USA > Pennsylvania > Northumberland County > Genealogical and biographical annals of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Vol. 2 > Part 66
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which church, at the old west end, rest the re-
On May 17, 1879, Mr. Reitz married Laura E. mains of these pioneers, who were the founders Raker, daughter of Isaac D. and Phoebe Ann (Wit- mer) Raker, of Little Mahanoy, who died in Sha- mokin. . Mr. and Mrs. Reitz have a family of four
of a large and respected posterity. Their names appcar upon the tombstone of their son Jacob Con- rad Schaffer, who was born Aug. 2. 1762: their children : Herbert N. married Maggie Miller and other son, Wilhehn. was born May 28. 1764. The has two children. Laura M. and Casaline L .; Schaffers were called "Swopes." as many natives of Landis L. married AAmelia M. Peifer and has a Wurtemberg were known-apparently a Pennsyl- daughter, Alna A. ; Edwin R. has been an invalid sylvania.
since 1904; D. Elmer is a clerk at Lebanon, Penn- Descendants of both of the sons of these early
Mr. and Mrs. Reitz were among the last mem- bers of St. John's U. E. Church in Little Mahanoy.
vania-German corruption of the German "Schwab." settlers are still numerous in the region where they made their home.
Jacob Conrad Schaffer, son of Frantz and Elis-
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abetha, was born Aug. 7, 1762, and died Sept. 11, who married George Blanche; Elias Z .; Rebecca, 1822, in Lower Mahanoy township, where he is who married Jonas Zerbe; and Jacob, of Jordan buried, at Zion's (Stone Valley) Church. He lived township. in that township, where he owned land and fol- ELIAS Z. SHAFFER, farmer and lumber merchiant
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sons : Jacob, of whom we have no records; and ; born Aug. 14, 1862, in Lower Mahanoy township, Michael. lowed farming. . Among his children were two of Jordan township, Northumberland county, was son of William L. Schaffer. He was reared and
Michael. Schaffer, son of Jacob Conrad, was -educated in his native locality, receiving a prac- born and reared near Stone Valley Church, and tical common school training, and in 1882 began lived there for some years. . Then he moved to farming independently in Jordan township, where Jordan township, where he lived on a farm now he was a tenant for the following ten years. - At owned by a Walborn, a large tract near Union- the end of that period he purchased the place town (Pillow). He died there, and was buried at : where he has since resided, having 167 acres which the Stone Valley Church, where so many of the he has cultivated successfully. It was formerly family have found their last resting place. A the homestead of John Daniel, who owned it for number of the later generations, however, are bur- many years, and before whose day one Rubendall ied at Hebe and other churches in the surrounding was the owner. He owns also a small tract of farm townships. Michael Schaffer was married three land in Jordan township, on which there is a times : His first wife, Rosanna Witmer, who died' house, and which he rents. Since 1900 Mr. Shaf- April 24, 1836, bore him children as follows: Ja- fer has also been interested in lumbering, in which cob, Michael, Joseph, Samuel and Daniel. By his line he has made good by strict attention to busi- second marriage, to Elizabeth Wert, he had three ness and good judgment in both the acquisition children : Philip, Elizabeth (married Joseph Sei- of desirable holdings and the handling of his ler ) and Susanna (married William Deppen). By product. He has seventy-six acres of timberland in the third wife, Susanna Reed, there were no chil- his home township (besides his farm properties) ; dren. . (Another account says Elizabeth was born to the first marriage and Daniel to the second.) All of Mr. Michael Schaffer's family lived in the Mahantango Valley.
Jaeob C. Schaffer, grandfather of Elias Z. Shaf- fer, a farmer and lumber merchant of Jordan township, was born Feb. 23, 1793, in Lower Ma- hanoy township, near Pillow, and died at George- town (Dalmatia) in 1832. He was a cooper by trade, but also farmed and dealt in lumber, being an active and enterprising man and successful in his undertakings. To hini and his wife, Lydia (Lahr), were born the following children: Wil- liam L., Elizabeth (married Simon Lenker) and Sarah (married George Seiler).
passed all his life, dying in 1906. He is buried at St. Paul's Church, at Urban, and was a Luth- eran member of that church. He was a man of medium size, a shoemaker by trade, which he fol- lowed until his retirement, and also farmed, own- ing a tract of twenty-five acres which he culti- vated industriously and profitably. He served as supervisor of his township and held other public positions, being identified with official affairs in his locality for many years. On April 30, 1857, he married, at Lykens Valley, Catharine Zerbe, daugh- ter of Joseph Zerbe, of Lower Mahanoy, and she survives him, now making her home at Mount Carmel. She is now (1910) sixty-nine years of age. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. William L. Schaffer, three of whom died young, the others being: Mary, who married Thomas Hunsieker and (second) James McArdle; Sarah, Lydia.
eighty acres of timberland in Schuylkill county, and fifty-four acres in Dauphin county. He has employed as many as twenty men in his lumber- ing operations, and ships most of his lumber into the eoal regions of this State. A self-made man in the most creditable sense of that terin, he is not only known as a successful farmer and busi- ness man but also one of the influential public cit- izens of his district, having served as supervisor and being at present a member of the school board of his township, though he is a Republican in a Democratic community. He is Republican com- mitteeman of Jordan township.
On Aug. 13, 1880, Mr. Shaffer married Sarah E. Host, who was born Aug. 14, 1862 (on the same
William L. Schaffer, son of Jacob C. Schaffer, day as her husband), daughter of George S. and was born in Lower Mahanoy township, where he Rebecca (Dockey) Host, and died March 13, 1910.
She is buried at Urban. Mr. and Mrs. Shaffer be- came the parents of six children: Foster, of Ur- ban, who married Minnie Wentzel; George, who" resides at home ; Carrie M., wife of Charles Klock ; John Jaeob, Mary C. and Elias A., all at home. Mr. Shaffer and his family are Lutheran members of St. Paul's Church at Urban, in whose work he has been very active, having served as deacon for six years and as elder eight years.
We have the following record of the sons of Michael Sehaffer, son of Jacob Conrad and grand- son of Frantz, the einigrant.
Michael was a farmer near Stone Valley Church, his farm there being still owned by his estate. To him and his wife Rebecca (Bohner) were born chil- dren: Henry, Levi, Michael, Benjamin, Sarah and
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Joseph was also a farmer, and lived near Vera Cruz, where he is buried. He was' twice married, and had an only son, George, who died when young.
Daniel lived in Jordan township, where he was a shoemaker and owned a small farm. He is buried at Hebe. His wife was Polly Bohner, and among their children were Sarah, Sevilla and Emma. (There is a Daniel W. Shaffer buried at Hebe, who died July 18, 1905, aged seventy-eight years, four months, twenty days. "Frany," his wife, died Aug. 16, 1906, aged sixty-one years, two months, twen- ty-three days.)
Philip was a carpenter and lived and died at Millersburg, Pa. He was married twice and had children.
Samuel was a native of Lower Mahanoy town- ship, where he also died, but he passed the greater part of his life in Jordan township, whither he came when fifteen years old. He owned a small farnı. His wife, Elizabeth (Rubendall), died be- fore him, and is buried at Uniontown, his grave being at Stone Valley Church. He was a Repub- lioan, served. as supervisor of Jordan township, and was active in churel, holding many offices, deacon, elder, trustee, etc. To him and his wife were born ten children, viz .: Sarah, Michael, Frank, Eliz- abeth, Catharine, Malinda, Emma, Samuel, Isaac, and a daughter that died young. Of this family
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Samuel Schaffer, born Aug. 29, 1843, settled in Lower Mahanoy in 1888, and has since lived there, on a tract of twenty-two aeres. He is a Re- publican, and has held the offices of constable and school director. In about 1870 he married Jes- tina Boliner, daughter of Nicholas Bohner, and they have had ten children : A son that died in infancy, Ida, Harvey, Emma, Sevilla, Kate, Mand, Daniel, Edwin and Annie.
vWilhelm Schaffer, younger son of Frantz, the emigrant, was born in the Fatherland May 28, 1764, and died March 29, 1835, in Lower Ma- hanoy township, Northumberland county. He and his wife Sarah (Witmer) . arc buried at the Stone Valley Church. She was born Aug. 24. 1767, daughter of Christophel and Christina Witmer, and died on her eighty-fifth birthday, in 1852. Mr. and Mrs. Schaffer were farning people, liv- ing upon and owning the tract which now belongs to Monroe Kiehl. Their children were: John, Jacob, George, William, Daniel, Sarah (married Jacob Carl) and Catharine (married Heinrich Lentz). Of this family, John, Jacob and George are more fully mentioned below. - William (son of Wilhelm) married a Lenker and had children : William, Isaae (who lived near Vera Cruz), Sarah, Polly ( Mrs. Josiah Schwartz) and Elizabeth (who first married a Lahr and later became the wife of Reuben Lancr). Daniel married Sarah Dopse and their children were: Moses, Harry, David, Emma J., Solomon G. and Jonathan D.
Mary (married Jaren Seiler) and Polly (who married Joseph Lauer).
John Schaffer, son of Wilhelm, was a farmer in Lower Mahanoy township. He married Chris- tina Lenker, who lived to be nearly ninety-three years old, and they are buried at the Stone Valley Church. Their children, all born near Byerly's hotel, were as follows: John (married Jane 'Man- tilles), Josiah, David (who died aged nineteen years), Catharine (married Frederick Kissling), Sarah (married Samuel Byerly) and Anna (mar- ried Abraham Troutman).
Josiah Sehaffer, son of John, was born Nov. 12, 1827, in Lower Mahanoy township, where he also died. From 1860 he lived on the farm where his death oceurred Oct. 24, 1909, the result of a fall from a seeond story window ; he was ill at the time. During his -active years he followed farming, and lie was a well known citizen of his locality, having served as deacon, clder and trustee of the Stone Valley Church, where he is buried. In 1857 he married Harriet Otto, daughter of Jolin and Re- beeca (Grow) Otto, and she survives him. They became the parents of four children: Washington, now of Lykens, Pa .; Lillie R .; C. Anna; and Landis J., of Sunbury.
Jacob Schaffer, son of Wilhelm, lived at Hick- ory Corners. He had children: Elizabeth, Sallie (Mrs. Isaae Deppen), Magdalena (Mrs. James Finkbone), Catharinc, William, Susanna ( Mrs. William Reed), Abraham and Solomon. Mrs. William Reed, who lives somewhere in Dakota, is now the only survivor of this family.
Solomon Sehaffer, son of Jaeob, was born in Lower Mahanoy Dec. 29, 1821, and died July 14, 1891, in his seventieth year. He is buried at the Stone Valley Church. He was a stonemason, and followed his trade at Hickory Corners, where he lived for a number of years, thence moving to Ly- kens Valley, in Dauphin county, where he owned a plaee of 100 acres which he farmed for six years. At the end of that time he sold the farm for $11,- 000, at a profit of $1,000, and it is now owned by Charles .Phillips. Moving back into the Mahan- tango Valley, he passed the remainder of his life on the Wert farm, where he died. He was an in- fluential man in the community in his day, serv- ing as school director, overseer of the poor, ete., and was prominent in church work.even in his old age, serving as deacon, elder. etc., at the Stone Valley Church. His wife, Susanna (Hepner), daughter of Peter and Magdalena (Lenker) Hep- ner, was born Aug. 26, 1832, and died Oct. 19, 1904. To Mr. and Mrs. Solomon Schaffer were born the following children: Daniel C., twin sons who died in infancy, Sarah E., William H. (de- ceased), Peter M., Jacob H., Mary Magdalena,
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JACOB H. SCHAFFER, son of Solomon, is a farm- 1831, in Mahanoy (now Jordan) township, on the er in Lower Mahanoy township, where he was farm now owned by Henry Raup, and died Oct. born, at Hickory Corners, Dec. 12, 1858. He was 3, 1901, at Urban, where he conducted the hotel reared to farming, and continued to work for his for many years, becoming one of the best known parents until he reached the age of twenty-four years. He then left home to work in the lumber district, where he was engaged in assorting lum- ber, at Williamsport, for six years, during which time he was associated with F. H. Seaman, with whom he worked daily while away from home. Returning to his native place, he labored for sev- eral years before he bought his farm of 100 aeres, which was originally a Wertz homestead, later owned by the Lenker family and afterward by a Campbell. The present barn on the property was built by John Wertz in 1857. Mr. Schaffer is an industrious, prosperous and much, estecined cit- izen of his township, which he served as supervisor in 1893 and as school director, being also secre- tary of the board. In politics he is a Republican, in religion a Lutheran, belonging to the Stone Valley Church, where he is a well known worker, being at present a trustee of his congregation ; he was formerly a deacon.
In 1882 Mr. Sehaffer married Amelia Fettcrolf, and to them was born one son, Charles F. Mrs. ; Schaffer died May 14, 1900, aged thirty-nine years. On Oct. 3, 1903, Mr. Schaffer married (second) Miranda Stepp, who died Oct. 5, 1905, and on Oct. 19, 1907, Mr. Schaffer married Sarah Jane Schleg- rel, daughter of Abrahamn Schlegel.
CHARLES F. SCHAFFER, only child of Jacob H. Schaffer, was born Dec. 10, 1883, in Lower Ma- hanoy township, and from the time he was two years old lived in the home of his maternal grand- parents, Daniel and Sarah Fetterolf. He is now engaged in farming his grandfather's farm, which is near. his father's property. He is an industrious and enterprising young man, and has a promising outlook. The affairs of his locality have always possessed great interest for him, and in 1907 he · was elected assessor of Lower Mahanoy township, serving three years in that office. Since 1907 he has been superintendent of the Hastings Union Sunday school, and he is a past master of Stone Valley Grange, No. 1367, P. of H.
On March 6. 1909, Mr. Schaffer married Annie M. Lenker, and they have one son, Raymond.
men in that line in the lower end of Northumber- land county. Earlier in life he followed farm- ing, to which vocation he was reared, and he also , drove cattle, during the Civil war making eonsid- erable money in this business, handling many head of cattle and mules. For a number of years he was one of the leaders of the Democratic party in the lower end of the county, served as school direct- or and supervisor of his township, and as mercan- tile appraiser of the county, was also active in church and Sunday school work, and served many years as superintendent of the Sunday school, in his later years, when too old for the responsibilities of that position, continuing to be a regular attend- ant at Sunday school services. His wife, Elizabeth (Schwartz), survives him, and though she has al- most attained the three score and ten mark she is fairly well preserved. The following children were . born to this worthy couple: Lizzie, Mrs. A. M. Snyder; D. Richard, of IIerndon, Pa .; Sarah J., Mrs. George Baum; Laura, who died young; and George Elmer.
GEORGE ELMER SHAFFER was born Jan. 30, 1867, in Jordan township, and obtained his edu- cation in the public schools of the home district. When fifteen years old he commenced selling farin implements, and in 1883 he began to sell fertiliz- . ers, etc., being one of the first in his section to engage in that line. He was only seventeen when he began to deal in cattle, and he has been inter- ested in this line ever sinee, being now the pro- prietor of the Urban stockyards, which he estab- lished in 1895. He handles many hundred head of stock annually, having disposed of as many as thirty-five carloads in a single season, and he con- ducts a number of sales every fall, supplying the. farmers in the neighboring territory with "shotes" and hogs, and he sells many fat hogs to butchers. Ile commenced buying and selling hogs in 1896, and has handled many hundreds every year since. He also sells from four to six carloads of range horses annually, and deals largely in poultry: in the fall of 1909 he had 225 geese on hand at one time, besides many ducks. Mr. Shaffer's extensive business has been founded upon his reputation for square dealing, for which he is trusted by all who have had transactions of any kind with him. He has visited a number of States in the Union in the interest of his cattle business, and in one season made five trips West to buy stock. In 1906 he became proprietor of the "National Hotel" at Urban, which he has since conducted in connection with his other business, making a success of that as number of improvements on the property, inside
George Schaffer, grandfather of George Elmer Shaffer, proprietor of the stockyards and of the "National Hotel" at Urban, was born Sept. 4, 1805, son of Wilhelm and grandson of Frantz. He died Dec. 8, 1891. He followed farming, liv- ing in what is now Jordan (then Mahanoy) town- ship. His wife, Sarah ( Ressler), bore him chil- dren as follows: Susan, Mrs. Lantz ; Sarah, Mrs. Isaac Lenker ; Catharine, Mrs. Georg Breinighaus ; he has of all his other undertakings. Ile has made a Elias, and Joel.
Elias Schaffer, son of George, was born Oct. 29, and outside, since it came into his possession. In
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partnership with A. M. Snyder he owns a farm of The children were as follows: Aletta C .; Mary thirty-five acres at Urban, and he has several lots M., Mrs. Frank Bordner, of Nebraska : Susan E., unmarried ; Carrie M., Mrs. Joseph Reitz, of Sha- mokin, this county; Ida R., Mrs. William Dreibel- bies, of Lower Mahanoy ; and William N., who died in infancy. near Pittsburg, Pa. There are no more highly re- spected people in . the locality than Mr. Shaffer and his family, who are known for their intelli- gence and progressive spirit, their usefulness in the community and their encouragement of the best institutions in modern existence.
On Feb. 28, 1896, Mr. Shaffer married Aletta C. Heckert, daughter of Andrew and Mary ( Ress- ler) Heckert, of Lower Mahanoy township, though Mrs. Shaffer was born in Illinois. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Shaffer, Nelson R. and Nevin E. Mr. Shaffer and his family worship at the Urban Church, he being a member of the Lutheran congregation, while his wife be- longs to the Reformed congregation. He served four years as deacon. In politics he is a Demo- erans in religious connection. crat, with independent inclinations.
John Heckert, Mrs. Shaffer's great-grandfather, was one of the pioneer settlers in what is now Low- er Mahanoy township, Northumberland county, his name appearing in the list of taxables of what was then Mahanoy (now Lower Mahanoy) township, in 1778. It is said he was a farmer and had a number of children. The Heckert family was at one time numerous in Lower Mahanoy and a num- ber of representatives of the name still reside there. Several generations of Heckerts are buried at Zion's Church in Stone Valley. Among the children of John Heckert were sons Friederich and Philip, the latter being Mrs. Shaffer's grandfather. Friederich, born Nov. 29, 1788, died Aug. 17, 1858; his wife, Maria, born March 24, 1792, died April 3, 1870.
Philip Heckert, son of John, was born in Lower Mahanoy Dec. 9, 1796. and had a large farm there, near County Line. He died March 27, 1872, and his wife Anna Mary (Wert), born March 2, 1805, . died Jan. 16, 1888, aged eighty-two years, ten months, fourteen days. They are buried at Stone Valley Church. They had a large family, viz. : Daniel, Susan, Michael, Philip, Mary, Casper (who was a soldier in the Civil war), Emanuel, Henry (who was a soldier in the Civil war), Catharine, Andrew W., Uriah (who served in the Civil war) and Rachel.
Andrew W. Heckert, son of Philip, was born near County Line, in Lower Mahanoy township, and died at Dalmatia, Pa., where he and his family had lived since 1873. Before his marriage he went out to Forreston, Ogle Co., Ill., where he learned the carpenter's trade, but after he had resided there a number of years he returned to his native place for a wife, marrying Mary Ressler, . daughter of Solomon and Catharine ( Haas) Ress- ler, of Lower Mahanoy. He returned West with his bride and they lived in Illinois until after the birth of their six children, coming back to Penn- sylvania in 1873 and settling in Lower Mahanoy.
D. RICHARD SHAFFER, son of Elias, was born June 21, 1859, in Jordan township, and when fif- teen years old commenced to learn cigar-making, which trade he has followed ever since. About 1890 he moved to Herndon, where he still makes his home, and he was postmaster at that place dur- ing Cleveland's second administration. He is a Democrat, and has served the borough as tax col- lector since 1902. In 1885 he married Emma, daughter of Samuel Lebo. of Pillow, Pa. They have no children. Mr. and Mrs. Shaffer are Luth-
Daniel Shaffer, grandfather of Aaron Shaffer, superintendent of the Trevorton Coal Land Com- pany, at Dunkelbergers, in Little Mahanoy town- ship, lived near Stone Valley Church, his prop- erty being the farm now owned by Frank Radel. He had about forty acres, and followed farming as well as his trade, shoemaking. His wife died long before him. They had three children : Isaac, Cath- arine (married Solomon Radel) and Henry H.
Henry H. Shaffer, son of Daniel, is one of the oldest residents of Lower Mahanoy township, where he was born April 23, 1833. He learned the trade of stonemason, which he followed some years, later engaging in farming and limeburning. For about half a year he was out West, where he married Re- becca Dietrich, who was born in the West April 5, 1847, daughter of Florin and Sophia ( Haupt) Dietrich. Eighteen children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Shaffer, six of whom died young, the others being : Rebecca, who died unmarried : Daniel, who was killed on the coal banks in 1887; Lucinda, who died young: Sarah Ellen, who married Charles Wertz; Charles, of Uniontown, Pa .; Aaron ; William, who died when twelve years old : Kate, wife of James Wentzel ; James M., of Lower Augusta township, this county; Ira, who died young ; Tama, wife of Jacob Hepner; and Ida S. (deceased), who was the wife of Cloyd Massner.
AARON SHAFFER, son of Henry H., was born March 31, 1874, at Georgetown, and until he was twenty-two years old lived with his grandfather, Daniel Shaffer. His education was received in the public schools, and when twenty years old he learned . the trade of stonemason, which he has continned to follow off and on ever since. working for his neighbors principally. Farming has, how- ever. been his principal vocation. He began for himself in 1900, at Hickory Corners, where he had ninety aeres which he farmed four and a half years. During two years of this time he also con- ducted a dairy business, running a milk team daily
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to Hickory Corners and Dalmatia. In the spring was from the vicinity of Mahanoy Church, North- of 1905 he disposed of his farm stock by sale and umberland county, and died about 1865, at the age went West to Arkansas, Indian Territory and Kansas, he and J. S. Dreibelbies purchasing a load of horses in Kansas and shipping them to George- town; they were sold at public vendue at Hick- ory Corners. After that Mr. Shaffer did railroad work, being employed on the Shamokin branch of the Reading road for abont two years, and on April 1, 1907, he took his present position. being
superintendent of the Trevorton Coal Land Com- ana; Aunie, wife of Isaac Kneiss, of Northumber- pany's farm of 100 acres at Dunkelbergers. He is perfectly capable of filling all the requirements of this responsibility, and has been a faithful and efficient worker, gaining the respect of all his as- sociates.
In September, 1894, Mr. Shaffer married Ada Shaffer, daughter of Zwingle A. Shaffer and his wife Sarah ( Dottery), and five children have been born to them: Tessie, Herma, Ernest (who died when three years old), Curtis and Molly. Mr. also owned a small farm. He died there, and is Shaffer and his family are Lutheran members of buried at Hunter station, in that township, as is
Zion's Church, Stone Valley, and he served four . years as deacon of the congregation. Politically he is a Republican.
Adam (or John Adam) Dietrich, Mr. Shaffer's great-grandfather on the maternal side, was a pi- oneer in the Mahantango Valley in Northumber- land county, where he took up a large tract of land by warrant from the Commonwealth and fol- lowed farming. He was the first to settle on what is now the farm of the aged Elias Bingaman, in Lower Mahanoy township, and there he died about 1830; he is buried at Stone Valley Church. His children were too young to do such heavy work as plowing when he died, and his wife performed- the work herself until they were old enough to help. Where this pioneer 'was born is not known. According to family tradition he was a Catholic, but William J. Dietrich, secretary of the Deitrich Family Association, questions 'this. His wife, whose maiden name was Shaffer, died in 1848. They had children as follows: Solomon, who set- tled in Iowa, where he died ; Simon, who lived and died at Elizabethville, Dauphin Co., Pa .; Leon- ard, an invalid, who died unmarried and is buried at the Stone Valley Church; Michael, who lived in Northumberland county and is buried at Stone Valley Church (he married and had children) ; Florin ; and Eve, who moved away from the county when a young woman, and who married well.
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