who was born in New Jersey, June 8, 1793, and is still living in Adrian township, where she settled in 1834. Chester C. Van Doren has always lived in the township of Adrian, and has never moved but once in his life. He lived with his parents until he was nearly twenty-four years old, when he was married, and went to farming on his own account, on the farm where he was born, on section 16, in Adrian. He resided there until after the death of his father, when he moved on the farm where he now resides. He has always followed farming. His present home is situated on section 26, in Adrian, known as the old Thomas Sackrider farm. It is now one of the finest farm homes in Lenawee county, being situated one and a half miles from the city, on one of the main thoroughfares, and is a delightful dwell- ing place, fully appreciated by Mr. and Mrs. Van Doren. Decem- ber 25, 1866, Chester C. Van Doren married Sarah C. Whitacre, daughter of Aaron and Ann Whitacre, of Dover, by whom he has had three children, as follows: Dora D., born May 31, 1868; Jacob C., born October 11, 1869; Chester J., born July 22, 1874. Mrs. Sarah C. Van Doren was born in Spencer, Lucas county, Ohio, September 29, 1845, and came to Lenawee county with her parents, and settled in Dover. Aaron Whitacre was born in Muncy, Lycoming county, Pa., September 15, 1814, and now resides in Dover. His wife was born in Shrewsbury, Lycoming county, Pa., October 26, 1817, and died in Spencer, Lucas county, Ohio, in April, 1845. Mr. and Mrs. Whitacre were Quakers. Mrs. Whitacre's maiden name was Ann Carson.
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