USA > Nebraska > Douglas County > Omaha > History of the city of Omaha, Nebraska > Part 18
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Lyman Richardson,
Patrick Swift,
Thomas Swift,
Gen. E. Estabrook,
John M. Thayer, Thomes O'Connor,
Samuel E. Rogers,
William Rogers,
P. G. Peterson,
Joseph W. Paddock,
Maurice Dee,
Dennis Dee,
Michael Dee,
John Kenneally,
John Riley,
Dr. Enos Lowe,
Jesse Lowe,
A J. Hanscom,
Hadley D. Johnson,
A. B. More,
Tim Sullivan,
Thomas Barry,
James Ferry,
Joseph Mannien,
M. C. Gaylord,
Timothy Kelley,
O. B. Selden,
James G. Megeath,
John Withnell,
A. D. Jones.
Among those who settled here the follow-
ing year were:
H. H. Visscher,
R. N. Withnell,
David Richards,
Edwin Patrick,
John Logan,
O. P. Ingalls,
John P. McPherson,
Rev. Reuben Gaylord,
Moses Shinn,
S. M. Marston,
Allen Root,
W. W. Wyman,
A. U. Wyman,
W. N. Byers,
John Mulvihill,
Jerry Mahoney,
Patrick Quinland,
Rev. Thomas B. Lemon,
Dennis Carroll,
Charles B. Smith,
G. C. Bovey,
Byron Reed,
Richard Kimball, Theodore H. Robertson.
The list of those who came here in 1856 and 1857 is considerably larger. Among these may be mentioned:
Charles W. Hamilton, Augustus Kountze,
Herman Kountze,
O. F. Davis,
John Breen, ·
James E. Boyd,
Henry A. Kosters, Michael Roebling,
Thomas Murray,
Harrison Johnson,
106
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF OMAHA.
George Smith,
M. Hellman,
John Creighton,
Edward Creighton,
Harry Creighton,
David Whitney, Frank Smith,
Moritz Roebling, William Gray,
Henry Pundt,
John Smiley and sisters, Vincent Burkley,
James M. Woolworth,
George A. McCoy,
George Herzog,
John F. Taylor, David H. Moffatt, Rev. H. W. Kuhns, Rev. William Leach, The Latey family,
John Shoaf, N. P. Isaacs,
John R. Porter,
Dr. J. P. Peck,
Augustus Roeder,
Chris Hartman,
George W. Doane,
Randall Brown,
Peter Hugus,
Eb. Dallow,
E. B. Chandler,
George Medlock,
P. W. Hitchcock, Joseph Millard,
William A. Little,
Dr. William McClelland, Henry Livesey,
John Campbell, Joel T. Griffin,
Frederick Drexel,
Frederick Krug,
Jacob King,
A. F. Salisbury,
Charles J. Karbach, W. J. Kennedy,
Patrick Clifford,
John M. Clarke,
Charles Childs,
Joseph Barker,
John McCreary,
George Barker,
John I. Redick,
Frederick Davis, S. M. Curran,
Jacob Tex,
Porter Redman,
David Harpster,
Clinton Briggs,
Frank Dellone,
Marsh Kennard,
William G. Florkee,
J. S. Gibson,
Harry Deuel,
Jacob Shull aud family, Henry Yates,
William A. Gwyer,
W. H. S. Hughes,
Thomas O'Connor,
George I. Gilbert,
John H. Kellom,
William F. Wilder,
Dr. N. C. Richardson,
Samuel A. Orchard,
Charles C. Woolworth, The Durnall family,
William Ruth,
Frederick Kumpf, Andrew J. Bruner,
Uriah Bruner,
Frank Coffman,
J. W. Tousley,
J. J. Brown.
Robert S. Knox,
J. Cameron Reeves, Harrison J. Brown, John M. Yerga,
Thomas L. Sutton, Henry L. James,
W. L. Pickard, Henry C. Crowell,
George W. Crowell, William B. Crowell, John McBride,
Henry B. Meyers, William Nile, Thomas Martin, F. L. Ruf, Ralph Bowman, Emerson S. Seymour,
George B. Lake, Col. John Patrick and daughter, now Mrs. Joseph Barker,
M. T. Patrick,
A. S. Patrick,
William F. Sweesy,
Charles Beindorf,
Frederick Schneider,
Joseph F. Sheely,
John R. Meredith,
Frederick Conrt, William A. Paxton,
Edwin Loveland,
George W. Homan,
Edward P. Peck,
Ezra Millard,
J. C. Wilcox,
Martin Dunham,
Charles Turner,
Andrew Wasserman, Dr. James H. Seymour, Jeremiah McCheane,
H. M. Judson, J. S. McCormick, Julius Rudowsky, Joseph Redman,
Robert C. Jordan,
John F. Behm, William Lehmer,
Frank Murphy.
James T. Allan,
Levy Kennard,
Daniel Sullivan,
James M. Winship.
Frederick Dellone,
The McAnsland family, Rubin Wood, Frank Kleffner, Jerry Mahoney, J. W. VanNostrand,
John Pety,
Samuel Megeath,
A. J. Harmon, Jerry Linahan, A. F. Frick, Michael Connolly,
Patrick McDonough,
John J. Bruner,
Janies M. Woolworth, J. B. Plummer, W. H. Demarest, Charles B. King, O. P. Hurford, Judge J. R. Hyde, Henry Gray,
N. W. Keith, Daniel Gantt, Benjamin Stickles, James G. Chapman, Joseph Clark, George W. Rust,
Jolın H. Sahler,
George Sylvester, John McCormick,
Dr. Enos Lowe, President of the original Town Site Company, was one of the organ- izers of the Council Bluffs & Nebraska
Aaron Cahn, James Creighton,
Joseph Creighton,
Frank Creighton, John A. Horbach,
William Sexauer,
George M. Mills, George H. Guy,
F. Bunn, A. R. Gilmore,
Michael Cormody, Samuel Moffatt, Wiley Dixon, Rev. Peter Cooper, Rev. Isaac F. Collins, Randal Shoaf, Bernard Koster,
S. R. Brown, A. J. Simpson, E. F. Cook,
E. L. Eaton,
Luke McDermott,
Henry Grebe,
Jonas Seeley,
Mrs. C. W. Koenig,
Peter J. Karbach,
Philip Von Windheim, (known as Peter Wind- heim),
A. S. Paddock, Joseph Frenzer, Charles Powell,
The Barkalow family, John M. Sheely, E. V. Smith,
Charles P. Birkett,
The Forbes family, Charles M. Aumock, Paul Harmon, Michael Linahan, A. N. Ferguson, Patrick Connolly,
Patrick Dinan,
B. E. B. Kennedy, Joseph P. Manning, J. C. Carson, Dr. G. C. Monell, A. R. Orchard,
David L. Collier,
Charles Behm,
S. S. Caldwell,
J. N. H. Patrick,
Enas Lower
107
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF EARLY SETTLERS.
Ferry Company. He was born at Guilford Courthouse, North Carolina, May 5, 1804, moving to Bloomington, Indiana, with his parents at an early age. He graduated with high honors at the Ohio Medical College, of Cincinnati, and practiced medicine for a number of years in Indiana. In 1837 he located at Burlington, Iowa, where he re- mained ten years, during which period he was a member of two constitutional conven- tions, of one of which he was President. In 1847, President Van Buren appointed him receiver of public moneys at the Land Office in Iowa City, and in 1853 he removed to Kanesville (Council Bluffs), Iowa, where he held the same position for two years. The platting of Omaha was done under the supervision of Dr. Lowe, as President of the Ferry Company and Town Site Com- pany; and from that date until his death, February 12, 1880, he was actively identi- fied with the best interests of Omaha, and during that period was a continuous resi- dent here. In securing the location of the Union Pacific bridge at Omaha, Dr. Lowe rendered peculiarly efficient service. being a member of the committees sent by the City Council and the citizens to the headquar- ters of the railroad company at New York. This was a critical period in the history of this city on account of the many antago- nisms with which Omaha had to contend in connection with the building of the Union Pacific Railroad. During the war, Dr. Lowe served for some time as surgeon, entering the service with the First Nebraska Infantry. Ile built the first brick residence of considerable size in Omaha, which build- ing is yet standing at the southwest corner of Harney and Sixteenth Streets. He was a man of large means, broad and liberal views, of the highest personal character, and devoted to the advancement of the best interests of the city he had seen spring up from the prairie sod. He was President of the Omaha Gas Manufacturing Company; Vice President of the State Bank of
Nebraska; a director and moving spirit in the Omaha and Southwestern Railway Com- pany; and took an active part in the build- ing of the Grand Central Hotel. He was prominent in the initial steps taken to secure the building of the Union Pacific Railroad, and was one of the incorporators of tlie Council Bluffs & St. Joseph Railroad. Dr. Lowe's only son, General W. W. Lowe, is the only survivor of the family. He was educated at West Point, served with dis- tinction during the war, and, since his resig- nation from the army in 1869, has been a resident of this city, actively engaged in many important enterprises.
Alfred D. Jones, who surveyed the origi- nal town site of Omaha, and also of Des Moines and Council Bluffs, Iowa, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, January 30, 1814, and learned a trade as plasterer and bricklayer. He located in Omaha, in 1854; was a member of the first City Council; served as a member of the Territorial Coun- cil in 1855, and was Speaker of the Territo- rial Ilouse of Representatives in 1861; he was the first postmaster of Omaha, and was elected Judge of its first Claim Club; he was admitted to the Douglas County bar in an early day, but has never practiced; was a charter member of the first Odd Fellows Lodge instituted here, and in that Order has served as Grand Master and Sovereign Representative. Mr. Jones is also a Mason in high standing, and a member of the Knights of Pythias, of which latter order lie has been Grand Chancellor and Supreme Representative. Since the day of his location here Mr. Jones has been a con- tinuous resident in Omaha, a useful, honored citizen. For several years past his time has been fully occupied with looking after his property interests.
General Samuel R. Curtis, another member of the Council Bluffs & Nebraska Ferry Company, was a man with a national reputation. Ile was born in 1803, in Cham- plain, N. Y. He graduated at West Point
108
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF OMAIIA.
in 1832, and served in the Indian Territory at Fort Gibson, about a year, when he resigned and was appointed Chief Engineer of the Muskingum River, Ohio, Improve- ment Company, where he served from 1836 to 1840. From 1840 to 1846, he practiced law at Worcester, Ohio, during which period he served as Adjutant General of Ohio. During the Mexican War he was Colonel of the Third Ohio Volunteers, and in 1847 came to Iowa as Chief Engineer of the Des Moines River Improvement Company. From 1849 to 1853 he was City Engineer of St. Louis. From 1853 to 1855, he was Chief Engineer of the projected railroad from Fort Wayne, Indiana, to Council Bluffs, Iowa. Ile was elected Mayor of Keokuk, Iowa, in the spring of 1856, and in the fall of that year, was elected to Congress, where he served three terms in succession. IIe was appointed Colonel of the Second Iowa Infantry, upon the breaking out of the war in the spring of 1861, and resigned his position as Congressman. In July of that year, he was appointed Brigadier-General, and in the spring of 1862, was appointed Major-General. In 1862 he commanded the army of the Southwest; in 1863 the Depart- ment of Missouri; in 1864 the Department of Kansas, and in 1865 the Department of the Northwest. IIe served as Indian Com- missioner in 1866, and as Commissioner of the Union Pacific Railroad, also. Ile died at Council Bluffs, on the 22d of December, 1866. Ile became interested in the Council Bluffs & Nebraska Ferry Company in 1853; and, from the date of the acquirement of California, was an ardent advocate of the building of the Pacific Railroad, and con- tributed materially to the success of that great enterprise. He was Chairman of the Pacific Railroad Committee in the Ilouse of Representatives for three years, and passed through the House the first Union Pacific Bill. Ile was tendered the Presidency of the Union Pacific Railway Company upon its organization, but, it being a time of war,
and having been educated at West Point, he declined this tempting offer, believing that at that period his services belonged to his country. His son, Major IIenry Z. Curtis, was the proprietor of the first daily paper printed in Omaha, The Telegraph. Another son, Colonel Samuel S. Curtis, has been for many years a resident of this city. Both of these gentlemen were officers in the Union Army during the war, the former giving his life in support of the flag.
Dr. George L. Miller, the first practicing physician in Omaha, was born at Booneville, New York, July 1, 1831. Ile graduated, in 1852, from the New York College of Physi- cians and Surgeons, and practiced for two years at Syracuse, New York. IIe located in Omaha, October 19, 1854, and the following year was elected a member of the Territorial Council, in which body he served three terms, being the presiding officer of the last Council of which he was a member. From 1861 to 1864 he held the position of sutler at Fort Kearney, and, upon his return to Omaha in 1864, was nominated by the Democratic party as a candidate for Con- gress. The following year, in connection with Dan W. Carpenter, he established the Omaha Herald, as an evening paper, and continued his connection therewith as editor and joint proprietor until March 1, 1887; Mr. Lyman Richardson, who purchased Mr. Carpenter's interest soon after the estab- lishment of the paper, being associated with Dr, Miller during all this period. As a strong and fearless editorial writer, Dr. Miller soon acquired a national reputation, and almost from the start The Herald was recognized as a paper of commanding influ- ence. It was especially active in advocating every measure that tended to build up Nebraska and Omaha; and during the trying days of the early history of the Union Pacific Railroad, when the life of Omaha was at stake, no man rendered more valuable services in behalf of the city than did Dr. Miller, which fact is more fully appreciated
Epages. Miller
109
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF EARLY SETTLERS.
by the older residents of Omaha than by those who liave located here in later years, and who cannot possibly appreciate the critical position our city occupied at that time, when it was only by the most per- sistent effort that the Union Pacific bridge was secured for this point, a powerful pressure being brought to bear to locate it six miles down the river, at a point known as Child's Mills. In the National Demo- cratic nominations, Dr. Miller has always exercised a powerful influence, and could have secured political preferment on many different occasions, had he not chosen, instead, to retain his place with The Herald, which he deemed a place of much greater importance. Dr. Miller has large real estate interests in the city, the management of which occupy a considerable portion of his time. In 1888 he was appointed manager for Nebraska of the New York Life Insur- ance . Company. Ile is President of the Board of Park Commissioners, and is taking an active interest in the development of the park and boulevard system of Omaha. He has recently built an elegant stone residence just outside the city limits on a large tract of ground, known as Seymour Park, of which he is the owner, and is now disposed to enjoy the comforts and advantages of a quiet life. The doctor's family consists of but himself and Mrs. Miller.
Andrew J. Hanscom was born in Detroit, Michigan, February 3, 1828. Ile served during the Mexican war as First Lieutenant of Company C, in the Ist Michigan Infantry. In the fall of 1849, he located in Council Bluffs, being then on his way to California, that being the year of the great gold excite- ment. During his residence in Council Bluffs, he built a mill, established himself in the mercantile business, and also practiced law. In 1854, he moved to Omaha and was elected a member of the Ilouse of Repre- sentatives of the first Legislature, of which body he was chosen Speaker. IIe also served in the sessions of 1857 and 1859. In the early
days he was a member of the School Board and also of the City Council, and was active in building the first public school house of the city, which was erected on Jefferson Square. IIe has always been largely inter- ested in real estate in this city, and for the past twenty years has devoted all of his time to those interests; though in the early years of his residence here, he was engaged in the practice of law. ITis second home here was the block bounded by Capitol Avenue, Davenport, Sixteenth and Seventeenth Streets, on which he built what was then considered one of the best houses in the city, planted the ground out in fruit, shade and ornamen- tal trees, and transformed the square into a beauty spot, which was for many years one of the attractions of the city. Mr. and Mrs. Hanscom brought to their Nebraska home a family of three children, two daughters, Georgia and Virginia, and a son, Duane-after whom three important streets of this city were named. In the early history of Omaha, especially in the capital location fights, which were a feature of every session of the Territorial Legisla- ture, Mr. Hanscom was particularly efficient. A man of strong character, and excellent judgment, he was specially adapted for leadership in critical emergencies. As Pres- ident of the Omaha Claim Club, he was a powerful factor in securing to those who located here in an early day, and endured all of the hardships and privations incident to frontier life, that protection which the law of the land seemed to be inadequate to give; and, while he was always earnest and energetic in carrying out the duties of that position, he was ever disposed to recognize the just and proper claims of others.
James T. Allan located at Bellevue, Nebraska, in December, 1855, coming from Pontiac, Michigan, where he was born Sep- tember 30, 1831. In April, 1856, he removed to Bellevue, bringing with him fruit trees, ornamental shrubs, and a bushel of apple
110
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF OMAILA.
seeds, for the future orchards of treeless and fruitless Nebraska. The failure of Bellevue to be designated the capital of the Territory induced his removal to Omaha in 1859. IIe took charge of the IIerndon House, then recently completed by Dr. Miller and Lyman Richardson, in the spring of 1861, and conducted it for six years. Afterwards, he held positions in the Omaha postoffice, under Postmasters Wyman, Kellom, Griffin, Yost and Hall. He was superintendent of the first free delivery system of this city, inaugurated by Mr. Yost, and superintended the removal of the postoffice into the build- ing it now occupies. He was a deputy for E. B. Chandler, Clerk of the District Court, when he had his office in the old Pioneer Block. In 1869, he embarked in the seed, plant and tree business, and in 1880 was made superintendent of tree planting by the Union Pacific Railway Company. For many years he was a member of the State Horticultural Society, serving as Secretary and President, holding the first mentioned position at the time of his death, November 20, 1885. Mr. Allan was the author of several works on horticulture, and was enthusiastic and tireless in his efforts to develop the fruit and timber interests of Nebraska. His widow and six daughters are still residents of Omaha.
Governor James E. Boyd, who was born September 9, 1834, in County Tyrone, Ire- land, arrived in America June 10, 1844, and first settled in Belmont County, Ohio, moving from there to Zanesville, Ohio, in the fall of 1847. and locating in Omaha August 19, 1856. IIe left school at the age of thirteen, and, after working three years in a grocery store, began work at the car- penter's trade, and continued until 1858. August 22, 1858, he was married, in the Pacific Ilouse, Council Bluffs, to Miss An II. Henry, a sister of Dr. IIenry. In Decem- ber, 1858, Mr. Boyd moved to Wood River, Buffalo County, Nebraska, and engaged in farming and raising cattle. IIe began con-
tracting for the Union Pacific Road in 1867, and had contracts for the grading of over three hundred miles of the road bed. In February, 1868, he moved back to Omaha and helped to build the Omalia Gas Works, of which he had the management for a year or two. Ile built the first packing house in Omaha, in 1872, and slaughtered 4,500 hogs that season-all that could be purchased in the country. This business he continued for fifteen years, in some seasons killing as many as 150,000 hogs. He built Boyd's Opera House in 1880-81, at that time by far the best building in the city. He was presi- dent of the Omaha & Northwestern Rail- road Company at the time of its being built from Omaha to Blair, in 1869-71. Ile organized the Omaha Savings Bank, of which he was president for some time. He was elected Clerk of Douglas County in 1857; was a member, from Buffalo County, of the first State Legislature; represented Douglas County in the Constitutional Conventions of 1871 and 1875; served as President of the Omaha City Council in 1880; was Mayor in 1881 and 1882; declined re-nomination in 1883, but was again elected Mayor in 1885, and served two years. During his adminis- tration in 1881, the high license law went into effect, -- the first city in the United States to enforce it-and its enforcement here met with great opposition on the part of the saloon interests, which was finally overcome with much difficulty. During his first administration, Mayor Boyd visited Detroit, Michigan, and made a careful inves- tigation of its laws with respect to paving and other public improvements, and it was at his suggestion that the city charter was amended so as to provide that paved inter- sections of streets and alleys should be paid for by the city, and that the property holders should have five years in which to pay for the remainder. The present system of paving, curbing, guttering and sew- erage, was adopted during Mr. Boyd's administration as Mayor. He erected, in
Alvin Sammlung
111
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF EARLY SETTLERS.
1891, another opera house, on a much more extensive scale, at the southeast corner of HIarney and Seventeenth Streets. Novem- ber 7, 1890, he was elected Governor of Nebraska. A question being raised as to Governor Boyd's citizenship, he was ousted out of office by the Supreme Court of the State shortly after being inaugurated, and did not again enter into the discharge of his duties until February 8, 1892, the United States Supreme Court having decided that he was and had been a citizen ever since 1867. A more extended account of this celebrated contest will be found else- where in this work. Governor and Mrs. Boyd have three children, Eleanora, Marga- ret, and James E., Jr. The eldest, now Mrs. Ellis L. Bierbower, born May 6, 1860, was the first white child born in Buffalo County.
Ex-Governor Alvin Saunders was ap- pointed Governor of Nebraska by President Lincoln, in 1861, locating in Omaha in the spring of that year, and re-appointed in 1865. In 1868 he was a delegate to the National Convention which nominated Gen- eral Grant, and in 1877 was elected to the United States Senate. He was active in the efforts made to secure the location of the Union Pacific bridge at this point, being chairman of a committee appointed by the citizens for that purpose; and the city lots which were donated to the company in aid of the construction of said bridge and depot were deeded to Governor Saunders by the city and the various parties owning them, in trust, to be by him transferred to the Railroad Company, upon certain conditions. He was one of the builders of the Omaha & Southwestern Railroad, and at one time vice president of the company; and was also president of the Board of Regents of the High School which had charge of the erection of the lligh School Building. For several years he was president of the State Bank of this city, and was one of the original stockholders in the Omaha Smelting
Works. IIe was born in Fleming County, Kentucky, July 12, 1817, locating at Mount Pleasant, Iowa, at an early date. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1846, and in 1854 and 1858, served as a member of the Iowa State Senate. Ile was a member of the Iowa delegation to the Chicago Convention which nominated Mr. Lincoln, in 1860. Governor Saunders has two children, Charles, now engaged in the practice of law, and a daughter, now Mrs. Russell Harrison.
Byron Reed located in this city November 10, 1855, and the following year established himself in the real estate business, which he has continuously followed since that date. In 1860 he was elected city clerk, and served for seven years. From 1861 to 1863 he was deputy county clerk, and in the fall of 1863 was elected county clerk, and served two years. In 1871 and 1872 he was a member of the City Council, serving as president during the latter year. Prospect Hill Cemetery, comprising fourteen acres of land, was given to the city for that purpose, by Mr. Reed, in 1859. For many years he devoted much time and energy to the collection of coins, rare books, etc. IIis collection of coins, valued at $50,000, is one of the most extensive in the country. He was a corresponding member of the American Numismatic and Archæological Society, of New York. Ile was one of the largest owners of real estate in Omaha, and was one of its wealthiest citizens. Some three years since he organized the Byron Reed Company, with a paid up capital of $200,000, and gave less attention to business, entrusting his affairs to a considerable extent to his son. Abraham L. Reed, secretary and treasurer of the Byron Reed Company. Mr. Reed died June 6, 1891, leaving a widow and two children, a son, Abraham L. Reed, and a daughter, Mrs. Frank B. Johnson. Ile quite gener- ously remembered the city, which . he had seen grow from a small hamlet to a prosper- ous metropolis, by bequeathing to it a lot
112
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF OMAHA.
for a library building and his very valuable collection of coins, rare books, etc. This bequest is more fully set forth in the chapter on the public library.
Edward Creighton, who rendered such valuable services to the West in pushing the construction of the telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific, aided mate- rially in bringing Omaha to the attention of the whole country in the earlier years of its existence. Ile was born August 31, 1820, in Belmont County, Ohio, and came to this city in 1856, and in 1858 engaged in build- ing telegraph lines in Missouri and Arkansas. In 1860 he constructed the telegraph line from St. Louis to Omaha, and the following year entered upon the great undertaking which made him famous, and completed direet telegraphic communications between the two oceans. Mr. Creighton became a heavy stockholder in the Pacific and Western Union Telegraph Companies, purchasing when these organizations were in their infaney and the stock in little demand, and aeeumulated an immense fortune in conse- quenee of the rapid rise in value of the interest so purchased. He made large and wise investments in Omaha real estate, and at the time of his death, Nov. 5, 1874, was reputed to be the wealthiest man in Omaha. For several years he had had large sums invested in the cattle business on the. plains, being one of the pioneers in this line, and his profits from this source were very great. He was one of the incorporators of the First National Bank, and was its first president. He was also interested in the building of the Omaha and Northwestern Railroad. IIe was a man of broad and liberal ideas, and in his will bequeathed large sums of money for the benefit of various Catholic institu- tions of Omaha.
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