USA > New York > Essex County > Bloomingdale > The New York of yesterday; a descriptive narrative of old Bloomingdale, its topographical features, its early families and their genealogies, its old homesteads and country-seats, the Bloomingdale Reformed church, organized in 1805 > Part 22
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40
Runyon Pyatt I was the sixth child of John and Elizabeth, born 1771 (Runyon) Pyatt. He m. Cornelia Lawrence, daughter of John Green and Mlle. Marie Blanchard of New Brunswick, N. J. Their sixth child, Runyon m. Emma Virginia Duryee. The progenitor of the Runyon family in America was Vincent Runyon, a Huguenot, fourth in descent from Edward Fuller, the
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2 Ist signer of the Mayflower compact, who m., July 17, 1668, Ann Boutcher. They had nine children, the seventh of whom, Peter, b. 1680, m. Providence Blackford. Their ninth child, Benjamin, b. 1729, m. Ann van Court 1749, whose twelfth child was Elizabeth, the wife of John Pyatt.
The Duryee family come from Jost Duryee, a French Huguenot who was b. 1729, settled in Blawen- burg, N. J., 1753, and became the ancestor of the clan in the United States. Of his eight children, William, b. 1765, m. Anna Berrien, whose one son, Henry, b. 1786, a colonel in the war of 1812, m. Sarah Williamson. She descended from John Williamson of Holland, who reached America in 1661 and m. Catherine Ten Broeck, whose ancestor Wessel Wesselsen Ten Broeck came here from Westphalia on the ship Faith, circa 1649-50. The sixth child of Henry and Sarah Duryee was Henry, b. 1821, who m. Mary Q. Baker, fourth in descent from Matthew Baker, an Englishman who settled in New Jersey 1700. Their sixth child, Emma Virginia Duryee, m. Runyon Pyatt.
Before a number of theatrical folk, the Gilbert testimonial was unveiled at the afternoon service at 2.30 o'clock. The stage friends of the late actress were greatly outnumbered by those of the congregation that knew her apart from her profession. Dr. Stinson delivered an address on the virtues of Mrs. Gilbert, which had reflected honor both upon the church and stage, in the course of which he referred to her as the sweetest and saintliest old lady of the theatrical profession. He adverted to the odd circumstance that in her seventy years on the stage she had never become a star until the closing year of her life, when a play entitled Granny was especially written for her by
8
* :
THE GILBERT MEMORIAL Designed by John La Farge, Esq.
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The Church at harsenville
Clyde Fitch, and ended by saying that " it so happened that on her way to be an angel Mrs. Gilbert had stopped to be a star." The window, an artistic example of the work of John La Farge, to whom are credited the Pyatt memorial and all the other windows of the church, occupies the space directly over the main doorway facing the east, and its beauty is greatly emphasized when illuminated by the morning sun. The lower section shows Mary and the angel at the tomb, with the ascending Christ above.
These two memorials form a conspicuously hand- some and permanent feature of the new House of Worship. We are assured that here, under the minis- trations of Dr. Stinson, who has endeared himself to all the people of his charge, by his sincerity, zeal, and untiring work, his genial sympathy, no less than his magnetic eloquence, the traditions of the century-old organization will be preserved in historic sequence and the new House of Worship become a permanent monu- ment to the glory of God and the spread of His king- dom on earth.
VII Among Old=time Families
few churches in the city have a more distinguished ecclesiastical lineage. Many individuals of note, as well of national as of local and State celebrity, have been connected with it. In chronological succession some of these worthies are herein sketched, and, as a member of societies whose object is the furtherance of his- torical, biographical, and genealogical research, the author has carefully collected and preserved data of that description, in this chapter.
The names of the founders appear naturally at the head of the list of members of the Church. Jacob Harsen joined on certificate dated October 29, 1808, and Hopper and Webbers in the same manner, their letters bearing date, however, eight days earlier. We in- fer that Striker joined on confession. His second wife, Mary (Polly), was the daughter of John and Jemima (Hopper) Horn, and became the first member accepted after the names of the founders. She was much be- loved by the poor, was a regular visitor to the N. Y. Orphan Asylum, the nearest elemosynary institution to her home, and to the Blind Asylum, and Second Directress of the N. Y. Infant School Society founded in May, 1827, "under the patronage of the late Gov- ernor Clinton." Its mission was to open schools where
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teachers were trained and qualified to open other schools. She remained connected with the church to the end of her days, although for many years prior thereto she had resided at Tribes Hill, Montgomery Co., N. Y. She died at the residence of one of her daughters, at Amsterdam, on October 6, 1860, aged ninety years. From an obituary printed in the New York Tribune these additional facts are gleaned :
When but a youth, not out of her 'teens, she publicly dedicated herself to God, and from that time to the close of her earthly career her well-trimmed lamp beamed with undiminished brightness-yea, her path was a shining light which shineth more and more till the perfect day. She was a woman of unassuming and modest mien, but great was the force of her religious character, and decided and positive her influence. In the domestic circle, the immediate sphere for a woman's pure and best exertions, she was happily successful. First, she led her husband to the Saviour, who soon became one of the pillars in the church of Christ; then they mutually dedicated their children to God, two of whom she had the pleasure of seeing in succession occupying their father's place in elder- ship in the same church. Never was one more regular and faithful in attendance upon the ordinances of grace. To reverence the sanctuary was a command she loved to obey. That God's way is there she knew in sweet experi- ence. In her another fact was most strikingly illustrated, that those who love the church love the ministers whom the Master has commissioned to perform her solemn rites. To cheer and encourage them she took particular pains. In her house they felt ever at home; and when affliction visited them in their abodes, like an angel of mercy on swift wing she was there, nor did she forget to bear with her whatever she thought might regale, refresh, and in- vigorate. In late years, age had diminished both her physical and mental vigor, but so early rooted, so firmly
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seated, so unswervingly constant had been her religious habits, and so sufficient was the grace of Him who said, "I will never leave nor forsake you," that her devotional spirit never flagged nor wavered. Daily she continued to read the Scriptures, and, whatever might betide or who- soever the visitors in the household, her accustomed devotions were never omitted. Truly luminous her Chris- tian life and worthy imitation her consistent example! Not long since, the family and the church were called to mourn the departure of Ann Striker, her step-daughter, her early companion in the Christian life-a woman of kindred spirit, doctrinal views, and practical piety, and liberal in the Saviour's cause. Blessed reunion in fellow- ship of the twain, now like stars to shine in realms of glory without end.
The two sons above mentioned were Richard Albert- son and John Horn Striker. The former joined the communion February 5, 1819, when twenty-two years of age and became Deacon August II, 1822. He served as Secretary on his election in April 1830, and was chosen Elder December Ist of that year, which office he held for five years. His brother John became a member February 1, 1827. He was raised to the diaconate at the same session with his brother and was elected Elder April 25, 1837. In June, 1838, it is recorded that he had "moved away" from Blooming- dale. He accompanied many of his family to Tribes Hill about this time, but did not apply for letters of dismission until 1843. Their sisters Maria and Helen both joined August Ist, 1823. Maria was married, by Dr. Gunn, to Joseph Cornell, September 6, 1815, and these children were baptized by him:
James Thomas, b. Aug. 10, bap. Sept. 23, 1821.
Albert Russell, b. Aug. 2, bap. Dec. 9, 1828.
James Thomas II, b. Feb. 19, bap. Sept. 5, 1831.
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The two former died young and their remains were deposited in the Sriker vault. The third, their only surviving child, met with a melancholy accident at the Reid mine, fourteen miles southwest of Concord, N. C., on August 25, 1858. In the act of picking up his gun for the purpose of shooting partridges, the trigger caught in such a manner that the gun was dis- charged into his left eye, blowing away a large piece of the skull and killing him instantly. It is a curious circumstance that his remains were the first to be in- terred in the Green Hill Cemetery at Amsterdam, N. Y., the ground for which had been purchased from his father a few months before and which had been dedi- cated on September Ist. From a tribute in the Chris- tian Intelligencer this extract is taken:
He was a Christian. Favored with an abundance of means, connected with fashionable society, he had in earlier days led a life of splendid gaiety. But during the last winter he was induced to attend the daily prayer-meeting in Fulton Street. .. . In the month of June he became a member of the Twenty-first Street Reformed Dutch Church (vide N. Y. G. & B. Record for April, 1906, for an account of its founding), and stated as a reason for joining at that time that he was to reside for a season in a part of the country destitute of religious privileges.
Dr. Gunn likewise joined in matrimony Helen Striker to John S. Watkins, July 6, 1819, and bap- tized two of their children, viz. Mary Striker and Har- riet. The youngest child of Elder and Mary Striker, Jemima, was baptized by the minister May 28, 1809. The Caesar Striker who was present as witness at the marriage of a colored couple in 1823 was a slave in the family, as had been the lately manumitted contracting parties.
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The Hegeman family originated with Adriaen and his wife Katherij Margits, who arrived at New Am- sterdam in 1650. He removed to Midwout (Flatbush, L. I.), where he died, April, 1672, and his widow 1689 or 1690. He was a magistrate there from 1654 to 1660 and in 1663; schout-fiscaal in 1661 of the Five Dutch Towns. In 1655, he and Thomas Swartwout petitioned the Director-General to have the limits of Midwout defined, and Commissary Stryker and he were authorized to make the demarkation requested. From 1659 to 1671, he was schoolmaster of his town, and obtained a patent, in 1661, for one hundred acres of land there and settled upon it. In February, 1664, he procured the making of depositions in relation to the misconduct of an English troop, and in the same month headed a delegation to a convention at Flat- bush, which was called for the purpose of selecting del- egates to lay before the States-General the distressed condition of the country. Peter Hegeman, one of his descendants, m., May 2, 1781, Lettice, daughter of Nicholas and Margaret (Cozine) Fletcher. She was the daughter of Cornelus Cozine who bought the farm in Bloomingdale. The Hegeman homestead stood just north of the Cozine house in the bed of present Eighth Avenue, in the centre of 55th Street. Peter Hegeman's widow died August 26, 1851. She and her daughter Cynthia joined the church March 29, 1807. Children were:
Peter Adrian, m. Laura N .-
Cynthia, m. Aaron B. Jackson. Their children were all baptized in the church, viz .:
Mary Jane, joined the communion Oct. 30, 1828. Letitia
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Peter Adrian Hegeman
Cynthia Margaret.
-
The mother died on Thursday, October 11, 1860, aged 77, her husband having preceded her. These lines are copied from the notice in the Christian Intelligencer of October 18th:
"Pray for us mother-if a spirit's lips
May breathe a prayer in heaven-that we, from whom Thou'st parted for a season, may so tread This vale of sorrow, that when life has passed We may go up to thee and claim thy hand
To lead us where the living waters flow."
Margaret, m. Matthew Horn.
Frances Bassett, d. unmarried.
Letitia, m. John Wood Palmer, May 25, 1811, in the church, where these children also were baptized:
John Edmond and John Wood.
Jane Frances, m. John E. Ross, Aug. 9, 1810, also there, and these children were baptized:
Letitia Jane. John Edward
Peter Adrian
William Stymets
Sarah Frances
Emeline
Peter Adrian Hegeman
Martha, m. John Hegeman, April 11, 1815, at the church. Their child John Adrian was baptized there. The father m. (2) there Rosena Moore, widow Fairbanks, May 12, 1841.
Early in its history, many of the colored people held by landed proprietors in the neighborhood became members, the first to be recorded being William Ray and Mary Dey his wife, who joined, April 8, 1808, upon confession, and Isaac Dey and Elizabeth Cisco his wife
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the same day upon certificate. As they took their owners' surnames, as a rule, many well-known cogno- mens occur among them. Isaac was the first sexton. It is related that to an inquirer, who asked him how business was, this old darkey replied, "Mighty pore, Massa, mighty pore, but old Mistus Cozine am berry low." This was Jane, who married Ackerman, and died in 1837. He never had an opportunity to augment his fortune in this instance, for he was discharged in 1832 for some infraction. Quite a large contingent of Ritters appear. Many were slaves in the Harsen family and its connections. Cambridge Ritter be- longed to the Hoppers. By the will of John Hopper the Younger, dated Sept. 13, 1815, it was directed that he be sold for ten years. He could choose his master, and on the expiration of the term was to be free. He chose the Cozine family, with which he was associated through Hopper's second wife, and remained with them thereafter, being especially attached to Miss Rachel. He was married by the fam- ily's consent to Eliza Day, by Dr. Gunn, May 7, 1828, and joined the church, May 1, 1840, which he served as sexton for some years. Hopper freed two other slaves, Sam and William, but directed that the former should be kept and maintained if he so elected. Icha- bod Prall's slaves were married by Dr. Gunn in July, 1815, and Mr. Cheeseborough's wench Jane in Octo- ber, 1816. Robert, belonging to the Dyckmans, was united to a free colored woman the following year, and the children of many of these couples were bap- tized by the early ministers.
The act for the gradual abolition of slavery in the State was passed March 29, 1779 (Laws 22d Session p. 721), which provided that any child born of a slave
Ann Striker TuRer
Portrait and signature of Miss Ann Striker, from the original painting in possession of Mrs. J. H. Maples
١
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after July 4th of that year should be deemed to be born free, but that such child if a male should con- tinue a servant to the age of 28, and if a female until 25 years of age. It was, however, made lawful for the owner of any slave to manumit such slave by a certifi- cate for that purpose under hand and seal. On March 31, 1817 (Statutes, p. 136), marriages between slaves were declared valid. The children thereof must be taught to read the Holy Scriptures and must be given, between the ages of ten and eighteen, four quarters' schooling. It was prohibited to import slaves into the State, and to prevent it, any so brought were ipso facto free. The final provision of this act declared that every negro, mulatto or mustee born before July 4th, 1779, should from and after July 4th, 1827, be free.
Ann Striker, the Elder's daughter by his first marriage, became a member March 30, 1809. Always of a religious nature, she had joined with her step- mother, who came into the family when she was nine years of age, in a serious effort to make the world better because she had lived. They made a practice of visiting poor families throughout Bloomingdale, armed with a panoply of charity which ministered to their well-being and comfort. Their custom was to dis- tribute tracts at the same time, that an appeal to their better nature might be joined with a full stomach. Miss Striker was especially interested in ameliorating the condition of the Jews both here and abroad and the children of the New York Orphan Asylum were her constant care. Born at Striker's Bay, she re- mained at home until her father's death in 1831, when at the age of fifty, she went to live with her sister at Mott's Point. She became an inmate of her brother
20
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Gen. Striker's house later and finally removed to the residence of her half-sister Jemima, the wife of Edward Jenner Swords, at Port Chester. She never married. Feeling that the family burial ground, set apart to her in the partition of the Hopper farm in 1823, should be dedicated to the Hoppers, she inaugurated a movement, through Judge Samuel C. Foote, to locate a church on the site. This, however, proved imprac- ticable, it being found impossible to extinguish the Matthew Hopper interest therein and to overcome the reservation, in the will, of the plot for burial purposes exclusively. She endeavored to carry out her purpose of having a Dutch Church built on the farm, by be- queathing lots on the northwest corner of Ninth Avenue and 50th Street, directly opposite the cemetery, for a site. This provision was, however, rendered of no effect by the opinion in Striker vs. Mott, which held that the testatrix had but a life-estate in the property. She died at "Deermont," the Swords country-seat, at Port Chester, on April 12, 1860, aged eighty years. The funeral took place at the Middle Reformed Dutch Church, corner Lafayette Place and 4th Street, on the 16th.
The sisters Jane and Rachel Cozine both joined Nov. 30, 1809. The progenitor in this country was Gerrit Cosijnszen, i. e. Gerrit the son of Cosijn. His marriage notice calls him of New Netherland, where he was baptized Sept. 24, 1673, in the Dutch Church, and joined in matrimony October 25th of that year to Balitje Jacobs, a young woman from Fort Orange (Albany), both living at Stuyvesant's bouwery. The tradition is that he was of French origin and came here via Holland. Their son Cornelis settled in Blooming- dale and died Jan. 4, 1765, leaving a widow who was
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Deborah Sperry. Balaam Johnson Cozine, of the third generation, married Catherina, daughter of Nicholas Dyckman, April 26, 1760. He was buried in the underground vault in St. Paul's churchyard, which the Cozines attended prior to the founding of the Church at Harsenville. His widow, however, was interred in the Hopper plot, her daughter Sarah having become allied to that family through marriage with John Hopper the Younger. Jane and Rachel were sisters of Sarah. Jane married, Oct. 25, 1795, Isaac Ackerman, and had a daughter Rachel, who married Cornelius Westerfield the quondam Deacon and Elder, and died May 29, 1837. Rachel died un- married Nov. 1, 1854, and neither was yet born in 1774, when Cornelis drew his will in which the seven child- ren of his brother were remembered by name. John Cozine, their brother with whom they lived, married Sarah, daughter of James and Catharine (Parliament) Kent, born in Hackensack. They came to live with the groom's father, who built a house for them-a frame building painted yellow-at Eighth Avenue, near 54th Street. She became a member Nov. 4, 1842, and died April 22, 1862.
Their children were:
Catharine, b. Dec. 12, 18II, m., Dec. 6, 1832, Samuel Fleet. No issue. He was for years the editor of the New York Farmer and an agriculturist of note. He built two Gothic houses in the block between Eighth Avenue and the Bloomingdale Road, 54th and 55th Streets, in one of which he lived. The Rev. Dr. Patton, afterwards of Princeton, occupied the other at one time. A class for young ladies was opened in October, 1859, by Miss S. Eva Hughes, under Mr. Fleet's supervision, for which purpose both houses were used. Mrs. Fleet was received into communion May 2, 1863.
Nicholas Dyckman, d. at the age of seven.
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Sarah Stakes, b. Oct. 15, 1816, bap. by Dr. Gunn, m. Dec. 1, 1835, by him to Peter Adrian Horn (d. Dec. 4, 1849), and had Sarah Jane, bap. by the minister, who m. (I) Albert Sutton of Peekskill and (2) Dr. George R. Wells. Sarah (Stakes) Horn d. Dec. 16, 1836, and was buried from the Cozine homestead on Sunday the 18th.
Jane Ackerman, b. Nov. 7, 1818, m. at the church, April I, 1845, James Hegeman Dorland of Fishkill Plain, Dut- chess Co., N. Y. Issue: Cozine, b. Jan. 9, and bap. Mar. II, 1846, and Jane Cozine, b. May 7, and bap. June 20, 1847, m. Benjamin Franklin, M.D. She joined Feb. 6, 1875, and d. April 2, 1880. Mrs. Dorland is the oldest living member. She united in 1838, and lives at Cedarville, N. Y., where she is a "shut-in," not having left her house since 1860. She loves her church and means to remain loyal to the end.
Catherine Cozine, another sister of John, became a member August 1, 1817, and d. unm. April 4, 1835. The Cozine name is extinct in this branch.
Cornelius Harsen, the surviving son of the Deacon, although he never joined the Church, had four children baptized therein. He had m., Nov. 13, 1805, Joanna Henrietta, dau. of John Peter Ritter, and had
Joanna Ritter, b. Oct. 12, 1806, m. July 13, 1825, by Dr. Gunn, Abraham Augustus Prall, d. Dec. 8, 1838.
Jacob (M.D.), b. Feb. 16, 1808, d. Dec. 31, 1862, unm. Catharine, bap. by Dr. Gunn, m. Sept 24, 1840, Elijah Purdy, d. Nov. 5, 1896.
Magdalen Ritter, bap. by Dr. Gunn, d. May 6, 1819. John Peter Ritter, bap. by Dr. Gunn, d. June 10, 1842, unm.
Cornelia Rachel, bap. by Dr. Gunn, m. Dec. 16, 1835, Lyman Rhoades, d. Mar. 17, 1900.
Magdalen Ritter II, b. Aug. 13, 1819, m. April 21, 1841, William M. Halsted, Jr., d. Nov. 8, 1851.
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Maria Elizabeth, b. April 3, 1822, m. Mar. 21, 1848, Jacob Halsted, d. Nov. 18, 1876.
The only one of these couples whose children were baptized by the minister were the Pralls, viz .: Magdalen Ritter and Hannah Maria.
At the age of twenty Cornelius Harsen became (1804) Ensign in the 5th Regt. of Infantry. The date of his commission as Captain is not of record. Capt. Harsen was one of a committee of officers appointed to organize a third regiment in the city of New York, under Chap. 61 of the Laws of the 30th Session, passed March 27, 1807. He was soon transferred to the artillery in which he became Major of the regiment he assisted in forming. Thereafter his talents, wealth, and social position se- cured his rapid promotion. At the breaking out of the War of 1812 he was commissioned Lieut .- Colonel of the I Ith Regt., Ist Brigade of Artillery, and later in the same year became commander thereof. His services in the war have been heretofore set forth. He lived on the Harsenville Road in a house which stood just south of present 71st Street, midway of the block between Ninth and Tenth Avenues, and had a city residence in Greenwich Street, near Charlton. In early life he was a hardware merchant in Cherry Street, but in 1814 retired from business. In 1817, he was in the dry-goods line, and after 1825 the directories simply mention his house address. He was an incorporator of the Erie Railroad in 1832. His sons left no descendants and the name in this branch is extinct.
Catharine Remsen, the wife of Samuel Adams Lawrence, joined August 1, 1812. They had come to Bloomingdale seven years previously and had been at- tendants since the Church's foundation. Mr. Lawrence became a member February 4, 1814; both on confession.
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The new Dork of Desterday
On August IIth instant, he was elected Deacon. Following the custom, the Consistory met at his house for the first time, at the April meeting of 1815. The Hardenbrook controversy caused it to assemble at Mr. Lawrence's office, June 24th of that year. Al- though business required him to decline to serve after a term of two years, yet he and his wife continued their membership until their removal to the city permanently, the Bloomingdale seat being a summer residence only. Letters of dismission were granted July 6, 1830. He was the third son of David Lawrence who was the seventh son of John, who was the second son of Joseph, the son of the first William and Elizabeth Smith, afterwards Lady Carteret, an intimate friend of Benjamin Franklin and Samuel Adams, for whom the subject of this sketch was named, and a patriot in the Revolution. Having amassed a fortune in commerce David Lawrence removed from Providence, R. I., to Hudson, N.Y., of which town he was one of the thirty proprietors. Here he was Judge, Recorder, and Mayor and in his leisure hours contributed to the literature of the period. He married Sybil Sterry and had four sons and five daughters. Samuel Adams Lawrence was born January 19, 1775. Commencing in early life the study of medicine, he soon relinquished it for commerce, a more congenial pursuit, and for which, by his remarkably clear vision, financial abilities, and systematic habits, he was eminently qualified. He became an extensive importing and commission mer- chant, widely known and highly respected at home and abroad. He was a partner in the firm of Augustine H. Lawrence & Co., at 120 Washington Street, and resided at 96 Greenwich Street. Ever ready with his means and efforts to ameliorate the condition of the
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