USA > New York > Oneida County > Our county and its people; a descriptive work on Oneida county, New York; > Part 99
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Hudson, Joel, was born in Stockport, County Cheshire, England, January 29, 1840, son of Thomas and Mary (Cheatham) Hudson. His mother with four children came to America in 1854 and located in Rome, where she resided until her death in 1862. Her children were Henry, Joel, Sarah M. (Mrs. Jacob Groff), and Martha, deceased. Joel Hudson was reared in England and Oneida county, N. Y. He received a com- mon school education, and began life as a farm laborer, which he followod until 1864, when he purchased a farm of ninety-three acres in Lee, which he sold and now owns two adjoining farms in the same town, comprising 145 acres. In February, 1864, he married Sarah, daughter of William and Alvira (Dunbar) Robinson, of Lee, by whom he has one daughter, Edith (Mrs. Frank Affolter). Mr. Hudson started in life with nothing, and by his own efforts has secured a competency. He is a mem- ber of the F. & A. M. Mrs. Alvira Robinson will be eighty-five years old the 19th day of May, 1896. She has three daughters living: Sarah Hudson Stokes; Samantha Rector, Utica; Mary Perkins, Lee Center.
Jones, Owen E., was born on the farm where he now resides. His father, William Jones, was a farmer by occupation. He and wife were very active in church work. He married Eleanor, daughter of John and Mary Edwards. William Jones settled in Utica, coming from Anglesay, North Wales, about 1832, and to Floyd in 1841. Mr. and Mrs. William Jones had eight children: John J., Mary S., Catherine, Ellen Roberts, William J., Hugh W. (deceased), Owen E .. and Jane A., all of whom are
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residents of this county except John, who is in Canastota. Owen E. married Sarah J., daughter of Even T. Jones, of Pickett, Wis, by whom he has two children: Edith Ellen, and Emrys Tutur. Mr. Jones is a farmer by occupation, and is active in town affairs. He is a charter member of Camroden Patrons of Industry and has held all the offices in the I. O. G. T. Lodge; also of the Sabbath school and is now secretary and deacon of the C. M. church.
Davis, Pratt M., was born in Deerfield, N. Y., December 3, 1849, oldest son of John H. and Ellen M. (Smith) Davis, nativesof Deerfield. The grandparents, Rowland and Margaret (Roberts) Davis, were natives of Wales, and came to America about 1817, settling near Deerfield Corners. Mr. Davis died in 1853, and Mrs. Davis in 1846. The great-grandfather of Pratt M., Jonathan Davis, was a miller and con- ducted a large grist mill in Wales. In early life John H. Davis was engaged in gen- eral mercantile business at Deerfield. This he gave up and engaged in farming un- til his death in September, 1885, at the age of sixty-four years. Mrs. Davis is still living and resides on the farm. Pratt M. was reared on the farm, and has always been engaged in farming. He conducts the home farm of 110 acres, and also has fifty acres of his own on which he resides. December 3, 1890, he married Mary A., daughter of Charles S. and Mary (Jones) Balcom of Redfield, Oswego county, by whom he has three children: Ella I., born March 10, 1892; Charles R., born Septem- ber 28, 1893, and Alta Mary, born April 4, 1895.
Dorrance, W. H., was born in the town of Florence, Oneida county, July 18, 1844. He is one of nine children, and was educated in the district schools of Florence and Whitestown Semieary. He has for twenty-five years been engaged in the hardware trade, and now conducts one of the largest retail hardware stores in Camden, known as W. H. Dorrance & Son. He married Emma Fifield, of Camden, by whom he had four children: Franklin F, John P., Bertha and Anna. Mr. Dorrance is a Repub- lican in politics.
Nelson, William H., M. D., was born in the town of Westmoreland, Oneida county, N. Y., April 25, 1830, son of Elijah P. Nelson, who was born in Stillwater. The grandfather, Moses Nelson, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war and was an eye witness of the murder of his mother by the Indians. Elijah Nelson married Mary, daughter of Joseph Wallace of Rome, formerly of Rensselaer county. They had three children: George W., M. D., Mary E. and William H. The latter began read- ing medicine with Dr. J. V. Cobb, of Rome, and later graduated with honor from the Jefferson Medical College, of Philadelphia, Pa. In 1857 he began practicing in Taberg; where he is at the present time. He married Mary L. Wheelock, by whom had three children: Charles W., a farmer; William W., a doctor, a graduate of the University of the City of New York; and Stuart W., also a graduate of that institu- tion, now a physician in the Kings County Hospital. Dr. William H. Nelson was acting assistant surgeon in the late war, and supervisor of the town of Annsville in 1874, '78, '84, '88, '89. He is a member of the N. Y. State Medical Association, American Medical Association and the Oneida County Medical Society.
Clark, John F., was born in the town of Florence, August 2, 1861. He was the son of Thomas Clark, who was born in Albany, July 4, 1835, and came to the town of Florence when one year of age with his father, Mathew Clark, who was born in
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Ireland. It is said that the grandmother of our subject was the first Irish woman in the town of Florence. Thomas Clark, who wasa farmer by occupation and still resides in the town, married Rose Morris, of Ireland, and to them have been born nine chil- dren, six of whom are living: Peter, Mary, William, Lizzie, Fannie and John F. Peter and William are proprietors of the Grove Hotel; William is serving his third term as supervisor. The subject of our sketch, John F., was educated in the schools of Florence and for the past twelve years has been one of the leading merchants of the town, doing a general county business. In politics he is a Democrat. In 1888 he was elected supervisor and served three terms, was town clerk two years and is now serving as postmaster. In 1890 he married Anna C. Crowley of Oswego, a Normal School graduate, who was principal of the Florence village school for five years. Two children have been born to them, one of whom is living, Rose Marie.
Taft, Rufus, was born in the town of Annsville, N. Y., May 12, 1831, son of Lyman and Betsey (Storey) Taft. The grandfather, Daniel Taft, came from Connecticut and settled in this town when it was a wilderness, as early as 1806. Rufus Taft was educated in the town of Annsville, and was for many years a boatman, but is now engaged in farming, owning a farm of ninety-six acres, most of which is improved. In 1861 he enlisted in the 81st N. Y. Vols., served until the close of the war, and was in many noted battles, such as Petersburg, Cold Harbor, etc. He married Clarissa A., daughter of David Putnam, by whom he had four children: David H., Cornelia N., Genevieve and Frank M., who, in connection with his oldest brother, David H., conducts a prosperous livery business and stage route in Taberg village and sur- rounding towns and villages. Mr. Taft is a member of Ballard Post, No. 551, G. A. R., and in politics is a Republican.
Smith, Clarence D., was born in Rome, May, 31, 1865, son of Daniel and Cleore (Peck) Smith, grandson of Daniel, and great-grandson of Arnold Smith, a native of Rhode Island, who settled in Steuben, Oneida county, about 1800, where he engaged in the merchandise business and operated a potash factory. He later removed to the town of Western, where he engaged in farming, and finally located in North Bay, N. Y., where he died. Daniel Smith, his son, was a farmer nearly all his life in the towns of Steuben and Western, and died in the town of Rome, at ninety years of age. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and one of the few who adhered to Masonry after the Morgan feud. Daniel, his son, and father of Clarence D., was born in Steuben, September 15, 1815, began life as a carpenter and joiner and at thirty years of age engaged in farming in the town of Rome, where he died June 18, 1884. He was identified with the State militia twenty-five years, and most of that period was cap- tian of a company of artillery. His wife, a native of Rome, was a daughter of Capt. Gates Peck, a veteran of the war of 1812, who came from Norwich, Conn., to Rome in 1803, a granddaughter of Phineas Peck, who served in the Revolutionary war, marched from Norwich, Conn., at the Lexington alarm, served under Generals Sul- livan, Gates, and Count D'Estaing and was present at the surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga, and a descendant of Deacon Henry Peck, who, in 1637, sailed fron England in the ship Hector, and settled in New Haven, Conn., on land, a portion of which is still owned by his descendants. Clarence D. was reared in Rome, educated in the public schools, began life as a farmer, in which he is still interested, and is also engaged in milling and dealing in all kinds of agricultural implements in the h
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
village of Delta. He is a member of the P. of H. His grandfather, Capt. Gates Peck, named the present village of Delta.
Wolfe, George, son of George Wolfe, was born in Deerfield, Oneida county, N. Y., October 12, 1840. He was reared on a farm, and has always followed farming and market gardening. In 1872 he married Barbara Geerer, of Utica, by whom he has one daughter, Henrietta M. Mrs. Wolfe died in 1881, and he married for his second wife, Mary Reusswig, daughter of William and Katherine Reusswig, of Utica, by whom he has two sons: William G., born in 1885, and George E., born in 1886.
Amann, Magdalen .- The late Anthony Amann was born in Alsace, France, No- vember 4, 1835, and came to the United States September 25, 1855. He was edu- cated in the schools of his native place, and in the evening schools in Vernon, N. Y. He was a bootmaker by trade in his early life, and afterwards engaged in farming, in which he was very successful. April 14, 1863, he married Magdalene Stoltz, of the town of Vernon, formerly of his native place, who came from Alsace, France, with her parents when a year old, by whom he had seven children: John, who died at fourteen years of age; Mary R., who died at seven years of age; Joseph N., who died in infancy ; Francis A. ; Theresa J. ; Magdalene K. ; and Mary W. Francis A. married Elizabeth M. Quarty, and they had five children: Josie, who died in infancy ; Mary M .; Florence L .; John J. ; Anna M. Theresa J. married Lewis Ritter, of Oneida, and they had four children : William J., Frederick 1)., Mary R., and Louis. Mr. Amann died March 10, 1887. Mrs. Amann's father, John Stoltz, was born in Alsace, France, September 26, 1817. He was educated there and came to the United States when about twenty years of age. After a time he returned to his native place and married Mary E. Stoltz, and returned to the land of his adoption. They had seven children: Magdalene, as above, Rachina, Francis, John, Joseph, Lewis, and Lawrence. Mr. Stoltz was a blacksmith by trade, and afterwards a farmer. He died January 13, 1892, and his wife December 7, 1888. The ancestry of the family is German and French.
Lowe, Charles, was born near London, England, December 6, 1839. He was partly educated there, and came to the United States in 1850, locating at Pratt's Hollow, Madison county, N. Y. When seventeen years of age he went to Norwich, Chenango county, where he learned the tanner's trade, and in 1864 he came to Oneida, where he worked for Hon. George Berry for fifteen years, most of the time as foreman. In 1877 he purchased the David and Hezekiah Brooks farm, improving it in many ways, erecting a new residence, barns, and fences. October 25, 1860, he married Mary J. Manchester, of Pratt's Hollow, by whom he had seven children: Nellie I., Roscoe C., Fenton E., Cora M., George E., Libbie J., and Jesse E., who died in infancy. Nellie I. married John B. Williams, now of Denver, Col., and they have one son, Paul L. Cora M. married George Clark, of Oneida, N. Y., and they have one son, Charles L. Fenton E. is a resident of Quincy, Mass. Mr. Lowe's father, Thomas Lowe, was born at the old home in England, in 1810. He married Elizabeth Thaxter, of Elson, by whom he had nine children: John, William, James, Charles, as above, Robert, Walter, Septimus, and Sarah and Elizabeth, twins. The family came to the United States in 1850. Mrs. Lowe died in. England about 1848, and for his second wife Mr. Lowe married Sarah Barnes. Mr. Lowe died
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in 1872. Mrs. Lowe's father, William Manchester, was born in Rhode Island. He was educated there, and married Catherine Oderkirk, of Hoosick, by whom he had thirteen children, only two of whom are now living: Mary J., and James. Mr. Man- chester died in 1836, and his wife in 1861. Mr. Lowe has been a member of Oneida Lodge, No. 270, F. & A. M., since 1867, of which he was master in 1895. He has held the office of assessor six years. The ancestry of the family is English on both sides.
Hicks, William Harrison, was born in Western, Oneida county, August 28, 1824, son of Alpheus and Mary (Lane) Hicks, natives of Massachusetts and New York respectively. His paternal grandfather, David Hicks, was one of the four original settlers of Western, where he located in 1788 and cleared and improved a farm from the wilderness, and there he died. He assisted in building a bridge across the Mo- hawk River, this side of Albany, near Elmer Hill in Western, in 1798, also assisted in organizing the First Baptist church in Steuben, now called Western, was an ex- horter and deacon in this church. He brought a bushel of potatoes on his back through the wilderness from Whitesboro to his home, a distance of fifteen miles in 1789. He married Mary Sprague. Alpheus Hicks was born in 1775, and from thir- teen years of age lived on the old homestead in Western, where he died in 1861. During the war of 1812 he was in the service of the United States in the transporta- tion of provision and other necessaries for the Federal army. He married Mary, daughter of George and IIannah (Wiggins) Lane, a descendant of the Lanes who came over in the Mayflower in 1620. Her father assisted in throwing the tea over - board in Boston Harbor, and was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. Mr. and Mrs. Hicks were the parents of thirteen children, nine of whom grew to maturity: Han- nah, Ephraim, Jacob, Isaac, Mary, Sarah, John, Eliakim, and William H., of whom the latter and Sarah are the only survivors. William Harrison Hicks owns the old homestead in Western, where all but fifteen years of his life has been spent. Since 1884 he has resided in Delta. In September, 1855, he married Angeline E., daughter Alfred and Rhoda (Denison) Martin, of Floyd, Oneida county, N. Y.
Verdon, James H., was born in the town of Boonville, N. Y., the son of John, who was born in Canajoharie, Montgomery county, in 1822, the youngest of four sons and five daughters born to Henry I. and Elizabeth (Castler) Yerdon. Henry I. was the son of John, great-grandfather of James H. of Mohawk Dutch ancestry, a soldier in the Revolutionary war, where he was badly wounded. He was a farmer by occu- pation and spent his life in Montgomery county. Henry I. was a carpenter by trade and spent his last days in Boonville, living with his son John, where he died in 1858. His wife died in the town of Canajoharie, Montgomery county, in 1825. John, father of James H., came to Boonville in March, 1837, at the age of fifteen and worked in the lumber woods for his brother-in-law at $5.00 per month. Seven years later he purchased 100 acres of timber land and began lumbering and farming, and later added thereto until he owned 425 acres. He has also been engaged in the saw mill business, but since 1889 has been retired from the more active work, leasing hislarger farm and conducting the smaller one. In 1846 he married Lovina, daughter of Jacob Bellinger, by whom he had four children: Mary E., Emma A. Jackson, James H., Mrs. Addie Wollaber. James H was born July 6, 1854, in a log house just a short distance north of the present house that marks the place, which was erected the
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same year that he was born, located five miles south of Boonville village, on the west side of the Lansingkill and Black River Canal. Received a limited education in the common schools, assisting his father in lumbering and farming until he was twenty-one years of age. February 14, 1878, he married Alice C., daughter of George H. Wollaber, of Steuben, to which town he moved and engaged in farming. He owns 170 acres of land and carries on general farming, but is especially interested in the breeding of Holstein-Friesian cattle. Mr. and Mrs. Yerdon are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, he having been Sunday school superintendent sev- eral seasons, trustee and steward. March 3, 1896, Mr. Yerdon was elected for a term of two years, to represent his town as supervisor.
Van Buskirk, Marcus, was born in Western, December 11, 1829, a son of John and Catherine (Casler) Van Buskirk. His paternal grandfather, Lawrence Van Buskirk, of Holland Dutch descent, was among the pioneers of Floyd, Oneida county, where he engaged in farming and where he died. His maternal grandfather, Marcus Casler, was a pioneer farmer and blacksmith of Western. John Van Buskirk, father of Marcus, was a native of Floyd, and in early manhood settled in Western, cleared a farm, and assisted in building the Black River Canal. He was for several years prominently identified with the quarry interest of the county, being superin- tendent of several stone quarries, and lived for many years on what is now known as the Stephen Rogers farm. His children were Marcus, Martha (Mrs. William Norton) and Martin. Marcus Van Buskirk was reared in Western, where he has always resided. He followed boating on the canal for twenty-five years, and has
since been engaged in farming. March 28, 1850, he married Hannah, daughter of William and Phoebe (Brooks) Whipple, pioneers of Steuben, by whom he had two children (twins): Henry T. and Helen H., both deceased. Mrs. Van Buskirk is a member of the M. E. church. Mr. Van Buskirk is a Democrat in politics, and has been commissioner of highways two years.
McClements, James, was born October 20, 1843, in the town of Ballykelly, County Down, Ireland; his parents, Grace and Robert McClements, were well to do farmers and had nine children. James, the eighth child, at the age of seventeen came to America where he became a butcher. After working a year at the butcher business he enlisted as a soldier in the 16th N. Y. Vols., Co. H. From exposure while on duty he contracted ailments which resulted in deafness and chronic diseases for which he is now pensioned. After returning from the war he continued the butcher business and also worked in the Globe Woolen mill of Utica as a weaver, and in 1882 com- menced farming. In 1871 married Charlotte Simmons, by whom he had nine chil- dren: Robert S., W. J., George, James S., Grace E., George E., Charles S., Albert F., Francis Harvey. Of the nine children, two have died, George and Grace E. McClements. Robert S., W. J. and James S. have attended the Whitesboro and N. Y. Mills schools. James and Robert have attended the Utica graded schools. In 1891 Mr. McClements removed to Marcy, where he now resides. He is active in educational and religious works.
Chrestien, Martin, was born in France, September 22, 1819, son of Joseph and Mary Ann Chrestien, and was one of three children, Nicholas and Mary Ann being the other two. Martin came here in 1842, and was followed by his father in 1848.
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He married Margaret, daughter of Francis N. and Annie Rougert, who were among the early settlers of the town of Rome. Their children were Augustus, Theodora, Hattie Lynch, Frank, Alfred Louisa, Olive Harding, Charles, Edward, Adelaide, and Mary. In early life Martin was a weaver by trade, which he followed until he settled in Oneida county, when he engaged in farming, and from 1866 to 1892 kept the hotel at McConnellsville, but has now retired from business. He has been an active Democrat, and was elected overseer of the poor, serving two terms.
Benton, Eugene C., was born at Sherburne, Chenango county, N. Y., March 23, 1846, son of Sylvester C. and Fannie A. Benton, who settled in this county about 1852, and who have three children: Emerette C. Reed, Lucretia A. Simmons, and Eugene C. Benton. Sylvester Benton was a painter and carpenter by trade, and is now living retired. He was a veteran in the late war and belonged to the 117th Regt. N. Y. Vols., enlisted as a teamster and returned as a wagonmaster. He is a mem- ber of Post Bacon of Utica. Eugene C. married Kate M., daughter of Henry and Mary Ann Peek, by whom he has four children: Henry E., Eugene C., jr., Fannie and Samuel M. Mr. Benton learned the painter's trade at twelve years of age; he also clerked for several firms, and was interested in the manufacture of bricks; but late years has been engaged in farming, dealing in produce and the breeding of fine Jersey cattle. Henry E. attended the Colgate University of Hamilton, N. Y. Mr. Benton belongs to the Orient Lodge No. 224 F. & A. M. of Utica, N. Y., also Wash- ington Chapter No. 212 of New York city.
Towsley, Dr. William Dealton, was born in Oneida county, December 14, 1856. In 1857 his parents moved to Sandy Creek, Oswego county, N. Y., where he spent his boyhood days on the farm and attended the district schools, and later became a pupil in the Union High School of Sandy Creek, where he remained one year, and then entered Pulaski Academy, where he spent three years. After teaching school two winters at Port Ontario, N. Y., entered the office of Dr. Frank S. Low, of Pulaski, and began the study of medicine. In 1878 he entered the University of New York City, from which he was graduated with honors March 8, 1881, and be- gan practicing at South Richland, N. Y. In the spring of 1887 he located in the thriving village of Camden, where two years later he erected a fine residence at No. 135 Main street. In June, 1881, he was elected a member of the Oswego County Medical Society, and in 1887, a member of the Oneida County Medical Society. While a resident of South Richland he was postmaster and coroner of the county. April 27, 1881, he married Jennie, the only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Calkins, of Dexter, Jefferson county, and they have one daughter. Dr. and Mrs. Towsley have been members of the Methodist church many years.
Paddock, Daniel, was born in the town of Steuben, Oneida county, N. Y., Febru- ary 20, 1834, a son of James Paddock, who was born in the town of Western, April 12, 1804. James Paddock was a farmer and always resided in the towns of Steuben and Western. He married Susan Edick, of Herkimer county, N. Y., by whom he had ten children: James H., Mary A., Daniel, Loleyann, Joseph, David, George, Philo, Susan, and Nettie. Daniel Paddock was educated in the town of Steuben, then engaged in farming, now owning a farm of eighty acres of mostly improved land and has a small dairy. Mr. Paddock married Maria, daughter of Uriah Fitch,
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of Steuben, by whom he had three children: Albert, a farmer; Esther, wife of Andrew Balcom; and John E,, at home. The family are members of the M. E. church.
Schilz Peter, jr., was born in the town of Deerfield, N. Y., August 19, 1864, son of Peter and Margaret (Servatius) Schilz, natives of Germany. The grandparents, Christ and Mary (Snyder) Schilz, were farmers of Godendorf, Kraes Tries, Helen- bach, Germany. Mr. Schilz came to America in May, 1851, and settled in Deerfield, where he engaged in farming, and in 1891, retired to Utica, where he now resides. He was reared and educated in Germany and served in the army. Margaret Ser- vatius Schilz was born in Koblentz, Naevit, Germany. She came to this country in 1838 with her parents, John and Catherine Servatius; they settled in West Utica where some of the family still live and where she (Margaret) lived until the age of twenty-three, when she married Peter Schilz and went to reside in Deerfield, in which place they stayed until 1892, when they went back to Utica, where she died in February, 1896. Peter, jr., was reared on the farm in Deerfield, and commenced business in the sash and blind factory in Utica, where he was engaged for three years; and then was in the grocery of William Rim for five years. He was next engaged in the box factory, where he met with a severe accident, which resulted in the loss of a hand. In 1891, he engaged in the hotel business at Deerfield Corners, being proprietor of the Union House. In 1895, he erected a building for town hall, and for the use of the Deerfield Fire Co., of which he is a member. In 1891, he married Mary A., daughter of David D. (a native of Deerfield, who was born Feb- ruary 10, 1827), and Julia (Monaghan) Jones, who was born in Ireland in 1827. The parents of Mr. Jones were David I. and Catherine (Jones) Jones, who came from Llannwellyn, near Bala, Maireonydd Sir, North Wales, to Deerfield. They settled on Smith Hill and were farmers. He died February 15, 1884, aged ninety-two years, and she died August 28, 1868, at the age of seventy-four years. The parents of Mrs. David D. Jones were Thomas and Mary (Martin) Monaghan, of Ireland. Mrs. Jones came to America forty-seven years ago and was employed in the home of Horatio Seymour for twelve years. Mr. Jones was a carpenter by trade, and all over the town his handiwork can be seen, About the last large job that he did was the erection of the Deerfield street car baru. He learned his trade at the age of twenty- four, and up to the time of his death was continually in the employ of Geo. F. Weaver & Sons, who always found him honest and faithful. His father. David I. Jones, came to Deerfield at the age of thirty; this place at that time was nothing but a wilderness and swamp lots. A few who had cleared land here in the valley forthem- selves urged him to stay here, but he did not seem to think much of our now beau- tiful valley of the Mohawk, so went farther out and settled on Smith Ilill on a farm lying between two gulfs. The house is old-fashioned and built of logs, and was sit- uated about half a mile back from the main road; just before the house is a deep gully, which makes it quite a picturesque little place, with the road winding down on the one side across the little stream, and up on the other into a large yard. The house is still standing, but not in the same place as then: it is northeast of there. The picture of the house is now in the family. Mrs. Schilz has it painted on a slate which was used by her cousin, Owen J. Roberts, when a schoolboy on Deerfield Hill, but which in reality belonged to her father when he was a schoolboy, and so it is
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