Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 204

Author:
Publication date: 1900
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 2390


USA > Pennsylvania > Pike County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 204
USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 204
USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 204
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 204


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EDGAR J. SHAFFER, a well-known con- tractor and builder residing at Varden, Wayne county, has won a substantial success in life, and his career shows that he possesses energy combined with the sound judgment to direct it to good pur- pose.


Mr. Shaffer comes of excellent ancestry. His great-grandfather, John Shaffer, who came from Germany in Colonial times, served as a soldier in the Revolutionary army. In 1783 this worthy patriot removed from his first home, in Orange


county, N. Y., to this section, locating in what is now known as South Canaan township, Wayne county. At that time his family consisted of his wife, formerly a Miss Forbes, of New York State, and one son, John, and after their removal to Wayne county, the following children were born: Moses, who was the first white child born in the locality ; Samuel; Catherine, wife of James Mc- Bean, a Revolutionary soldier; Susan, wife of Joshua Borleigh; Effie, Mrs. Jacob Swingle; Bet- sey, Mrs. Edward Doyle ; and Polly, wife of Samuel Chumard.


Samuel Shaffer, our subject's grandfather, was born March 15, 1791, and became a tanner by occupation, carrying on his business in a primitive way, which would seem almost amusing if con- trasted with the elaborate methods of the present time. He died July 28, 1864, and his wife, Rachel, Wagner, who was born April 14, 18-, died April 12, 1851. They had the following children : Elizabeth, who married John Spangenburg (both are now deceased) ; Moses, who married Priscilla Curtis (both are deceased) ; Abraham, who is men- tioned below; Eli, who married Peggy A. Quick (both are deceased) ; Amy, wife of Daniel Everts (both are deceased) ; Lydia, who married Simon Enslin (both are deceased) ; Barsilla, a retired farmer of Lake township, Wayne county ; Oliver, who died in childhood; Mary, who married Henry Reed (both are deceased) ; Joseph, a resident of South Canaan township; Alexander, who married (first) Martha Quick, and (second) Amanda Reed ; Kachel S., who married Jacob Enslin ; and Martha, wife of Francis Enslin.


Abraham Shaffer, the father of our subject, was born January 20, 1815, and for many years fol- lowed farming and merchandising in South Canaan township, his death occurring there in July, 1877. He was much esteemed among his associates and in the community generally, but he did not seek prominence in public life, though he served as jus- tice of the peace for a number of years. On Janu- ary 7, 1843, he was married to Miss Lydia Enslin, a member of another well-known family of that locality, and the children of this union were: Sam- uel, a merchant at Plymouth, Penn .; Edgar J., our subject; Miss Helen F., deceased, who resided with her mother on the old homestead near Varden ; Abraham J., of Plymouth, Penn .; William R., a merchant at Varden ; Mahlon S., who is engaged in mercantile business at Varden and Wilkes Barre, Penn. ; Hattie, wife of J. L. Miller, of Wilkes Barre ; Lana, wife of Wilton S. Bloes, of Peckville, Penn .; and Anna, wife of C. A. Clayton, of Jersey City.


Our subject was born December 23, 1845, at the old homestead, and at the age of seven years went to Salem township, Wayne county, to spend two years with an uncle, Daniel Everts. Later after a short sojourn at home, he remained eight months with another uncle, Asa Cobb, who resided in Jefferson, Lackawanna county. The next three years were spent at home, and he then went to


COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.


Plymouth, where he remained about three years al- together ( from 1858 to 1862). At the age of six- ten years he began to learn the carpenter's trade, serving an apprenticeship of three years with Amond Quick, of Gravity, Penn. About 1877 he passed a few months at home and then went West, where he remained for three years, most of the time being spent on a cattle ranch in Colorado, al- though he was also employed at his trade for a while. In 1880 he came back to Wayne county, having decided that there was "no place like home," and he has ever since been engaged in busi- ness at Varden. In the same year he purchased the old mill property there, on which he built his resi- dence, but at present he rents the land attached for farming purposes. His skill as a builder has brought him many important contracts at different places, some of the best buildings in the section being of his construction. Although he is not a member of any Church or social order, he and his family are prominent in the community. He is not affiliated with any political party, and seldom or never votes.


In November, 1878, Mr. Shaffer was married, in South Canaan township, to Miss Armena Shaf- fer, who was born in that township May 22, 1859, the daughter of Joseph Shaffer. She died June 29. 1881, and in December, 1883, Mr. Shaffer mar- ried Miss Martha Savitz, the ceremony being per- formed by Rev. James Savitz, father of the bride. By his first marriage Mr. Shaffer had two children : Asher, born October 5, 1879, who married Maud Swingle, daughter of Sophronius Swingle, and is a farmer of South Canaan township; and Frank, born June 20, 1881, who resides with our subject's mother. By the second union there are four chil- dren: John, born April 1, 1885; James, No- vember 10, 1886; Ralph, April 15, 1888; and Eva, August 22, 1890.


Mrs. Martha Shaffer was born January 31, 1854, in Bushkill township, Northampton Co., Penn .. where her great-grandparents, George and Catherine Savitz, natives of Germany, settled at an carly period. Joseph Savitz, her grandfather, was born in Northampton county, and followed farming there from early manhood. He died in January, 1863, at the age of sixty-four, and was buried in a cemetery in Bushkill township. His wife, Cath- crine ( Hecker), a native of Lehigh county, Penn., died May 8, 1877, aged eighty years, ten months and nine days, and her remains were interred in Nazareth township, Northampton county. Their children were: Joseph, deceased; Eliza, widow of Jacob Reese, of Nazareth, Penn .; Stephen, de- ceased : Caroline, wife of John Handelong, a farmer in New Jersey; Moses, a railway employe residing at Windgap, Penn. : Mary, who died in childhood ; and James, the father of Mrs. Shaffer.


Rev. James Savitz, who now resides in Lake township. Wayne county, upon a small farm, was born August 9, 1834, in Bushkill township, North- ampton county, and made his home with his par-


ents until he reached the age of twenty years. He then rented a farm in the same county, and five years later purchased a place in Bushkill township, which he operated for two years. Having dis- posed of the property, he removed to Mt. Bethle- hem, Penn., where he was employed at farming for two years by Samuel Kulp. In the meantime he had been preparing for the ministry, and in 1864 he was licensed to preach in the Methodist Church, preliminary to ordination as a regular minister. On February 28, 1870, he was ordained as a deacon and was assigned to local work for a time. His ability and efficiency soon caused him to be called to a wider sphere of activity, and from that time he was continuously in service, spending one year in Carbon county ; two years on the Ashland cir- cuit, in Schuylkill county; three years in Wayne county, where he located in 1873 ; one year at Spar- row Bush, Orange county, N. Y .; another three years in Wayne county ; one year on the Wilkes Barre circuit ; three years in Lake township, Wayne county ; two years on the Schuylkill circuit; two voars at Womelsdorf, Berks county ; one year at Annville, and three years more in Wayne county. While serving the last year on this charge he was taken ill (in the fall of 1891), and his ministerial labors have been necessarily limited since that time. He and his good wife are greatly esteemed among all classes, and his influence is always felt on the side of progress. For many years he has been a firm opponent of intemperance, and politically he supports the Prohibition party.


On July 31, 1853, Mr. Savitz was married, at Bath, Northampton county, by Rev. John Fuchs, a Lutheran minister, to Miss Maria Warner, who was born in that county, October 9, 1837. Her paternal grandparents, Adam and Eve Warner, were early residents of that locality, and her par- ents, John and Catherine (Titus) Warner, were both natives of the county. Her father, who was a weaver and farmer by occupation, died in 1870, at the age of seventy-two, and her mother passed away June 3, 1850, aged forty-one, the remains of both being interred in Northampton county. Mrs .. Savitz was the younger of two children, and the other, Benjamin, who married Miss Sophia Christ, is a farmer in New Jersey. Rev. James Savitz and his wife have had four children, viz .: Martha, wife of our subject; Josiah, born July 10, 1856, died in August, 1856; William, born August 27, 1864, who married Miss Lida Osgood, and resides at Wilkes Barre, where he is employed as a clerk ; and John F., born February 20, 1871, who married Bertha Cobb, and resides upon a farm in South Canaan township, Wayne county.


PETER A. BOWER, of the firm of Bower & Son, general merchants at Hawley, Wayne county, is a typical representative of that class of thrifty Germans who make up so large a part of the popu- lation of this section of Pennsylvania, and who, coming to America in the hope of bettering their


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circumstances, have not only satisfied their own ambitions, but have at the same time become re- spected and valued citizens of the community in which they have made a home.


Mr. Bower is a native of Bremen, Germany, born June 2, 1829, third in the family of Peter and Mary (Roth) Bower, who had four children, viz. : Margaret, who died in Germany, unmarried; Re- gina, Mrs. Peter Moritz, who died in Germany; Peter A .; and Philip, who died in Germany. The inother dying in 1834, the father, married, for his second wife, Elizabeth Berkert, and by that union had three children: Mary, living in Honesdale, Penn., the widow of Francis Albert; Steven, who (lied at Honesdale; and Margaret, Mrs. John Flo- dlerbaugh. In 1852 Mr. and Mrs. Bower sailed with their family for America, and landed in the United States after thirty-four days on the ocean. They settled in Honesdale, Wayne Co., Penn., and here the parents died, Mr. Bower in 1854, at the age of fifty-three years, Mrs. Bower in 1856. They were members of the Catholic Church.


During his early life Peter A. Bower was a shepherd, but after settling with the family in Honesdale he obtained work on the canal, and after two seasons in the employ of others had a boat of his own, which he ran for sixteen years. The next eighteen years he worked as guager for the Dela- ware & Hudson Co., and he has since been engaged in the general mercantile line with his son in Haw- ley, where they do a profitable and constantly grow- ing business. By honesty and thrift they have suc- ceeded in establishing their affairs on a firm basis, and gained the good will of all who have had deal- ings with them, and Mr. Bower is respected as an industrious and hard-working man who has won success by his own persevering efforts deserves to be.


On June 2, 1854, at Honesdale, Mr. Bower was married, by Rev. Father Snyder, to Miss Mary A. Hutter, and three children have come to them, namely : Francis, born July 7, 1856, died May 27, 1861; Mary, born March 3, 1858, died April 3, same year ; and Peter J., born September 16, 1864. The family are Catholics in religious connection, and Mr. Bower also belongs to St. Joseph's So- ciety, of which he is a charter member, and of which he was the first trustee in Honesdale, holding that office five years. Politically he supports the Demo- cratic party. Mrs. Bower was born October 9, IS29, in Bavaria, Germany, and her parents, An- drew and Genevieve (Guyer) Hutter, were also natives of that kingdom, where they passed their entire lives. The mother died just two months after the father. He was a stonemason by occupation. The family consisted of seven children: Wyberg, who died in Germany; Otellia, widow of Frank Riddle, living in Germany; Antinery, who married Benedict Kerl (both died in Honesdale, Penn.) ; Sebastian, deceased in Germany; Cynthia and Mary, twins, the former of whom is the wife of Joseph Borst, of Honesdale; and John, who died


in Germany. Mary A. (Mrs. Bower) came to America with one of her sisters in 1853; another sister had come the year before.


PETER J. BOWER, junior member of the firm of Bower & Son, has passed his life in Wayne coun- ty, and is looked upon as one of the rising young business men of Hawley. He was married on June 6, 1892, to Miss Catherine Kerl, and their union has been blessed with three children, as follows: Mary, born April 6, 1893; Joseph, born September 19, 1894; William. Mrs. Catherine (Kerl) Bower was born March 26, 1867, in Cherry Ridge township, Wayne Co., Penn. Her parents, Joseph and Bar- bara (Meyers) Kerl, were born in Germany, where their parents lived and died, and they came to Amer- ica in 1845, locating first in Honesdale, Wayne county. After a time they removed to Canaan town- ship, and thence to Cherry Ridge township, where they lived for a number of years, but they now make their home in Honesdale, retired from active life. The father is seventy-five years of age, the mother sixty-three. By occupation he was a farmer and carpenter. Mr. and Mrs. Kerl reared a large family : John, who died young; John, who is a carpenter and lives at Carbondale, Penn .; Christina, widow of Jacob Undrier, residing in Corning, N. Y .; Joseph, of Honesdale, Penn .; Mary, the wife of Frank Soete, who conducts a restaurant in Hones- dale; Barbara, Mrs. Fred Lesh, of Corning, N. Y .; Kate, Mrs. Bower; George, who owns a restaurant in Scranton, Penn .; and Frank, a nurse in the hos- pital at Carbondale. The parents are members of the German Catholic Church.


JOSEPH EDWIN EVERITT, the well-known and popular proprietor of the "Central Hotel," Brod- headsville, Monroe county, was born in Chestnut Hill township, Monroe county, September 30, 1853, a son of Charles and Elizabeth (Dutter) Everitt. The family is one of the oldest and most highly respected in the county. Here were born his great-grandpar- ents, Henry and Sarah (Kresge) Everitt, who died in Chestnut Hill township. The former took part in the Pennite war, and in the same struggle Jacob Everitt was killed, his remains being interred at Locust Ridge, Monroe county.


Jacob Everitt, grandfather of our subject, spent his entire life in Monroe county engaged in agricult- ural pursuits, was a supporter of the Democratic party, and a member of the Reformed Church. He married Christina Dersheimer, also a native of Monroe county, and a daughter of George Dershei- mer, a farmer, who was born in this State, and died in Chestnut Hill township. Jacob Everitt died in 1877, at the age of eighty-six years and one month, and his wife passed away in 1822. To them were born six children : Sarah (deceased), who married (first) David Serfass, and (second) Peter Shitz ; Elizabeth (deceased), who married David Hawk; Charles, father of our subject; Mary (deceased), who mar- ried Samuel Vildtrick; William, a veteran of the Civil war, and a resident of Chestnut Hill township,


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who married Martha J. Hardy, now deceased; and Henry, who died unmarried.


( harles Everitt, our subject's father, is a retired farmer living on the old homestead in Chestnut Hill township, where he was born December 26, 1818, and where he has spent his entire life. He has served as constable in his township for three years, is a supporter of the Democratic party, and a faith- ful member of the Reformed Church. He was mar- ried in Carbon county, Penn., January 12, 1843, to Miss Elizabeth Duddery, a native of that county and a daughter of Conrad and Louisa ( Hood- macher ) Duddery, of Carbon county. She died De- cember 31, 1891, at the age of sixty-eight years, and was buried in Pleasant Valley cemetery. The fol- lowing children were born of this union: Mahlon married Rebecca Walt, and is engaged in the hotel business in Gilberts, Chestnut Hill township ; David, a resident of Stroudsburg, married Lena Kresge; Lyman, who was formerly a school teacher, but is now engaged in farming in Chestnut Hill township, married ( first) Ellen Barthold, and (second) Alice Mill ; Timothy, who was also a school teacher, and is now register and recorder, residing in Strouds- burg, married Josephine Barthold ; Delila is the wife of Alvin Mervine, who is engaged in the bottled- beer business in Mt. Pocono, Penn. ; Henry is a resi- dent of Stroudsburg ; Joseph E., our subject, is next in the order of birth; Charles married Emaline Dersheimer, and operates the old homestead; Sarah J. is the wife of Joseph Norman, foreman in a fac- tory at Gouldsboro, Penn .; Amanda is the wife of George Gruver, a miller of Reeders, Monroe coun- ty ; James married Ella Werkheiser, and is engaged in the hotel business at Point Philips, Penn .; Cor- nelia and Alvin are twins, the former being now the wife of Stephen Bonser, a hotel man of White Ha- ven, Penn. ; the latter died in infancy.


The subject of this sketch remained under the parental roof until he attained his majority, and then worked at farming and lumbering for others. Sub- sequently for two years and a half he was brakeman on the Lehigh Valley railroad, and then went to Bar- tonsville, where he conducted the "Bartonsville Hotel" for five years. Coming to Brodheadsville in 1895, he took charge of the "Central Hotel," which he has since carried on with marked success. It has become widely and favorably known under his able management, and receives a liberal share of the public patronage. Each year Mr. Everitt visits Maine, where he purchases Christmas trees for the Philadelphia market. He is a stockholder and di- rector of the Fairview Academy at Brodheadsville, and is a business man of known reliability, com- manding the respect and confidence of all with whom he comes in contact. He casts his ballot with the Democratic party, and holds membership in the Reformed Church.


At Sciota, Monroe county, August 1, 1879, Mr. Everitt was united in marriage with Miss Emma Werkheiser, by whom he has had three children : Estella and Edith, deceased ; and Layton, at home.


Mrs. Everitt was born in Hamilton township, Mon- roc county, a daughter of Enoch and Sarah ( Sum- ney) Werkheiser, who spent their entire lives in that county. The father, who was a tanner in his younger years, later lived retired and died May 19, 1890, at the age of sixty-six years. The mother departed this life December 10, 1882, at the age of fifty-nine, and the remains of both were interred in Mt. Zion cemetery, Hamilton township. Both were sincere members of the Reformed Church, and he was iden- tified with the Democratic party. In their family were eight children: Peter, a farmer of Sciota, married Sarah C. Slutter; Mary C. is the wife of George Metzger, of Portland, Penn .; Stewart is a stone cutter of Pittsburg, Penn .; William is living in the same place ; Eliza died young ; Emma F. is the wife of our subject ; Ella is the wife of James Ever- itt, our subject's brother, who is engaged in the hotel business in Northampton county ; and Delila is the wife of Rogers Mackes, of Warners, N. Y. Mrs. Everitt's paternal grandparents, George and Cath- erine (Kresge) Werkheiser, spent their entire lives in Monroe county engaged in agricultural pursuits. Her maternal grandparents were Jacob and Mary Sumney, also of Monroe county, where he operated a large tannery.


DANIEL D. ROSENCRANS, a well-known and popular citizen of Delaware township, Pike county, devotes his attention to general farming and the raising of fine horses. He was born January 23, 1830, upon the farm where he now lives, and is a son of Simeon and Mary (Van Etten) Rosenkrans.


The father, who was also a farmer by occupa- tion, was a man of prominence in his community, and held nearly all the township offices. He was a native of Lehman township, Pike county, and died on the present farm of our subject, June 10, 1872, at the age of sixty-two years. The mother also de- parted this life there, in January, 1857, at the age of fifty-one, and both were laid to rest in the Delaware cemetery. The children born of their union were: Debby A., deceased wife of James H. Emery ; Cor- nelia J., widow of Major William J. Schoonover, of Bushkill, Pike county ; Daniel D., the subject of this review ; John ( deceased), who married Cather- ine Van Etten ; Andrew (deceased), who married Martha Van Etten, a sister of Catherine; Balinda, deceased wife of Simeon Schoonover; Eleanor, de- ceased wife of Henry W. Nichols ; Mary, who died at the age of four years ; and Sarah, deceased wife of Nathan B. Westbrook. Our subject's paternal grandparents were Solomon and Catherine (Van- Gordon) Rosenkrans, and the maternal grandpar- ents were Simeon and Cornelia (Dingman) Van- Etten.


On January 17, 1866. at Newark, N. J., Daniel D. Rosencrans was united in marriage with Miss Abby H. Nichols, who was born in that city, October 17, 1841, a daughter of Henry and Phoebe (Crane) Nichols, who were of Scotch origin and died in Newark. In early life the father followed the stone


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mason's trade, and as he prospered in business, he was enabled to spend his last years in retirement, enjoying the fruits of his former toil. He died in 1887, aged seventy-eight years, and his wife in 1881, aged seventy-two, and both were buried in the Fair- mount cemetery, N. J. Their children were Emma L., deceased wife of William Winans; George H., who died when young; Henry W., a resident of Newark, N. J., who married (first) Eleanor Rosen- crans, and (second) Anna Crane; Cornelia, who died unmarried; Edward deceased), who married Martha Binghamton; Abby, wife of our subject ; Isaac (deceased), who married Anna Loscey, and Johnson (deceased), who married Mar- tha Binghamton. Mrs. Rosencrans' paternal grandparents, Jedediah J. and Deborah Nichols, were natives of Scotland, who on coming to the United States settled in Newark, N. J. Her ma- ternal grandparents were Josiah and Lois Crane. The children born to our subject and his wife are: Ida, at home; Mary, wife of Arthur Genung, a farmer of Rock Island county, Ill .; Clara, wife of Harry J. Stanley, a clerk at the Central depot at Newark; and Phœbe, Frank and Solomon, all at home.


Mr. Rosencrans has always made his home upon the farm where he was born, and the greater part of his life has been devoted to agricultural pursuits. At the age of seventeen, however, he went to Ding- man's Ferry, where he engaged in clerking for his uncle William F. Brodhead for one year. For several years he has been a successful dealer in horses, and has owned some of great value includ- ing "Rosy Reath," which animal he purchased in 1895. He is a good judge of the noble steed, and in this branch of his business has also met with excel- lent success. Politically he is a stanch Republican, and he has most creditably filled the offices of town- ship auditor and supervisor. His loyalty as a citi- zen and his devotion to his country's interests have been among his marked characteristics, and the com- munity is fortunate that numbers him among its citizens. At Philadelphia, November II, 1862, he enlisted in the noted 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry, un- der Capt. Enos J. Penopacker, and was made ser- geant of Company M. He was in active duty most of the time, and among the engagements in which he took part were the battles of Winchester and Gettys- burg. At Hagerstown, Md., July 6, 1863, he was captured and taken to Belle Isle, where he was in- carcerated for three months. He was then paroled and on being released rejoined his company, and re- mained in the service until honorably discharged at Cumberland City, Md., June 26, 1865. Though he had several horses shot under him, he fortunately was never wounded.


CHARLES KRAUSS, a well-known engineer on the Erie railroad, residing in Hawley, Wayne county, is a native of that county, born in Honesdale, November 29, 1857. He is a son of Charles and Margaret (Eagler) Krauss, natives of


Germany, the former born at Wittenberg, the latter at Baiern. The paternal grandparents, Charles and Julia Krauss, who never left Germany, had a family of five children, four sons and one daughter, of whom Henry became a prominent physician and died in Germany. The great-grandfather of our subject, Charles Krauss, was also a well-known physician of the Fatherland, where he died at a ripe old age.


In 1838 the father of our subject emigrated to the United States and located in Honesdale, where he met and married Margaret Eagler in 1841. She was born August 24, 1823, a daughter of John and Mary (Greatline) Eagler, who spent their entire lives in Germany, where her father worked at the shoemaker's trade. She was the younger of their two children, the other being John, who was killed while serving in the German army. Her paternal grandfather, John Eagler, was a linen weaver by occupation, and never came to America. In 1840 Mrs. Krauss crossed the Atlantic and came to Honesdale with a lady who afterward went west. After their marriage the parents of our subject con- tinued to reside in Honesdale until 1864, when they came to Hawley, where the father died January I, 1878, at the age of sixty-seven years. He was an architect in his native land, but in this country was employed at house painting. Politically, he was a stanch supporter of the Republican party, and in re- ligious connection he was a consistent member of the German Lutheran Church to which his wife also be- longed. She passed away November 23, 1898. Like her husband she was held in high regard by all who knew her for her many excellencies of character. In the family of this worthy couple were the follow- ing children: Conrad, a decorator, residing in Hawley, married Louise Delling; Charles is next in the order of birth; Christian was killed on the rail- road at the age of ten years; Frederick, who died October 30, 1898, lived with his mother; Elizabeth also lived with her mother; Sophia is the wife of Miles Wilds, a miller, of Hawley ; Jacob died in in- fancy ; Mary is now living in New York City.




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