USA > New York > Suffolk County > Mattituck > A history of Mattituck, Long Island, N.Y. > Part 12
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On the farm now owned by James J. Kirkup dwelt John Worth, whose father, James,* had purchased the property many years before. In the northwest corner of the Worth farm stood an old house that had formerly be- longed to Thomas Wickham, grandfather of Charles W. It had more recently been in possession of John Franks Horton, occupied by him before he moved to the house on the hill. In the old Corwin house dwelt John Corwin, the last of the name to occupy it. The large farm, with the exception of the old house and less than an acre about it, had passed from the Corwin name. Josiah Lupton had purchased the lower part, extending from the high- way to the Oregon Road, in 1832, and dwelt in the house now of Henry L. Davis. The house lately occupied by
*James Worth was son of Jonathan Worth, of Wading River. Jonathan was a brother of Capt. Seth Worth, who was buried at Mattituck in 1781. John, the son of James, sold this place and purchased the property now owned by his daughter, Mrs. Alice H. Worth Boutcher. John's widow, Mrs. Nancy (Havens) Worth, lives with her daughter.
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Harry B. Lupton was built by Edmund, son of Josiah and father of Frank M., John M. and Harry B. Jas. H. Wines lives where his father, Barnabas, then dwelt.
North of the lake, between it and the highway, dwelt John Franks Horton, Esquire, Gershom Howell and Ely- mas Reeve. Gershom Howell, carpenter, father of Joel C. Howell, lived in the old house with its back to the road, now occupied by Edward Worthington, which is often called "the Elymas Reeve house." Elymas Reeve, before the time of the railroad, lived considerably further west, in the old Obadiah Hudson house, not far from George H. Fischer's ice house. In 1849 Gershom Howell sold to Parthenia Reeve, daughter of Elymas, and after that Elymas moved to the house that commonly bears his name.
From very early times these houses had stood near the lake. Between them, also, a house or two stood in ancient times, and another east of Gershom Howell's. Presumably David Terry owned Mrs. Rosalie (Terry) Randolph's farm* before 1710, running right through to the lake. When the new highway was laid out, in 1710, he seized the opportunity to sell small lots along the vil- lage street, and devoted to that purpose a narrow strip of land, about six rods wide, along the south side of the highway. That strip continues to this day separate from the land and swamp back of it, between it and the lake. On this strip several houses were built; the old house which contemptuously turns its face from the road to front
*In 1776 John Wickham sells 5 acres in northern part of this Farm to John Benjamin, "at north end of farm bought of David Terry. In 1762 David Terry sells ten acres across the highway next to "the fresh pond or Mattituk pond" to Henry Pike, Jr., miller and carpenter.
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the sunny south being the only one still standing. The fact that other houses stood near, and changed hands often, appears from the north bounds of the lot back of them, as given in many deeds from 1762 to 1887. In 1762 Ebenezer Webb, Sr.,* Ebenezer Webb, Jr., and John Case occupied this strip. In 1788 it appears that the John Case lot occupying the western end of the strip, opposite to Mrs. Randolph's house, was bounded on the west by Obadiah Hudson and on the east by John Horton. John Horton then seems to have owned the old house that faces the south in 1788 and to have succeeded Ebenezer Webb in its possession. In 1788 the John Case lot was bought by the trustees of the church bank, and appears to have been sold by them to Wells Ely,t who owned it in 1805- 1825. In 1839 it was in possession of Thos. A. Overton,} who owned the opposite farm, north of the highway, and who sold this lot with the farm in that year to Samuel Brown. Since then the lot has been conveyed to each of the successive owners of the farm, and now belongs to Mrs. Randolph. The old house still standing, that be- longed to Ebenezer Webb in 1762 and to John Horton in 1788, belonged to Richard Howell in 1816, and to Ger- shom Howell§ in 1839 and until 1849, when he sold to
*Ebenezer Webb married Sarah Case in 1724 (Salmon Rec- ord). The family name appears frequently in the Church Records from their beginning in 1751 to 1809.
1Wells Ely's daughter Sophia married Irad Reeve. About 1816-1828 Wells Ely owned a two-acre lot on the North Road, about midway in David Jenkins' farm.
- #Thomas A. Overton was son-in-law of Maj. Isaac Reeve, marrying his daughter, Charlotte Augusta.
§Gershom Howell, carpenter, father of Joel C., married Lydia, daughter of Geo. L. Conlin. Gershom was brother of 1st-Isaac Reeve Howell and son of Reeve and Bathsheba Clark
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Parthenia Reeve, daughter of Elymas. Still east of that house was a house on a quarter acre lot that passed from Benjamin and Mary Goldsmith, in 1835, to Isaiah Ben- jamin. This may have been one of the Ebenezer Webb houses of 1762, and appears to have been long ago the "pest house" of which the oldest inhabitants preserve the tradition, to which the unfortunate victims of small-pox, in the days before vaccination, went at the challenge of the dread disease and fought their grim fight.
J. Franks Horton's house on the hill, overlooking the lake, doubtless marked the site of the dwelling of a north division owner before 1710. Part of the fifteen or six- teen acres connected with it belonged to Henry Pike, who died in 1768, aged 75. The western part, ten acres, was acquired by Henry Pike, Jr., in 1762, from David Terry. Henry Pike, Jr., died in possession of the house and six- teen acres in 1780. In 1816 Deacon John Reeve was in possession and borrowed money upon the property. In 1805 Wm. H. Pike, son of 2d Henry, had moved from the house on the hill to the present Pike Farm, purchasing it from Deacon John and his wife, Keziah. Probably at the same time the old Pike place passed to Deacon John. He lost it under the mortgage, and a few years later it was in possession of the Goldsmiths. Lewis Goldsmith sold it in 1835 to George Benjamin. Since then it has changed hands often. It was purchased by the present owner, Charles W. Wickham, in 1887.
Elder John Franks Horton, shoemaker, storekeeper and justice of the peace, was a prominent, highly re- spected man in the community for many years, until his
Howell. Reeve was son of John, son of John, son of Richard. the son-in-law of 1st William Hallock.
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death in 1884, at the age of 71. His first wife was Phebe Maria Reeve, and his second, Ila Lupton, daughter of Josiah. Like the other Hortons of Mattituck, he was a descendant of Captain Jonathan, youngest son of Ist Bar- nabas. Captain Jonathan's son, Deacon James (1694- 1762), was the father of Captain Barnabas, who married, about 1742, Susanna Bailey. From Capt. Barnabas and Susanna Bailey all the Mattituck Hortons come. Capt. Barnabas in his will, 1787, left his extensive lands in Southold to his sons, Benjamin and Gilbert, and to the widow of his eldest son, Barnabas. To his sons, James and Jonathan, he left no land, but £84 and fioo respec- tively. The younger, Jonathan, apparently invested his money in Mattituck property, between the church on the east and the canoe path on the west. He became Deacon Jonathan Horton. He married, in 1786, Mary Hallock, a daughter of James and Mary (Post) Hallock, and a sister of the James Hallock who married Amelia Gold- smith. His son, Barnabas Bailey, married Hannah, eldest daughter of Benjamin and Joanna (Corwin) Reeve. Dea- con Jonathan's brother, James, was the grandfather of 'Squire John Franks and Capt. James Edwin, who were sons of James' son, Hector G.
Barnabas, eldest son of Capt. Barnabas and Susanna (Bailey) Horton, was grandfather of Mrs. Frank M. Lupton. Col. Benjamin, second son, married as his second wife, Harmony, daughter of James and Anna (Wines) Reeve. These were grandparents of Mrs. Mehetable (Horton) Dayton, of Bay View. The old Obadiah Hud- son house, south of the road, west of Geo. H. Fischer's ice house, was the home of Elymas Reeve, familiarly known as "Uncle Lymas." In a deed of 1825, "Reuben, a
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free man of colour," sells to Elymas Reeve, his son, this house with three and one-half acres, bounded north by the highway, south by the pond, east by Wells Ely and Lewis Conkling, Jr., and west by James Reeve. How the lot came into Reuben's possession is not known. In 1805 it was owned by Timothy Reeve,* shoemaker, as appears from a mortgage made in that year and satisfied in 1807. "Uncle Lymas" was a remarkable man, highly respected by the people during his forty-five years of resi- dence in Mattituck. He was born a slave in a branch of the Reeve family living in Cutchogue. His son writes that his father was brought up "by a Mrs. Betty Reeve, of Cutchogue," and that she deeded him "a small parcel of ground." This definitely fixes Elymas as the "negro man Limas," freed by the Widow Elizabeth Reeve in 1813, and to whom by her will, proved 1820, she left "one acre of land lying at a place called shell bank," in Cut- chogue. The man freed in 1813 was "aged about 30," so Elymas was about eighty-seven years of age at his death, in 1870. He was a man of large frame and great physi- cal strength, reputed to be the most powerful man in the town. He was a man of vigorous mind. His education was, of course, limited, but he could read and write and was wonderfully versed in the Scriptures. In early life he became a communicant in the Cutchogue Presbyterian Church. He held his membership there to the end, and
*Timothy Reeve was a son of 4th James and Anna (Wines) Reeve and brother of 5th James, Rev. Nathaniel, Deacon John and Samuel. The latter part of his life was spent in New York City, where he served on the police force. His son, Tim- othy Wines Reeve, kept a well-known old book store in New York and was the first husband of the late Mrs. Jas. Richard Hallock.
ELYMAS REEVE.
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was buried in the old cemetery of Cutchogue. His piety was deep, and his life that of a consistent Christian. He was conspicuous as a man of faith and prayer, and in pub- lic prayer he exhibited extraordinary depth of feeling and power of expression. All who remember him speak of him in terms of admiration and affection. He and his wife, Hagar, reared in Mattituck a family of four sons and four daughters. His youngest son is now the Rev. John B. Reeve, D. D., pastor of the Lombard Street Presbyterian Church, of Philadelphia, a church of more than 400 members. He is a graduate of Columbia Uni- versity and of Union Theological Seminary, and was for some years a professor in Howard University, D. C. Mrs. Josephine (Silone) Yates, of Kansas City, Mo., daughter of Elymas Reeve's daughter Parthenia, is a woman of culture, an accomplished lecturer, and promi- nent as a representative of the colored section in the Na- tional Association of Women's Clubs.
In the latter part of his life Elymas lived in the old house with its back to the road. This property, together with the three and one-half acres which came to him from his father, was sold by his daughters, some years after his death, to the late Irad Gildersleeve, and is now in the possession of Geo. H. Fischer.
North of the highway, west of Mill Lane, were the houses of large land owners: Isaiah Benjamin, Samuel Brown, James Wickham Reeve, William H: Pike and his son, Henry, and the Widow Elmira Reeve. South of the highway there was not a house standing, in the forties. between Elymas Reeve's and the house now of Joel C. Howell. The highway now known as Reeve Place was then a private lane leading through the old Revolution-
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ary "camp lot" to the farms of Edward and Irad Reeve. In what is now the open corner lot of Thomas E. Reeve was the house of Mr. Reeve's grandmother, the Widow Elizabeth Reeve. Her house was afterwards taken down and reconstructed by Thomas Hallock on the corner of the North Road and Pacific Street, and is the property of J. Wickham Reeve. The corner lot was owned a hundred years ago by John Clark, 3d,* shoemaker. In 1807 it was described as "Two acres of land, together with a good dwelling House and three out-houses, with a handsome Orchard containing about one acre, or one-half of the aforesaid premises, also a variety of other good fruit trees." This interesting description is given in a mortgage whereby the owner borrowed sixty dollars on the lot. Today two acres at the corner would be ex- cellent security for fifty times that amount.
The house of John C. Wells, across the highway from this lot, was not built until 1853, when Andrew Gildersleeve bought the land from James Shirley and erected his dwelling house and store. East of that, on the Glenwood property, stood the Barker house, removed by John Odell some twenty years later to its present location on Pike Street. The Barker house was then owned by Luther Reeve, and in its upper floor a private school was kept. Luther Reeve died in 1842, and twelve years later his widow, Elmyra Reeve, sold the house to Barnabas Pike. In the Joel Howell house dwelt Bethiah Pike, an unmarried daughter of Amasa.
*The John Clark, 3d, who owned the corner lot, married Lydia Horton, daughter of Deacon Jonathan, and was the father of Benjamin H., Silas H., Mary H. (Mrs. John Worth) and William. He was of a different branch of the Clark family from John, the Revolutionary soldier mentioned in Chapter V.
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On the road to Riverhead there were few houses sixty-five years ago. The old Horton house, south of the burying ground, had long been there and was then occu- pied by the Clarks. Deacon John Reeve's house stood under the big oak tree south of the old private lane that is now New Suffolk Avenue. Deacon John had origin-
THE HOUSE OF FRANK C. BARKER, ESQ. Probably built by Amasa Pike before 1800.
ally inherited one-half of the great farm of his father, 4tli James, but he was not successful financially, and grad- ually parted with his holdings until he had nothing left but the house and garden around it at the corner of New Suffolk Avenue. He and his wife, Keziah, daughter of Major Silas and Betliiah (Terrell) Horton, reared a large family of children, and their descendants are widely
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scattered. The house was later moved and stands be- tween Cutchogue and Peconic, a small hip-roofed house, across the way from Mrs. Eugene P. Robinson's farm- house. The property south of Deacon John Reeve's house passed, as much of his property did, to the Hubbards, who were relatives of his wife,* and from the Hubbards passed, in 1838, to Anson Reeve. This included the farm now of Mrs. Alice H. Worth Boutcher. Anson Reeve died suddenly in 1854, at the early age of thirty-seven .. Along the road, south of Deacon John Reeve's, was "a small piece of land called Vauxhall Garden," reserved by Temperance and Deborah Hubbard when they sold the adjoining property. This garden lay in the low land now belonging to Mrs. Mary Ann Chapman, near to the Bay Avenue.
On the Horton's Neck farm, now the place of John Hüsing, dwelt George Benjamin, youngest son of Isaiah, and brother of Austin W., John, Mrs. Sarah Goldsmith, Mrs. Mary Ann Reeve, Mrs. Harmony Tuthill, and Mrs. Hannah Tuthill. Next beyond stood the old house near Horton's Creek, the property now of Mrs. John C. Wells. In that house a hundred years ago lived Alexander Bush- nell, a school-teacher, whose wife was Sarah Wells, daughter of Craavit and Sarah (Reeve) Wells. Two of the Bushnell children lie buried in Mattituck. Descend- ants of the family reside at Morristown, N. J.
On the North Road, beyond the church and the hotel, there were few houses. The Methodist Episcopal and the Protestant Episcopal churches were not yet es- tablished in Mattituck. On the site of Postmaster Henry
*Barnabas Terrell's daughter Mary married John Hubbard, and his daughter Bethiah married Maj. Silas Horton.
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P. Tuthill's house stood an ancient dwelling, long the residence of Deacon Nathaniel Hubbard, and belonging to the Benjamins in the days just before the coming of the railroad. Next to it stood the house of Daniel Howell, the old Donovan house. Barnabas Bailey Horton had lately established himself on the farm where his grand- son Geo. Horton now resides. His wife was Hannah, the eldest daughter of Benjamin and Joanna (Corwin) Reeve. The ancient parsonage property, now in pos- session of Rev. Wm. A. Wasson and his brother, Rev. James B., was owned by Thomas Hallock, who then dwelt on the south side of the highway on the farm now occupied by David Jenkins. East of Thomas Hallock, on the canning factory site, dwelt Amaziah Corwin, father of Timothy, Samuel and Webb and a daughter Annie, who became the wife of Bethuel Howard. Daniel Downs dwelt where Mrs. John Bergen now lives, and B. C. Kir- kup's home was then the residence of David B. Hallock .* A few rods east, in a very old house since torn down, lived Mr. Hallock's mother, Charity, the widow of Ruport Hallock. The old lady survived her husband twenty-two years, dying in 1860 in her eighty-fifth year. Benjamin Goldsmith Hallock,t son-in-law of David B., resided in the Hallock homestead at the top of the school- house hill.
The place lately owned by Charles A. Mayo, also be-
*David B. Hallock was father of Thomas A. and Betsey A., and son of Ruport, who was son of 3rd Zerubbabel, son of 2nd, son of 1st Zerubbabel, son of Thomas, son of 1st William.
¡Benjamin Goldsmith Hallock married Betsey A., daughter of David B. Hallock. He was son of James, Esq., and Amelia Goldsmith, daughter of Rev. Benjamin. James Hallock, Esq., was son of James, son of 1st Zerubbabel.
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DEACON NATHANIEL HUBBARD'S HOUSE,
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longed to the Hallocks, having been sold by Ruport Hal- lock to Josiah R. Mayo in 1866. Opposite to Aldrich's Lane (formerly Osman's) in the old Osman homestead dwelt Josiah Mayo, the grandfather of Charles A., and father-in-law of the late George W. Howard. On the east side of Aldrich's Lane lived Tuthill Horton, the grandfather of Charles T. Jones, the present occupant. South of him lived Elisha Aldrich, father of Gilbert, the present occupant, following his father and grandfather, both of whom bore the good old name of Gershom. James Reeve lived where his son Herbert M. now dwells, and Chauncey P. Howell and George O. Hallock follow in possession their fathers, Sylvester Howell and Benja- min Laurens Hallock .*
Where Joseph W. Cooper now lives his grandfather, Sylvester Cooper, then resided. There was no Bergen Avenue at that time, and Cooper's private lane encircled the place now of Mrs. James Lindsey, reaching Cox's Lane in the depression known as Bramble's Hollow from one Bramble, who lived on an acre of land on the east of Cox's Lane, formerly owned by Webb Corwin and now part of the Howard estate. Bramble married the Widow of Webb Corwin, who was Abby Aldrich, daughter of Benjamin G.
Bethuel Hallockt lived in the James Lindsey house, and there was succeeded by his son, John Keyser Hallock. The residence now of Robert H. Lahy was then the home of Joel B. Hallock, son of Bethuel and brother of John K. "Little Neck," the place of the late
*Benjamin Laurens Hallock was son of Benjamin, son of Deacon Richard, son of 2d Zerubbabel.
*Bethuel Hallock was son of Zechariah, son of 2d Zerubbabel.
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Geo. W. Howard, was then owned and occupied by his uncle, Bethuel. Geo. W. Howard's first residence in Mat- tituck was the house at the foot of the hill, at the turn of Cox's Lane, now occupied by William Lahy. This was originally the house of Capt. Gilbert Davis, near the mouth of the Creek. Mr. Howard bought it, took it apart, hauled the pieces from the Sound, and rebuilt the house in its present position. Where Luther B. Cox lives was Lewis Goldsmith, grandson of the Rev. Benja- min. Most of Cox's Neck was owned and occupied by the sons of Richard Cox,* who built the mill in 1821.
The "Oregon" road was opened as an approach to the tide mill from the east. From Cox's Lane in Peconic to "Tusten" it was laid out in 1832, probably along a farm
*The author is indebted to Mr. G. W. Cocks, of Glen Cove, J. I., for the following abstract of the Cox family genealogy. The first of the family on Long Island was James Cock, who owned a lot on the Town street in Southold prior to 1659. (See Southold Printed Records, Vol. I., p. 206, where the name is misprinted Cook). He removed to Setauket, and in 1662 to Oyster Bay, where his descendants still abide and whence his great-great-grandson Richard came to Mattituck. He died in 1699, leaving children, Mary, Thomas, John, Hannah, Sarah, James, Henry and Martha. 2d James, the third son, was an- cestor of the Mattituck family. He married a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Prior) Feke, and had five sons and five daughters. The eldest son, Samuel (1702-1741), married Martha Alling, and had two sons and three daughters. The eldest son, 2d Samuel (1735 -1819), married Jemima Powell, and had children, Richard, Mary, Isaac and Elizabeth. Richard (1766-1851) mar- ried Abigail, daughter of Daniel and Sarah (Frost) Underhill, a descendant of the famous Capt. John Underhill. Richard was a farmer and drover, and frequently passed through Mattituck buying cattle. The region attracted him, and he bought the mill site. Of the eight sons who survived him, Samuel, John, Stephen and Allen settled in Mattituck, Daniel at Oyster Bay, Peter in the town of Flushing, and Charles and Isaac remained on the homestead at Brookville.
THE OLD TIDE-MILL.
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lane of Luther Hallock's .* The name "Oregon" was appropriately given to the territory lying to the northwest of Cutchogue by the Rev. Jonathan Huntting, supplying for a time the Cutchogue Church. Similarly the territory to the northeast of Cutchogue was called "Canada." The first settler on the Oregon road, east of Mill Lane, was Orrin T. Wiggins, who with his young wife settled there in the summer of 1836, purchasing their farm of Alanson Hallock. The nearest roads connecting with the main highway were Cox's Lane in Peconic and Mill Lane in Mattituck. Mr. and Mrs. Wiggins communicated with Cutchogue by paths through the woods, passing through nine sets of bars and two gates. The second house was built by Deacon Ira B. Tuthill, and ever since its erection has been occupied by Jacob Tuthill, his son, who is the oldest man in Mattituck. The third house was built by Parker S. Moore, and is now occupied by his son, Rensse- laer Moore .. The fourth was erected by Col. John Wick- ham, where Robert Waters now resides.
The part of the North Road between Mill Lane and the mill was occupied earlier. Third Barnabas Wines lived where Mrs. Joshua Terry now lives, and in 1736 he got the highway commissioners to lay out a highway from his house eastward to the farm of his son, 4th Barnabas, who owned the eastern half lot of the present Wines farm.t This highway joined no other highway, but
*This Luther Hallock was father of Luther and Alanson, brother of John the grandfather of Silas H., of Mattituck, and son of John of Cutchogue, who was son of Zebulon of Southold, who was son of 2d William, also of Southold, who was son of 1st William, one of the original settlers of Mattituck.
+The Commissioners of Highways describe the course of this road in the following somewhat indefinite terms: "From about
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doubtless connected with the farm road of the younger Barnabas Wines. The elder Barnabas could not enjoy a farm road of his own to the King's Highway because of the interference of Long Creek. Consequently he trav- eled east to his son's land and then south on his son's lane, reaching the King's Highway not far west of H. B. Lupton's. When Mill Lane was opened in 1826 it ran north to this old road of ninety years before and then probably followed the ancient road to the Creek. Every trace of the Wines Highway east of the head of Mill Lane is now obliterated. On the old road Benjamin Reeve settled in 1822, on the north side. There he was followed by his son, Deacon Henry, and by his grandson, Thos. H., the father of the late County Judge Benjamin H. Reeve and Justice of the Peace William B. Reeve. Not long after Benjamin Reeve settled on the North Road Silas H. Mapes and his wife, Hile Ann (a daugh- ter of William Wines), located where Perry S. Robinson now resides.
From Cutchogue to the Riverhead town line there was no public road leading south from the highway, except Aldrich's Lane, between the north and south roads, and from Mill Lane to Cox's Lane ( formerly Mapes' and then
the middle way of the length of said half lot (of 4th Barnabas Wines) near a west course to a black oak sappling in a hollow in Gershom Terry's land, and from thence to a black oak tree in Daniel Reeve his land, and from thence to a sassafras tree on the east side of Thomas Reeve his land, and so continuing the same course to a certain hollow near the bars in the line between the said Capt. Wines his lot of land and the said Thomas Reeve his land. The said Highway laid out as afore- said is in width twenty foot." If the above mentioned sassafras tree were still living it could be found at the crossing of the roads by the houses of Perry S. Robinson and Patrick Drum.
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