USA > New York > Chenango County > Oxford > Annals of Oxford, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and early pioneers > Part 25
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In the issue of the following week, Mr. Hunt states :
It will be seen that on the anniversary of the day from which we date our freedom-two or three parties were got up to celebrate that event. We regret that on this occasion such animosities among citizens of a town should exist, as to prevent a strict unity of feeling and good will for each other-and we hesitate not to say, that if a deaf ear was turned to the voice of demagogues and designing men and that if every individual viewed mankind as they ought that all men are born free, equal, and independent, that no dissentions, no jealousies and animosities would exist, but that all would be peace, harmony and concord among us-and we hope that when another year shall roll around that we may be as united in celebrating as were our fathers in achieving our independence.
On the light of Liberty you saw arise the light of Peace.
-WEBSTER.
Samuel Baldwin, M. D.
Samuel Baldwin, M. D., was born in November, 1756, in the town of Egremont, Berkshire County, Mass. At the age of 17 he was one of the drafted militia of his native State, and served in the Continental army at different periods thirteen months. In the year 1775 he was a " min-
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ute man," being called into active service soon after the battle of Lexington, on the 19th of April of that year. He joined the Continental troops at Boston, where he re- mained three months. In the following January he was one of the volunteers who marched into Canada, in prose- cution of one of the most difficult and perilous enterprises undertaken during the Revolutionary contest. Besides suffering from an attack of the smallpox at Montreal, on his way to that place, he marched in one day sixty miles, on the ice of Lake Champlain. In the spring of 1777 the army, under General Gates, having been obliged to re- treat before the combined British force of the North, Mr. Baldwin returned to Egremont much reduced and en- feebled by the hardships and privations which he had endured. He was drafted again in the following Septem- ber, and once more joined the army under General Gates. He was present at the battle of Saratoga and witnessed one of the most important events of the Revolution, the surrender of Burgoyne on the 17th of October, 1777. After this Mr. Baldwin devoted himself to study, and succeeded in acquiring a substantial education in the ordinary branches of English learning, together with a sufficient knowledge of the languages to enable him to begin the study of medicine. At the age of 28 he entered upon the practice of his profession in the town of West Stockbridge, Mass., where he continued for sixteen years, during which he was twice elected a Representative to the Legislature. In the year 1800, after the death of his wife, he removed to Wyoming, Pa., where he resided, with the exception of two years spent in Ohio, until he came to this village in 1819, where he spent the remainder of his life with his daughter, Mrs. Epaphras Miller. He died September 2, 1842, aged 86.
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Milo Porter.
Milo Porter, born in 1808 at Waterbury, Conn., came in early youth to Smithville, when he came to Oxford and purchased the farm now owned by M. E. Wooster, near the W. R. C. Home. Mr. Porter resided upon this place forty-five years, or until his death, which occurred August 27, 1899. Mrs. Porter died August 5, 1889. Children :
FIDELIA, married (1) Samuel A. Small, of Millbury, Mass .; married (2) Henry B. Stone, of Worcester, Mass., where she died in 1906.
PAULINE, resides in Oxford; unmarried.
WALKER, married Alice Brizee. Resides in Oxford. THEODORE L., died January 11, 1864, aged 14.
I have done the state some service, and they know it; No more of that; I pray you, in your letters, When you shall these unlucky deeds relate, Speak of me as I am; nothing extenuate, Nor set down aught in malice.
-- SHAKESPEARE.
Nathaniel Locke.
Nathaniel Locke came to Oxford as early as 1800, for he received the appointment of sheriff of Chenango County on the 12th of August, 1801, being the second person to hold that office in this county. He was also the second State senator from Chenango, serving four years from 1806, and was in the Assembly in 1810. Mr. Locke built the residence on Albany street, now occupied by Chas. W. Brown, Esq. He married Mary Hovey, daughter of Gen. Benjamin Hovey. His death occurred June 6, 1820, at the age of 54 years, Child :
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CHARLES FLOYD THOMAS LOCKE, was born in Oxford and became a prominent citizen and business man. He served several terms as deputy sheriff, and in 1851 rep- resented the town as supervisor, having been elected on the Whig ticket. He married in 1817. Addeliza Wood, who died May 25, 1854, aged 57 years. His second mar- riage was to Mrs. Eliza A. Willcox of Oxford, May 27, 1855. Her death occurred October 31, 1856, at the age of 38 years. Early in 1857 he went on a visit to Omaha, and on his return was taken ill in St. Louis, where he died May 13. Mr. Locke was very popular in the com- munity. A universal joker, he had a word for everybody and a curt reply for anything said to him. Whoever of his associates met him expected and received a return of real wit. He was one of the best hearted men, full of sympathy for the afflicted and an open hand for charitable purposes .. Children by first wife:
MARY G., born in 1818; died December 20, 1849, in Portsmouth, Ohio; married - Smith.
JOHN VAN NESS, born in 1820. He received the title of Major during his connection with a militia company in this village. In July, 1852, he went to California and his efforts in mining were favored by fortune. On the 17th of October of that year, while driving a loaded team between Stockton and the mines, the mules took fright and threw him to the ground, where the wheels of the wagon passed over him, terminating his existence. Mar- ried September 18, 1845, in Utica, Catherine Helen Clarke, born March 29, 1819, in Brookfield, N. Y. Children : Mary Elizabeth, married September 1, 1869, in Chicago, Edwin Hanson; residence, Denver. John Foote, residence, Denver. Child by second wife:
HELEN, married Clarence R. Miner of Oxford.
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I do remember an Apothecary, And hereabouts he dwells.
-SHAKESPEARE.
Samuel Ray Clarke, M. D.
Dr. Samuel Ray Clarke, brother of Ethan Clarke, born in Brookfield, N. Y., November 6, 1800, came to Oxford and opened an office on the west side of the river where he practiced, and later carried on the drug business, with the exception of one or two short periods, until his death, which occurred June 1, 1860. Married Susan Maxon, daughter of Capt. William Cheever, October 15, 1827, at Oriskany, N. Y., who survived him but a short time, her death occurring on the 29th of October, 1860. Four sons were born to them. Dr. Clarke had, at different times, associated with him as partners in the drug business, E. G. Babcock, and from September, 1846, till June, 1847, Dr. George Douglas. In April, 1856, he disposed of his stock of drugs and medicines to his sons William H. and Herbert R., who dissolved the copartnership in September, 1857, the former continuing the business till April, 1858, his store in the Clarke block having been burned in the preceding February, when Dr. Clarke again became pro- prietor. He was a man of very fair standing in his profes- sion, a good citizen, generous, public spirited and hos- pitable. Their children were:
HERBERT RAY CLARKE, born August 1, 1828, in Leonards- ville, N. Y .; married in Philadelphia, June 3, 1857, Mary Whitney, daughter of Eli Wescott Bailey, died October
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18, 1886, in Jersey City. Children : Herbert B., Fannie W., William H., Grace.
WILLIAM HENRY CLARKE, born March 21, 1832, in Ox- ford; died at St. Paul, Minn., January 17, 1862; married in Greene, July 28, 1857, Julia McMahon born in New Milford, Conn., September 5, 1836, died March 15, 1864, at Oxford. Had one child, Henry McMahon, born May 8, 1860, died March 11, 1864.
JAMES ORVILLE CLARKE, born May 11, 1836, at Oxford; married (1) July 11, 1860, Marie Louise, daughter of Dr. Austin and Jane (Perkins) Rouse of Oxford; married (2) March 17, 1881, Marian L., widow of Jacob Winants, and daughter of Chauncey and Rebecca Devendorf, at Savannah, Ga. Children by first wife: Fred Rouse, born April 17, 1861, at Oxford, died at Chicago, December 19, 1881; Charles Carter, born December 17, 1863, at Oxford, died April 17, 1894; Louise Maxson, born August 19, 1865, at Jersey City, married at Chicago, June 20, 1887, John Herbert. Children by second wife: Alma Marian, born in Savannah, Ga., February 12, 1882; James Or- ville, born in Ocala, Fla., August 4, 1887; John Dunn, born in Ocala, Fla., September 28, 1889.
SARAH CORNELIA CLARKE, born March 17, 1841; died September 26, 1842.
GEORGE CHEEVER CLARKE, born January 11, 1844, in Oxford; married in 1871, in Mt. Vernon, Ohio., Clemmie, daughter of John Gershaw and Elizabeth (Curtis) Plymp- ton, died July 17, 1886, in New York City. Children : Lizzie P., George H.
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Everybody's family doctor was remarkably clever, and was understood to have immeasurable skill in the management and training of the most skittish or vicious diseases. -GEORGE ELIOT.
Edward York, M. D.
Edward York, M. D., was born at North Stonington, Conn., August 26, 1797. He graduated at Yale Medical School, and in 1824 went to McDonough, where in August, 1825, he married Lydia Stratton. They lived for a time in East Smithville, now Tyner, he being the only physician that ever located there; then moved to Oxford, where his brother, Jeremiah York, and his sister, Mrs. Randall Maine, were living. Here he built a house on the west side of the river, but after about a year returned to McDonough and bought his father-in-law's farm, where he lived until about 1843, when failing health obliged him to give up both the farm and the practice of his profession. He moved to Oxford and bought a house on Mechanic street, where he died May 16, 1855. Mrs. York sold the homestead in 1877 and moved to Westfield, N. Y., to reside with her only son, George P. York. She died there on the 10th of February, 1888, aged 80. Dr. York was fond of his pro- fession, and in many of his ideas was in advance of the thought and practice of his time. He was a man of excel- lent character, but his timidity, resulting from a want of confidence in his abilities, unfitted him for the profession. Children :
MINERVA, married Abel Patchen.
MARY, unmarried.
RACHEL, married Zacharias Paddock.
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GEORGE P., died August 19, 1888, in Westfield, aged 50; unmarried.
MARIA, died January 26, 1855, aged 15.
ACHSA, married Dr. William H. Tanner; died in August, 1904, at Waterbury, Conn.
ALICE, unmarried
JENNY, married in 1873 J. Arthur Skinner of West- field, N. Y.
Thomas Brown.
Thomas Brown, whose death occurred April 2, 1848, at the age of 68 years, at an early day lived upon the farm now occupied by the Woman's Relief Corps Home. His wife, Rebecca Jewell, who died June 8, 1843, at the age of 58 years, was a sister of Gilbert Jewell, a well known farmer of North Guilford, (born October 12, 1794; died June 16, 1876). Mr. Brown was a builder of bridges and mills, and was associated with Theodore Burr, a prominent bridge builder in the early days of this town. He built the long bridge at Sunbury, Pa., over the Susquehanna river, and it was there while engaged in this work his daughter, Sarah J., who married Levi Nichols, was born. His son, George T. Brown, who resided at the head of Albany street, died, April 16, 1882. Sarah, his wife, died January 7, 1892. His other children were: Alpheus, Gurdon, and William. Mrs. Brown was a daughter of Elisha Jewell of Trenton, N. J., who owned a stage coach line running between Tren- ton and New York and Philadelphia.
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Thou know'st that all my fortunes are at sea. -SHAKESPEARE.
Hatch Family.
The following record of the Hatch family in this country begins with Elisha Hatch, born in 1689, the record not giving his birth place. He died April 15, 1770, in Green River, Columbia, county, N. Y.
Among his children was Samuel, born June -, 1720, in Rhode Island; died April 30, 1797, in Hillsdale, N. Y. He was a sea captain and his mate was John Sweet, and the two owned the vessel they cruised in. After the death of Sweet, Captain Hatch married the widow of his mate. Captain Hatch followed the sea forty years, and then bought a farm in Hillsdale. Children :
SAMUEL, was drowned while at sea with his father. The body was recovered and buried at Hadam, Conn. At one time he was with a shipwrecked crew, and they were several days without food. Finally one night, becoming desperate from hunger, they resolved that the next day they would draw cuts to decide who should be sacrificed to save the lives of the remainder of the crew. But when morning dawned a vessel appeared, which rescued them from their perilous position and from the horrible ordeal they had planned to put in practice but a few hours before. At another time his crew were taken by the Morgans and they again suffered for lack of food, but for not as long a period.
JOHN, born May 4, 1761; was drowned July 26, 1839, in the Chenango river at South Oxford; married March 22, 1790, Martha Bassett, died June 3, 1850, in Oxford, aged 86 years. John was the only heir to his father's ( Captain
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Samuel Hatch's) property in Hillsdale, which was a part of the VanRensselaer claim. When the court decided it belonged to VanRensselaer John was left with scarcely anything, and moved to Oxford, where he bought land three miles below the village, upon which he remained until his death. Children :
HANNAH, born May 11, 1791; died in childhood at Hills- dale.
SAMUEL, born October 13, 1792, at Hillsdale.
JOHN S., born July 26, 1794, at Hillsdale; died of fever and ague February 13, 1846, in Oxford; married January 1, 1834, Irene Kilbourn, born March 30, 1815, at Hawley, Mass. Child: Thomas J., born October 28, 1834, in Ox- ford; married Mary E. Scoville at Mt. Morris, N. Y .; (children, John S., Ida J., Orra, Ira M.). Jane Eliza, born October 29, 1836, in Oxford; married March 7, 1854, A. D. Snyder, at Cuba, N. Y .; (children, Allen, Ivan, Ethel, died January-, 1892; Evelyn, married Walter P. Boname of Oxford; died February -, 1894; child, William). Francis Irene, born April 26, 1844, in Oxford; married William Kellar October 18, 1863, at Cuba, N. Y.
SALLY, born May 16, 1796, at Hillsdale; died January 17, 1892, in Oxford; married (1) John I. Powers; married (2) Shubel Bliss.
CHARLES C., born March 10, 1798, at Hillsdale.
HANNAH, 2d born December 1, 1801, at Hillsdale; died August 19, 1875, in Oxford; married September 11, 1832, Ira Merrill in Oxford, born November 10, 1806, in Water- bury, Conn. Ira Merrill's second wife was Mrs. Irene Hatch, widow of John S. (Children of Hannah and Ira : Martha, born October 31, 1833; died September 23, 1864; married November 29, 1854, Edgar Hull. Evalina, born April 23, 1836; died January 13, 1854. Mary M., born November 29, 1839; died April 10, 1870. )
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MARGARET, born January 12, 1803, at Hillsdale, N. Y .; died June 14, 1883, in Oxford ; married September 9, 1833, Benjamin R. Barber of Oxford, born November 11, 1802; died November 9, 1891. Children: Charles Oscar, born December 4, 1834, in Oxford; married in 1857 Celinda O. Finch; fitted himself for a teacher; was in Civil war, after which located in Kansas. Sarah, born June 2, 1837, in Oxford ; died March 22, 1901, in Oxford; unmarried. Irene, born February 29, 1840; married (1) John Lord of Ox- ford; (2) George Salvage of Bolivar, N. Y., where she resides. Thomas A., born March 9, 1843; during Civil war enlisted in 89th N. Y. S. Regt. in August, 1861; wounded December -, 1862, and after several months in hospital was discharged and returned home May 20, 1863; died July 29, 1863. John W., born July 28, 1846; died August 20, 1848.
THOMAS, born March 29, 1806, in Hillsdale, N. Y .; died October 3, 1829, in New Troy, Pa.
Labour, wide as the earth, has its summit in heaven. -CARLYLE. 1
William Lett.
William Lett, born in 1820 at Timacross, County Wex- ford, Ireland ; died December 9, 1895, in Oxford; married in 1845 Catherine, daughter of Edward D'Arcey and Bar- bara Kirkman (Hodges) Clifford of Ashfield and Castle Annesley, County Wexford, Ireland. They left the " Green Isle " in 1851 and after a long and tedious voyage arrived in America and located in Oxford. Mrs. Lett was born in 1830 and with two daughters still resides in Oxford. Mr.
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Lett was an industrious and persevering man, and in a short time was able to provide a comfortable home for his family. He assisted in laying out Riverview cemetery and lived to see a large majority of his early acquaintances taken their for their final rest. In later years he twice visited his native land, but still had a fond affection for his adopted country. Children :
ELIZABETH, a sister in the Loreto Convent, Gary, Ire- land.
RICHARD, went to Texas, and nothing heard from him in years.
CHARLES, died March 10, 1906, in Oxford.
MARGARET J., married Thomas Nowlan of Binghamton. Since his death has resided in Oxford.
SARAH F., unmarried.
Only the Actions of the just Smell sweet and blossom in the dust.
-SHIBLEY.
William E. Chapman.
William E. Chapman was born in Ithaca May 10, 1806. His mother died when he was young and the family was quite broken up. Mr. Chapman went to New York, learned the printer's trade and spent several years there with the Harpers, who thought very much of him. He became a member of the " Marine Temperance Society of the Port of New York," and was an earnest, faithful worker in the temperance cause the rest of his life. He came to Oxford about the year 1828, and on the 10th of December of that year, with Daniel Mack, purchased the Chenango Repub-
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lican, then published in this village by Benjamin Corry. On March 3, 1831, Mr. Chapman and T. T. Flagler com- menced a new series and soon after changed the name to The Oxford Republican. In 1838 Mr. Chapman became sole proprietor and continued the business of publisher, and also conducted a book store for a few years, when he sold to J. Taylor Bradt, and purchased the farm now owned and occupied by O. M. Westover. After several years spent upon the farm he retired from active business pursuits and returned to the village to spend his remaining days.
Mr. Chapman was a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and had witnessed its growth in this village from the erection of the first edifice, and was actively identified with its welfare through his long and worthy life. For more than ten years he was a member of the Board of Trustees of Oxford Academy. In his life he manifested the qualities of the good citizen, the kind neigh- bor, and steadfast friend and patron of the religious and educational interest of the community. His death occur- red August 21, 1887, at the age of 81 years. Mr. Chapman was twice married. His first wife was Harriet Sellick, who died June 19, 1829, leaving three daughters and one son :
EMILY, married David C. Bronson, and died in 1872. Children: William C., married Ella E. Painter; has one daughter, Mrs. E. W. Tallman. Henry W., married Carrie Wiltsie; has one daughter, Imogene. Carrie J., died in 1857. Addie I., married John Tyler.
HARRIET ELIZABETH, still resides in Oxford; married Henry B. Willcox, now deceased.
THOMAS E., was a member of the 44th N. Y. Cavalry during Civil war, and now a member of the G. A. R .; mar- ried (1) S. Arline Westover; married (2) Ida M. Birdle-
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bough. Children by first wife: Clarence W., married Maggie C. Carter; have one son, Stuart R. Alice May.
ARMINTA M., married Charles W. Miles, and died at Saratoga February 23, 1881. Had one son, C. Grosvenor, now living in New York.
Mr. Chapman's second wife was Sarah L., daughter of Rev. Peter Lowe, born at Flatbush, L. I., in 1804, and died in Oxford January 19, 1887, aged 82. She was a sister of Mrs. Gerardus VanDerLyn, came here in 1829 and was married to Mr. Chapman in April 1840. Had one daughter :
SARAH ELIZA, married Osmer M. Westover.
Our country ! in her intercourse with foreign nations, may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong. -STEPHEN DECATUR.
Independence Day, 1852.
Oxford has been famous in times past for its Cork Island duel, the great Greek ball, and the celebrated Bridge bee. Matters of so much notoriety as to have found their way into the history of the county. We now place before our readers a description of the Fourth of July celebration in 1852, which was carried out in the good old fashioned way.
Thirteen guns saluted the rising sun, and the merry peal of the village bells fell harmoniously upon the waking senses of our citizens. Long before the hour assigned for the commencement of the exercises a larger gathering than had ever before assembled in our town had congregated upon Lafayette Square. The Oxford Guards, led by
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Colonel John C. Bowers, were out in all their glory, and full of the original spirit. The members of the Fire Com- pany, in neat and uniform dress, with Niagara engine decorated with flowers, also took a part in the exercises. At 10 o'clock the procession formed in front of the Stage House, Major Samuel A. Gifford acting as marshal and Colonel Solomon Bundy as assistant, and moved to Wash- ington Square, marching to the stirring sound of martial music. Then, after an eloquent prayer by the Rev. S. Han- son Coxe, and music by the Gilbertsville Brass Band, the Declaration of Independence was read by Benjamin Sher- wood, Esq. An exceedingly appropriate oration was then pronounced by James W. Glover, Esq., who adorned its close by a graceful and elegant address to a surviving soldier of the Revolution, present upon the platform, Mr. Ebenezer Terry of Guilford, aged 99.
.
During its delivery a wagon fantastically decorated and filled with some dozen young men, evidently bound on a spree, entered the village from the north. As it advanced they struck up a lively air, discoursing music from tin- horns, old pans, drums, and cowbells. Proceeding to the ground where the exercises were in progress, it was evident that a disturbance was contemplated. They were warned not to go on the ground, but not heeding the kindly warn- ing, their vehicle was suddenly arrested in its progress, the music silenced, the instruments abandoned, and the serenading party, driving their detached horses before them, beat a precipitate retreat and disappeared in a sorry plight in the direction from which they came. Their wagon found a calm retreat in the waters of the Chenango. The incident furnished material for many humorous jokes, and will explain some allusions made at the feast.
At the close of the oration three enthusiastic cheers were given for the reader and the orator. The benediction was
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pronounced by the Rev. Henry Callahan. Cheered by a lively piece from the band, the procession again formed and marched to LaFayette Square, where beneath the shade of a pleasant arbor a sumptuous dinner was pre- pared. An ox had been roasted whole for the occasion, and 520 persons sat down to the entertainment. Great numbers were unable to obtain seats at the table and dined at the hotels. After the cloth was removed the thirteen regular toasts were called for, each one being followed by three hearty cheers, one gun, and music by the band. The following toasts were then given :
By David Brown, President of the day .- Generals Scott and Pierce ; Each leading a great army to battle. May the fight be an honorable one; and may the vanquished party render cheerful obedience to the rule of the victors.
Received with three hearty cheers.
By Ransom Balcom, Esq .- The Orator and Reader of the Day: Not like prophets who are without honor in their own country-their talents are properly appreciated at home.
To this Henry S. Monroe responded. He arose amid tremendous cheers and made a most brilliant and effective speech. He alluded in the most felicitous terms to the sacrificing of the ox, and to the artist who had rendered him immortal. He spoke of the glory and recollections of the day, and paid a high compliment to the patriotism of the citizens of Oxford. At the close of a most judicious and entertaining speech he presented :
The name of Ransom Balcom: The true Patriot, the distinguished Advocate, and the gifted Artist. (Mr. Balcom engraved the cut repre- senting the ox upon the bills.)
Six cheers were given and Mr. Balcom was loudly called for. His response was eloquent and patriotic. He alluded to the fact that Oxford was the only place in the county where an ox had ever been roasted whole. He said in olden times a certain people made a golden calf, which they
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could not eat, but worshipped; that the citizens of this place, discarding the ancient example set them, had slaughtered an ox, which they roasted whole and fed to the multitude. The calf of olden time was only food for the eye, whereas the ox of to-day was food for the stomach. There was no artist who had given us a picture of the golden calf, but if his friend (Monroe) was to be credited, there was one who had furnished a cut for the roasted ox, and had thus rendered the real four-footed beast of the day immortal. His speech throughout was exceedingly appropriate to the occasion.
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