USA > Pennsylvania > Luzerne County > Wilkes-Barre > A history of Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania : from its first beginnings to the present time, including chapters of newly-discovered early Wyoming Valley history, together with many biographical sketches and much genealogical material. Volume II > Part 18
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* EZEKIEL PEIRCE, second child and son of Judge Timothy and Hannah (Bradhurst) Peirce, was born at Plainfield, Connecticut, January 8, 1712. The progenitor of this family was Thomas Peirce, who was born in England in 1583, immigrated to America in 1633 and settled in Charlestown, Massachusetts, where he was made a freeman May 6, 1635. The surname of this family was pronounced by New Englanders, in early days, as if spelled Purse. The majority, if not all, of the living descendants of Thomas Peirce now spell the family name Pierce, and pronounce it Peerce.
Thomas Peirce died October 7, 1666. His son Thomas (born in 1608) had accompanied him to Charles- town, where he was married May 6, 1635, to Mary Cole (died March 5, 1688), and settled in what is now Woburn. Thomas Peirce, Jr., was styled "Serjeant," was Selectman in 1660, and in 1668 was a member of a committee appointed by the General Court. He died November 6, 1683. Thomas Peirce, 3d, son of "Sergeant" Thomas and Mary ( Cole) Peirce, was born at Woburn, Massachusetts, June 21, 1645. He was married (1st) to Eliza - ; (2d) March 24, 1680, to Rachel Bacon (born June 4, 1652). He died Decem- ber 8, 1717.
Timothy Peirce, born at Woburn January 25, 1678, was the second son of Thomas, 3d, and his first wife, Eliza. About 1691 Thomas Peirce and his son Timothy removed from Woburn to the Quinebaug plantation in Connecticut, and became original inhabitants of the town of Plainfield, erected out of that territory in the Spring of 1699. In May, 1707, Timothy Peirce was promoted from Sergeant to Ensign of the Plainfield train-band, and in October, 1711, he was promoted Lieutenant. In May, 1723, he was pro- moted Captain of the Plainfield company; in May, 1734, he was appointed by the General Assembly of Connecticut, and commissioned, Sergeant Major of the militia of Windham County, and in October, 1739, he was appointed and commissioned Colonel of the newly organized 11th Regiment, Connecticut Militia, constituted of the companies in Plainfield, Canterbury, Killingly, Pomfret and Voluntown. Timothy Peirce attended, as one of the two Deputies from Plainfield, sessions of the General Court, or Assembly, of Connecticut in each of the years from 1717 to 1728, inclusive. In May, 1728, he was chosen Speaker of the House at its organization, but having been elected about the same time an "Assistant," or member of the Governor's Council, he took his seat in the Upper House. Thereafter, up to and including 1747, he was annually (in May) chosen an Assistant, and performed the duties of that office until his death. From 1719 to 1721 Timothy Peirce was annually appointed by the General Assembly a Justice of the Peace in and for the county of New London, and from 1722 to 1727, inclusive, a Justice of the Peace in and for the county of Windham. In May, 1726, he was appointed by the General Assembly Judge of the County Court, or Court of Common Pleas, of Windham County. The first session of this Court was held at Wind- ham Green (see page 249, Vol. I) June 26, 1726, with Judge Peirce presiding. By successive appointments he held that office until May, 1746, when he was succeeded by Col. Jonathan Trumbuli, mentioned on page 240. Timothy Peirce was Judge of the Court of Probate for the District of Windham from May, 1725, till May, 1747, when the Probate District of Plainfield was erected, including the towns of Plainfield, Canter- bury, Killingly, Pomfret and Voluntown, and Judge Peirce was assigned to that district. "He was now one of the most prominent and respected citizens of Windham County, a Colonel of the militia, a member of the Governor's Council, Judge of the County and Probate Courts-'all which offices he executed with such diligence and care as to be unblamable. He was a father to the town, and a promoter of the com- mon welfare of all when he had opportunity, and was also of an extraordinary good, pious and Christian conversation.'"
Timothy Peirce was married (Ist) May 27, 1696, to Lydia Spaulding, who died March 23, 1705; (2d) October 12, 1709, to Hannah Bradhurst (born December 14, 1682 ; died April 2, 1747). Judge Peirce died at Plainfield May 25, 1748, aged seventy-five years and four months. He was the father of three sons and one daughter by his first wife, and of four sons and two daughters by his second wife. His elder daughter by his second wife was Phebe, who became the wife of John Smith, mentioned on page 410, Vol. I. To her Judge Peirce made the following bequest in his will dated April 12, 1748, "I give my daughter Phebe Smith my negro girl Dinah, and the sum of £100 of my in-doore movable estate at inventory price, at the rate of old tenor bills ; which, with what I have given her, makes the full of her portion of my estate."
As previously noted, EZEKIEL PEIRCE was the second child of Judge Timothy Peirce by his second wife. He was Town Clerk of Plainfield, Connecticut, from 1749 to 1754, and a Justice of the Peace in and for Windham County for quite a period from and after May, 1752. For a number of years he was one of the Representatives from Plainfield in the General Assembly of Connecticut-attending first at the ses- sion held in October, 1751. In 1759, and perhaps earlier, he was Clerk of the Probate Court of Plainfield District. In May, 1755, he was established and confirmed by the General Assembly Captain of the 1st Company, 11th Regiment, Connecticut Militia ; and in March, 1756, he was appointed by the Assembly Captain of the 4th Company in the 2d Regiment "in the forces ordered to be raised by the Colony"-but he declined the commission, and John Durkee was appointed and commissioned in his stead. (See page 481, fifth paragraph.) In October, 1758, Captain Peirce was promoted Major of the 11th Regiment. In October, 1773, the General Assembly appointed "Capt. John Douglas to be Major of the 11th Regiment of militia in said Colony, in the room of Maj. Ezekiel Peirce, removed out of said regiment."
Ezekiel Peirce was one of the original members of The Susquehanna Company, and his name is among the first of the names of the grantees in the Indian deed of 1754. (See pages 249 and 271, Vol. I.) He was one of the original settlers at Wyoming in 1762 and '63 under the auspices of The Susquehanna Company (see page 404), and presumably was here at the time of the Mill Creek massacre in October, 1763. (See page 430.) It is doubtful whether Ezekiel Peirce came to Wyoming again before July, 1771 (see page 692); in the interim, however, three of his sons were here at different times. Upon the ex- pulsion of the Pennamites from Wyoming Valley in August, 1771, and the taking of the first steps by the Yankees to establish a civil organization at Wyoming, Major Peirce was elected "Proprietors' Clerk" of the settlement, and the duties of that position he performed until the organization of the town of West- moreland, March 1, 1774, when he was elected Town Clerk and Recorder of Deeds in and for the new town.
711
"At a meeting of ye Inhabitants of ye 6th township at and Near Wyoming Legally warned August ye 22nd 1771-Capt. Butler was chosen Moderator. This meeting is ad- jorned to ye 23rd Day at 6 a Clock in ye morning.
"This meeting is opened & Held by an adjornt august ye 26th 1771 --
"Voted, Capt. [Robert] Hopkins, Parsball Terry and Bartholamew Weeks are ap- pointed to take care of ye cows in ye Day time and to see that ye cows are Brought up in season.
"Voted, That Captain Marvin is appointed to Deal out ye milk to Each mess.
"Voted, Abel Peirce & Abel Smith is appointed Bacors to Bake Bread for ye Company.
"This meeting is adjorned to ye 29th Day of this Instant to 6 a Clock in ye morning.
"August 29th, 1771, this meeting is adjorned untill ye 2nd Day of September, 6 a Clock in ye forenoon at this place.
"September ye 2nd 1771 this meeting is opened & Held by an adjornment &c.
"Voted, that any man that will go and secure ye Grain that is now standing and secure ye same Between Now and Next Saterday Night shall be intitled to ye same as his own property-Not neglecting his other duty.
"Voted, That Capt. William Warner is appointed to live in ye Block House built by ye mills, in order to Gard ye mills, and has ye Liberty to pick out Nine men to assist him in keeping ye same.
This office he held until 1777 or '78. He was a member of the 24th Regiment, Connecticut Militia, and was a survivor of the battle of Wyoming. (See his name in the copy of the original muster-roll printed in Chapter XVI.) His name is frequently mentioned in the following pages.
The wife of Ezekiel Peirce was Lois Stevens (born in 1718 ; died June 25, 1762), to whom he was mar- ried February 11, 1736. They became the parents of five sons and five daughters. With the exceptions noted below, these children removed in 1772 from Plainfield, Connecticut, to Wyoming Valley, and settled in Kingston Township, where Ezekiel (the father) had drawn "House Lot No. 29," and other lots ; Timothy, "House Lot No. 17," and other lots, and Abel, "House Lots Nos. 23 and 24," and other lots. The home of Ezekiel Peirce-subsequently that of his son Abel-was within a few rods of the site of the ancient Indian earthwork described and pictured on pages 173 and 174, Vol. I. Maj. Ezekiel Peirce died at his home in Kingston Township in 1779 or '80, and December 2, 1782, "the Probate Court of the District of Westmoreland" granted letters of administration upon his estate to his son Abel.
The children of Maj. Ezekiel and Lois (Stevens) Peirce were the following-named-all born in Plain- field, Windham County, Connecticut : (i) Abel, born December 15, 1736. (See below.) (ii) Alice, born November 17, 1738 ; died, unmarried, subsequently to October, 1774. (iii) Daniel, born January 30, 1740 ; taken prisoner at the battle of Wyoming. q. v. (iv) Lydia, born February 17, 1743. (v) John, born March 10, 1745. (See below.) (vi) Timothy, born June 23, 1747. (See below.) (vii) Hannah, born Jan- uary 25, 1749 ; died unmarried. (viii) Phineas, born January 17, 1751. (See below.) (ix) Lois, born May 6, 1753. (x) Phebe, born September 15, 1755.
(i) Abel Peirce was married about 1757 to Ruth Sheppard (born in 1733), daughter of Lieut. Isaac and Dorothy ( Prentice) Sheppard of Plainfield, Connecticut. In 1762-'63 Abel Peirce was one of the original Connecticut settlers in Wyoming (see page 404), and was probably here at the time of the massacre in October, 1763. He next came to Wyoming in May, 1769, with the company led by Major Durkee (see pages 487, 498 and 510), and was here at the surrender of Fort Durkee in the following November. He was also on the ground again in 1770. He came from Connecticut to Wyoming with Ichabod Hopkins, Timothy Hopkins and Nathaniel Goss, and joined Captain Butler's forces July 25, 1771-continuing here until after the capitulation of Fort Wyoming. He was one of those who received five dollars "bounty" for "going on and assisting in retaking possession" of the Wyoming lands. (See page 710.) As previ- ously noted he located in Kingston, and was Constable of that township in 1772. Late in 1773 he returned to Plainfield, Connecticut, where his wife and children were still living, and, according to the records of The Susquehanna Company, he was there in February and May, 1774. In April, 1775, while in Plainfield, the Battle of Lexington occurred (see page 483), and Abel Peirce became one of the "Alarm Party" which marched from Plainfield for Lexington. After that service he remained in Connecticut with his family until the Summer of 1781, when he returned to Wyoming-bringing his family on later. In 1781 and '82 he was a Justice of the Peace in Kingston. His name is frequently mentioned in the following pages.
Abel Peirce died in Kingston May 23, 1814, and his wife died there in 1820. They were the parents of the following-named children : (1) Sylvina Peirce, born April 5, 1758; died August 24, 1852. She was the second wife of Capt. Daniel Hoyt of Kingston, a sketch of whom will be found in a subsequent chapter. (2) Chester Peirce, born in 1762; killed by the Pennamites in a skirmish July 20, 1784, during the Second Pennamite-Yankee War. (See Chapter XXI.) (3) Mary Peirce, born in October, 1763; died October 28, 1834. She was married May 30, 1786, to Lord Butler, a sketch of whose life will be found in Chapter XVIII.
(v) John Peirce, fifth child and third son of Maj. Ezekiel and Lois (Stevens) Peirce, was in Wyoming in 1770, and was one of those indicted at Easton and captured at Wilkes-Barre in September of that year. (See pages 668 and 671.) After a brief imprisonment at Easton he went to Connecticut, and did not return again to Wyoming until 1772. He settled in Kingston. He was killed at the battle of Wyoming, July 3, 1778, and March 15, 1783, his brother Phineas was appointed administrator of his estate.
(vi) Timothy Peirce was one of the "First Forty" settlers, and was among those who escaped from the Easton jail in September, 1769. (See pages 473 and 514.) Making his way to Connecticut at that time he did not return to Wyoming again until September, 1771. As previously noted, he settled in Kingston Township, and in 1772 or '73 was married to Hannah (born May 28, 1752), fifth child of Obadiah and Hannah (Parke) Gore. (See a subsequent chapter for a sketch of the Gore family.) When, in the Summer of 1776, the two Wyoming Independent Companies were organized for the Continental service (see Chapter XIII), Timothy Peirce enlisted in Capt. Samuel Ransom's company, and was appointed Sergeant. December 3, 1777, he was promoted Ensign to succeed Matthias Hollenback, and January 17, 1778. he was promoted Lieutenant. He took part in the battle of Wyoming, having hurried home from the seat of war in New Jersey to aid in defeniding the inhabitants of Wyoming against the expected in- vaders. He fell on the field of battle, and was survived by his wife and two children-Clarissa and Polly. Mrs. Hannah (Gore) Peirce was married subsequently to 1787 and prior to 1794 to Thomas Duane (born in 1761 ; died at Owego, New York, October 15, 1821), who, in 1793, and probably earlier, was a resident of Kingston. In the Autumn of 1793 Thomas Duane moved to Wilkes-Barre and for awhile kept a store and a tavern at the north-east corner of Public Square and North Main Street. In June, 1800, he was ap- pointed and commissioned a Justice of the Peace in and for the township of Wilkes-Barre, and this office he held for several years. In 1807 Thomas Duane was a merchant in Wilkes-Barre, and on October 24th of that year his daughter Harriet was married to Caleb Leach, Jr., of Owego, New York.
(viii) Phineas Peirce, youngest son of Ezekiel and I,ois (Stevens) Peirce, removed with the other members of his father's family from Plainfield, Connecticut, to Kingston in Wyoming Valley in 1772. In 1778 he was a member of Capt. Simon Spalding's Independent Wyoming Company, attached to the Con- necticut Line. (See Chapter XV.) His name is mentioned frequently in the following pages.
712
"Voted, That Capt. Stephen Fuller is appointed to go, with such a Number of men as he shall chuse, this Day to Lackawana & remove all ye Pennemites that Reside their, and Bring them Down ye River.
"Voted, That 20 men to prosede and go forward and clear ye upper Rode Leading to Dellaware River of ye Pennemites &c.
"Voted, this meeting is adjorned untill monday ye 9th Day of this Instant Septr at six a clock in ye forenoon at this place.
"September ye 9th 1771 this meeting is opened & Held by an adjornment &c .:
"Voted, That Esq! Smith, Capt. Butler & Capt. Stewart are appointed a Comtee to examine those persons that call themselves Neutrals, conserning their staying on ye Land and make their Report to ye Next adjd meeting, and also for those Persons to appear at said meeting, &c.
"Voted, this meeting is adjorned untill ye 10th Day of this Instant Septr at 6 of ye Clock in ye morning at this Place.
"September ye 10th 1771 this meeting is adjorned untill ye 11th Day of this Instant September 1771 at 6 a Clock in ye morning at this place.
"This meeting is opened & Held by an adjornment Septbr 11, 1771 .- Voted, That Sam! Karr shall Have Liberty to stay on our Land untill Next spring unless his conduct shall be proved contrary to ye articles he has signed to.
"att a meeting of ye settlers Now att Wyoming Legally Warned and held in WILKSBURY September 19th 1771-Capt Zebulon Butler was chosen moderator for ye work of ye Day.
"Voted, Capt. Butler, Capt. Stewart, Esq! Smith, Maj! Peirce, Capt Fuller, Capt Follett, William Stewart, Peregreen Gardner, Capt Marvin are a comtee appointed to Receive the returns what town they chuse to belong to ; and for ye Comtee to say who shall Belong to ye several towns &c.
"Voted, That their shall be a good Block-house Built on ye west side of ye River and to be under ye Direction of ye Comtee
"Voted, That ye Block-house now Built in ye fort house* shall be kept for a store House.
"Voted, That ten men shall be sent out every Day in order to scout and keep our Roads clear from our Enemies, and make their Report to ye Comtee what they shall Dis- cover, on their Return.
"Voted, this meeting is adjorned untill Tuesday ye 24th Day of this Instant Sept! six a Clock in ye morning at this place."
The block-house ordered by the settlers to be built on the west side of the river, as noted in the foregoing ininutes, was erected shortly there- after on the plain near the bank of the river, almost directly opposite North Street, Wilkes-Barre-as is shown by an original manuscript map drawn in 1817 by Isaac A. Chapman, and now in the collections of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society. As no mention is inade of Fort Durkee in the town records of the latter part of 1771, and of subsequent years, or in other contemporary writings, it may be con- cluded that the fort had been either destroyed by the Pennamites in January, 1771, or dismantled to such an extent as to be rendered unin- habitable. The Rev. Jacob Johnson, in his affidavit mentioned on page 452, Vol. I, states that when he "went to Wioming in 1771; there was one fort in the possession of the Connecticut settlers." Mr. Johnson was here in May, June and, probably, July, 1772 (as is related farther on in this chapter), and the fort referred to by him was Fort Wyoming. On several grounds the most reasonable conclusion is that Fort Durkee was completely destroyed by the Pennamites after they had driven the Yankees out of the valley, as described on page 686. Miner says ("History of Wyoming," page 265) that in 1779 a portion of Sullivan's army occupied "old Fort Durkee." But that is unquestionably an er- roneous statement-as we show in Chapters XVI and XVIII.
According to adjournment a meeting of The Susquehanna Con- pany's settlers was held at Wilkes-Barré Tuesday, September 24, 1771, when nineteen persons were adınitted as settlers in Wilkes-Barré. An original document-prepared late in 1771 or early in 1772, and now in
* Fort Wyoming
+ It was not in 1771, but 1772.
713
the collections of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society- reads as follows :
"YE LIST OF SETTLERS IN YE TOWN OF WILKSBARRE IN YE YEAR 1771."
"[1] A list of ye persons that was here in ye Seige [that] belongs to Wilks Barre. [N. B. The numbers affixed to the names refer to the lots in the town-plot. See page 655.]
Jabez Fish,
No. 13.
George Minor,*
No. 40.
William Warner,
43. Aaron Wilder,
8.
Daniel Gore,
20. Reuben Farnum,
39.
Peregreen Gardner,
36. Isaac Bennit, 66
19.
Silas Gore,
27.
Peabody Moseley,
..
11.
John Frazier, on Jones' Right, ¥
10.
Jonathan Downing,
41.
Jonathan Weeks,
15. Stephen Fuller, 66 16.
Robert Hopkins, 18. Levi Farnum,
28.
Thomas Fish, No. 21.
"[2] A List of ye persons admitted into ye town above sd ye 24th of Sept., who were in ye seige : Thomas Weeks, John Smith, Asahel Atherton,
Timothy Peirce, on James Sloat,
Eleazar Carey,
Richard Cook, t
Jordanı Hopson,
James Bigger,
Christopher Reynolds,
George Kintnor,
Roasel Franklin,
Brink Van Orman,
John Staples,
Michael Rood,
Peregrine Gardner, [Jr .? ]
Obadiah Gore, Jr.,
William Crofford, Moses Utter.
Cornelius Vinson [Vincent],
Crocker Jones, Asa Stevens. "[3] The persons undernamed were admitted in ye above town since ye 24 of Sept Thomas Stephens, Cyprian Hibbard,
Caleb Spencer, "Total, 41."
Upon comparing the names in the first section of the foregoing list with the list on page 662 we find that John Frazier, Peabody Moseley and Jonathan Downing were, without doubt, admitted as proprietor- settlers in Wilkes-Barré between June 29, 1770, and January, 1771. Only fourteen of the men named in the list on page 662 having taken part (together with Messrs. Frazier, Moseley and Downing) in the siege and capture of Fort Wyoming, it would appear that the rights of the remaining proprietors in the township were considered as having been forfeited, and their places were filled by the men whose names appear in the second and third sections of the list on this page.
The following is a copy of the original minutes of a meeting held at Fort Wyoming on the last day of September.
"Wilksbury, Sept ?. 30th, 1771. This meeting is opened & Held by an adjornment, &c. "Voted-mr William Park undertakes to thrash out all ye English grain Now In ye fields-Rye and Wheat-and to take every seventh Bushel for his Thrashing, &c.
"Voted-that Capt Butler, Capt Stewart & Capt Gore Is appointed as a Comtee to Lott out all ye corn Now standing at Wyoming to the persons now on ye Ground that will undertake to gather & stack ye same and Bring it in to ye fort and crib up ye same, &c. "Voted, That what grain each man shall soe shall be his own to Reap ye Next year for his own private Property-Lett it be on his own Land or on any other inans Lott, &c. "Voted, that Doct. Joseph Spraguet shall Have a settling Right In one of ye five towns.
"Voted, that No person that is admitted in as a settler shall go Home or absent himself without Liberty of ye Comtee -if they Do they shall forfitt their settling Right. "this meeting is adjorned untill Fryday ye 4th Day of october next at six a Clock in ye morning at this place."
On October 4th the settlers assembled in town-meeting, but, witli- out transacting any business, adjourned till Saturday, October 12th, at six o'clock in the morning-which seems to have been the favorite hour here, in those days, for holding town-meetings; presumably in order that the settlers miglit attend to the public affairs of the community be-
* This was GEORGE MINARD, who in 1787 was living at either Manville, or Montville, Connecticut.
+ In all probability intended for Reuben Cook, Richard Cook having been killed during the siege of Fort Wyoming.
# See page 721.
714
fore repairing to their usual daily vocations, which they desired to pur- sue without interruption. In this latitude, at the middle of October, sunrise does not occur until after six o'clock.
The following is a copy of the minutes of the meeting referred to.
"Att a meeting Legally warned and Held In Wilksbury october 12th 1771 Capt Butler was chosen moderator for ye work of ye Day.
"Voted, that John Dougherty, Peter mathews, John White, William young, David young, Thomas Robinson, John McDaniel, William Vallentine, Asa Lyon, William Buck, John Depew, Levi Green are to be stationed on ye west side of ye River in ye Block House with Capt Stewart.
"Voted-that Atherton's Family, Adsel's [Hedsall's, or Hadsell's ] Family & Anguish & his family is to Have ye Liberty to Live on ye west side of ye River provided they move to ye Block House with Capt Stewart.
"Voted-tliat all ye Persons that are Not stationed in ye Blockhouse on ye west side of ye River & in ye Blockhouse at ye mills* is to move in to ye fort at this Place.
"Voted-that David Sanford & William Vallentine is to Have a settling Rite In one of ye towns Now laid out &c.
"Voted-that ye Comtee shall Dispose of ye Pennemites cows to such Persons as they think Proper.
"Voted-that this meeting is adjorned untill Fryday ye 18th Day of this Instant october at 7 a Clock in ye forenoon at this place."
At the meeting on October 18th Obadiah Gore, Jr., was "appointed and chosen Clerk to the Company," to serve during the absence of Ezekiel Peirce, who, on that day, set out for his home in Connecticut.t At a meeting held on October 23d by adjournment it was "Voted, That Lient. Gaylord, Capt. Follett and Capt. Gore Be a Committee to Treat with Mr. Atherton about the corn that he harvestd, and make their re- turn at the next meeting." At an adjourned meeting held October 28th it was "Voted-that this Company takes 45 Baskets of Corn that the Athertons have raised, and except that in Full for their part of sd corn. Voted-that every one that has brought up corn [to the fort] shall bring an account of the Number of bushels to Capt. Butler this evening."
In Volume II of the original "Westmoreland Land Records," referred to on pages 26 and 28, ante, there is recorded "A list of Settlers on Susquehannah 5th Sept. 1771." In April, 1885, the present writer ex- amined that list and extracted from it a few of the 104 namies composing it; but recently, when he desired to make a complete copy of the list for insertion in this history, the person now having in possession the public record-book mentioned would not allow it to be seen or examined by this writer or any other person. However, among the collections of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society there is an original doc- ument (in the handwriting of Zebulon Butler) entitled : "List of Set- tlers on Susquhannah River, October, 1771." This list, which was pre- prepared by Zebulon Butler, Lazarus Stewart and John Smith of the Committee of Settlers, contains 121 names-including those of the Committee-and the following is a careful copy of the same. In most instances the date affixed to a name indicates the time of the arrival at Wilkes-Barré of that particular person.
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