USA > Pennsylvania > Indiana County > Indiana County, Pennsylvania; her people, past and present, Volume II > Part 108
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ALEXANDER PATTISON WATSON, a retired citizen of Indiana, veteran of the Civil war, was born at Watson's Ridge, this county, April 25, 1841, son of James and Mary (Patti- . son) Watson and grandson of Matthew Wat- son.
Matthew Watson was born in 1763 in Coun- ty Tyrone, Ireland, and married Mary Clark, of the same connty. Coming to the United States about 1793 he settled in what is now the northern part of Westmoreland county, at Harrison City, and engaged in farming. In 1800 he located on the farm in Young town- ship, Indiana county, later owned by Dr. Thomas Murry, and the ridge upon which this property is located was named "Watson's ridge" in his honor. He lived to his ninety- third year, and his death in 1855 was caused by an accident; though active for one of his
James Watson, father of Alexander Patti- son, Watson, was born Nov. 16, 1816, at Eldersridge, Indiana Co., Pa., and was reared there. He obtained his education in the coun- try schools at that place, and was trained to farming from boyhood, settling on the home tract after his marriage. It consisted of 276 acres, and the town of Iselin is now located thereon. He was an extensive farmer and ac- tive business man, running a dairy, dealing in stock and operating the Ridge flouring mill, which was one of the first steam flouring mills in the southern part of Indiana county. In 1863, when Morgan and his raiders threat- ened to invade the western part of Pennsyl- vania, he enlisted in Company H, 54th Regi- ment, Pennsylvania Militia, was promoted to commissary sergeant, and was present at Morgan's capture.
Selling the home property in 1876, Mr. Watson moved to West Lebanon, Indiana county, where he was engaged as a teamster. In 1880 he moved to the borough of Indiana, where he died Jan. 10, 1886, in his seventieth year. He is buried in Oakland cemetery. In 1839 he married Mary Pattison, who was born in 1815, in Armstrong township, Indiana county, daughter of Gen. Alexander Pattison, of the Pennsylvania militia, who was born in this county and married Martha Scott, a na- tive of Scotland ; he was a son of John Patti- son, who emigrated from the North of Ireland and settled in this county soon after the close of the Revolution. Mrs. Watson died at New Wilmington, Lawrence Co., Pa., Feb. 9, 1886, aged seventy-cne years. She and her husband were members of the United Presbyterian Church. In political opinion he was a Re-
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publican. They had three children : Alexan-
the wife of Prof. Wilson Barnet Elder, of der Pattison; Belle J., wife of Rev. Hugh S. Indiana; Robert J. died at the age of thirty- Boyd, of New Castle, Pa., and Matthew Clark, an attorney of Indiana.
Alexander Pattison Watson passed his boy- hood at Eldersridge, meantime attending the country schools and Eldersridge Academy. On Aug. 22, 1862, he enlisted in Company I, 67th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, under Capt. Robert T. Cornwell and Col. John F. Staunton (Maj. Harry White), the command being attached to the 2d Brigade, 3d Division, 6th Army Corps, Army of the Potomac. Mr. Watson took part in battles in which his com- mand was engaged from the second engage- ment at Bull Run to Appomattox, except for three and a half months which he spent in Libby and Belle Isle prisons. He escaped three times after his capture, first at Berryville, sec- ond out of the courthouse at Winchester, and third near Culpeper, but was recaptured each time. During his incarceration at Belle Isle he made an attempt to escape the second day of his confinement. The prisoners were in squads of one hundred, and Mr. Watson was in the nineteenth hundred. He managed to be assigned to the second squad and in this way released with the first of those ex- changed ; the nineteenth squad never got out -it was sent to Andersonville, and Mr. Wat- son never heard any more about it. He was sent to hospital at Annapolis, remaining there until transferred to hospital in Philadelphia, where he passed a month from October to November, 1863, at the end of which time he was sent home. He had been reduced to a mere "skeleton," and when he had recovered somewhat he returned to his regiment, re- joining it at Cedar Creek. He was in active service until the action at Appomattox, and was discharged June 28, 1865, at the close of the war.
Returning to his old home Mr. Watson lived there until 1877, when he went to the oil field in Clarion county, remaining in that region until 1881. He then went to Bedford, Lawrence county, and for seven years was at Wilmington, Lawrence county, in order to obtain desired educational advantages for his children. In 1892 he came back to Indiana borough, where he has since lived.
In 1867 Mr. Watson was married at Elders- ridge to Marinda J. Waddle, daughter of Frank and Margaret M. Waddle, of West- moreland county, and they have had a fam- ily of nine children, namely: Eva M. is the wife of Capt. Mead Malıan, a well-known attorney at law of Indiana; Margaret R. is
three years; Harry White is now a resident of Johnstown, Pa. (he is a veteran of the Spanish-American war; served as first ser- geant) ; John Clark is engaged in the print- ing business in Indiana, Pa .; Anna Bell is the wife of Prof. Albert T. Church; James Boyd is a general secretary of the Y. M. C. A., now located at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Mary Ethel and Alexander P., Jr., are at home. The five sons have all been prominent mem- bers of the National Guard of Pennsylvania, Robert J., Harry W. and A. P., Jr., being sergeants, and John Clark, a bugler.
Mr. and Mrs. Watson are members of the United Presbyterian Church. He is a Repub- lican in his political views. Socially he holds membership in the G. A. R. (Post No. 28) and the Union Veterans' Legion.
REV. NOBLE G. MILLER, a retired clergyman of the Methodist Church, residing at Blairsville, Indiana county, was born in that city April 1, 1837, son of Dr. Martin L. and Hannah (Simpson) Miller, natives of Pennsylvania.
Samuel Miller, the first of the name of whom there is any record, was a native of Ireland.
Samuel Miller, son of Samuel, above, was born in Ireland, but came to Pennsylvania in 1798, and spent the remainder of his life in Westmoreland and Indiana counties. He made the passage on a sailing vessel and was three months on the water. His wife, whose maiden name was Margaret Garvin, was born in County Down, Ireland, in 1792, and died in 1830, Mr. Miller surviving until 1858. They had fifteen children, of whom Dr. Mar- tin L. Miller was the tenth in order of birth. .
Dr. Martin L. Miller was born in Cham- bersburg, Pa., in 1810, the same year as his wife, and was brought from Chambersburg to Westmoreland county, Pa., in 1812. In 1832 he came to Blairsville. Dr. Miller had a varied career, for beginning as a carpet and,coverlet weaver he developed into a mer- chant and operated a draying business, and in his spare moments taught school. Being very ambitious, he began reading medicine and was graduated from Franklin Medical College, and practiced the profession for the remainder of his life, dying at Blairsville Jan. 3, 1895, in his eighty-fifth year. His wife survived him until 1902, passing away aged ninety-one years.
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HISTORY OF INDIANA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
The Simpson family came originally from Scotland. Mrs. Hannah (Simpson) Miller, the mother of the Rev. N. G. Miller, was the daughter of Andrew and Jane (Rankin) Simpson, the former born in 1780; he died in 1862. Mrs. Simpson was born in Arm- strong county, Pa., and died in 1858. James Rankin, maternal great-grandfather of Rev. Mr. Miller, was also a native of Ireland, and sailed from Belfast for New York City. Andrew Simpson was a son of James Simp- son, who had migrated to Indiana county with a sister and brother from Carlisle, Pa., and had formerly come from Baltimore, Md. The journey overland was made with horses and wagons. Relatives of the family were Wallaces of Richard Wallace Fort, where Thomas Wallace was killed by the Indians. The Simpsons were farming people. James Simpson, father of Andrew Simpson, married Hannah White, whose brothers owned a large tract of land near West Newton and Mount Pleasant, Pa. He used to take his children to Squire Dickson's and fight back the Indians who infested the county in those days. A Royal Arch Mason, he had fine regalia, and his daughters later used the silver on it for spoons which they had made.
Rev. Noble G. Miller received his early educational training in the school at Elders- ridge, later entering Allegheny College, from which he was graduated in 1861. He was ordained a clergyman and recommended and received into the Pittsburg Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and began preaching in the Mechanicsburg circuit, for forty-one years acting as a faithful expounder of Methodist doctrines, filling with dignified capacity charges in Indiana, Allegheny, Arm- strong and Westmoreland counties. In 1903 he voluntarily ceased his labors. He was pre- siding elder of the Mckeesport district of Pittsburg Conference for six years, and for many years has been a trustee of Allegheny College, his Alma Mater. A man of strong personality and strength of character, lie ad- vanced his church both materially and spirit- ually, and held the affectionate regard and deepest reverence of every congregation over which he was placed. He was a member of the general conference in 1888, and held other distinguished positions. Since his retirement he has made his home at Blairsville, where he has one of the most modern and substantial residences in Indiana county.
On March 29, 1864, Mr. Miller was united in marriage with Sarah Jane Johnston, daughter of Robert and Ann Maria (Rahm)
Johnston. The following children were born of this marriage: Maria Louisa, who is of Blairsville; James Francis, who is of Wilkins- burg, Pa .; and Robert Johnston, who died in 1893, aged nineteen years.
Robert Johnston, Mrs. Miller's father, a native of Indiana county, was born here in 1809, and died at the age of seventy-nine years. His father, William Johnston, was a contractor on the old canal, and assisted in laying out the turnpike from Philadelphia to Pittsburg. Robert Johnston was engaged in a coal and mercantile business at Greenville when the old canal was in active use. Later he came to Blairsville, where he bought a farm south of the borough, on a portion of which is the home of Rev. Mr. Miller and his wife.
It would be impossible to convey any ade- quate idea of the work of Mr. Miller. Elo- quent to a marked degree, he bent all the strength of his powerful mind to winning men to his church, and was considered one of the best preachers of his day. He was a good organizer as well, and his churches prospered under his fostering care. In the evening of his life, it must be a source of great pleasure to him to reflect upon the good he has accom- plished, and to realize how many owe the salvation of their souls to him.
MILTON HOFFMAN, now living retired after a long period spent in farming in Buf- fington township, was born in Bavaria, Ger- many, April 9, 1843, a son of Leo and Mar- garet (Offenheater) Hoffman.
Leo Hoffman was born in Bavaria. Ger- many, and there followed farming and lum- bering throughout his life, dying in middle age and being buried in Bavaria. He and his wife had a family of six children: Bar- bara, who died young in Germany; Adam, a farmer of Buffington township, and a veteran of the Civil war, who married Ellen Marks; Milton ; Lawrence, who died in Germany; Sa- bina, who married George Ray, and resides in Chicago, Ill .; and Frank, who married Annie Myrtie, and lives in Johnstown, Pa. After the death of her first husband Mrs. Hoffman married Joseph Overman, and they had two children: Mary, who married Solo- mon Paul; and Peter, who married a Miss Milen. Mrs. Overman came to this country and died in Pine township, Indiana Co., Pa., and was buried in the Irish Bottom cemetery there.
Milton Hoffman, son of Leo Hoffman, left Germany with his mother, brothers and sis-
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HISTORY OF INDIANA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
ter, May 1, 1854, on a sailing vessel, and married Etta Cunningham, is a farmer in landed at Baltimore, Md., June 28th of that Buffington township; Thomas H., born March year, after a long and stormy voyage. Going 29, 1871, a farmer in Buffington township, married Lizzie Moore ; Sarah Ellen, born Aug. 7, 1874, married A. J. Hawes, of Johnstown, Pa., and died March 20, 1898; Charles Free- man, born April 8, 1876, married Minnie Reese, and is a farmer in Buffington town- ship, Indiana county; Benjamin Franklin died May 15, 1890; Annie Mary, born Nov. 12, 1878, married Walter R. Treaster, and is deceased; Rose Etta, born Sept. 12, 1880, died May 13, 1890; Lucinda Pearl, born Feb. 6, 1884, died May 3, 1890; Milton Reed, born July 20, 1886, married Tobantha Henry, of Cherryhill township, and resides with his par- ents; Clarence Loyd, born Dec. 25, 1891, a farmer of Buffington township, married Grace Syster, of that township. to Pittsburg, the family remained in that city for a short time, but subsequently re- moved to Westmoreland county, where they settled near Hillsview furnace. During the winter of 1854 Mr. Hoffman went to work on a farm in Somerset county for Joseph Zim- merman, in whose employ he continued until 1857, and then went to Cambria county, where he secured employment in what was known as the Penciola sawmill, the first steam mill in this section of the State. He also spent some time with Joseph Willman and Henry Eckhold, farming and barrel making, known then as shookmaking, but finally came to Buffington township when his mother died. At that time he was but sixteen years of age. He started to work for John W. Duncan, at his sawmill. On Feb. 18, 1862, he enlisted in Company H, 54th Regiment P. V. I., and subsequently saw some hard service. At the battle of Piedmont he was wounded, a bullet
lodging in the right, where it still remains, having partially crippled Mr. Hoffman. He was captured by Confederate soldiers on Sun- day, June 7, 1864, and for some time was con- fined in the horrible Libby prison. On July 22, 1865, after a long, valiant and honorable service, Mr. Hoffman was mustered out, and returned to the vocations of peace, again en- tering the employ of Mr. Duncan. He con- tinued with him at the red mill as sawyer until 1890, when he purchased the David Altimus farm, a tract of 115 acres in Buffing- ton township, upon which he erected a large farmhouse and barn and took up general farming and stock raising. He was success- ful in his operations, and retired in the fall of 1912 to enjoy the fruits of his labors, con- tent in the knowledge that his has been a useful and well-spent life, and that he has fairly won the universal respect and esteem in which he is held. Mr. Hoffman is a Repub- lican in his political views, and for six years acted in the capacity of school director while a resident of Blacklick township, Cambria county.
WILLIAM N. SICKENBERGER, gen- eral farmer of Green township, Indiana Co., Pa., where he has spent all of his life, was born in that township Sept. 10, 1870, son of passing entirely through his left leg and Peter S. and Maria A. (Piper) Sickenberger.
Henry Sickenberger, his paternal grand- father, was born in Germany, and came to the United States when a young man, becoming one of the pioneers of Indiana county, Pa., where he cleared a farm in Cherryhill town- ship, continuing to spend the rest of his life on that property.
Peter S. Sickenberger, son of Henry, and father of William N. Sickenberger, was born in Cherryhill township, and after the retire- ment of his father purchased the old home place, where he was engaged in farming until his death in 1905. His wife, a native of Blair county, Pa., died in 1898, the mother of the following children: Jennie and Anna, who are deceased; Peter M., living in Green township; Maggie, the wife of Edward Putt, of Cherryhill township; Elsie, the wife of Luther Bence, of Rayne township; Vernie B., the wife of Frank Barber, of Green town- ship; Walter, of Green township; Speer, who is deceased; and James, who died in infancy.
William N. Sickenberger attended the schools of Green township and as a youth worked on the home farm. In young man- hood he learned the trade of carpenter, at which he was employed until 1907, when he again turned his attention to farming and pur- chased the old home place, which he has con- . tinned to cultivate to the present time.
On Dec. 29, 1864, Mr. Hoffman was married in Pine township, Indiana Co., Pa., to Lucinda Hill, danghter of William and Susan (Walters) Hill, of Pine township, and by this nnion there have been children as fol- lows: Amanda, born Dec. 21, 1866, married On March 20, 1896, Mr. Sickenberger was married, in the town of Indiana, to Emma John Jackson, of Johnstown, and died Oct. 28, 1899; John W., born June 8, 1868, who Fleming, of Green township, daughter of
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HISTORY OF INDIANA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
James and Sarah Fleming, the former of to work at sawmills and in the lumber woods. whom is deceased, while the latter lives in When twenty-two years old he was married Cherryhill township. Mrs. Sickenberger died to Adda Kinter, daughter of John and Lillie in 1900, the mother of one child, Blanche. In Kinter, and they have children as follows: 1905 Mr. Sickenberger was married (second) Mary, Elsie, William, Stella, Henry, Edwin, Kermit, Boyd and Frank. to Mrs. Elizabeth (Hines) Lydick, who was born in Cherryhill township, Indiana county, daughter of Joseph Hines.
Mr. and Mrs. Sickenberger are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. His polit- ical belief is that of the Republican party.
HENRY S. GRIFFITH, of Pine township, Indiana county, was born in that township Oct. 15, 1873, a son of Joseph Griffith, Jr., a former resident of Center township, Indiana county. His grandfather, Joseph Griffith, Sr., was a farmer of Center township. He married Liddie Rou, of that township, whose family record can be traced back to the early settlers of Indiana county.
Nov. 29, 1840, his early life being spent on his father's farm in that township. At the beginning of the Civil war he was among the men who volunteered to defend the country, enlisting in Company C, 19th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, and serving three years. He was in eight pitched battles, be- sides a number of skirmishes, some of his most important battles being Pittsburg Land- ing, Bull Run, Corinth, Lookout Mountain, and Stone River, where he was wounded Dec. 31, 1862, the ball entering close to his spine and passing through his body to his right side, taking with it a portion of a rib. It stopped in the muscle of his right arm above the elbow. He was removed to a hospital, where the ball was extracted while warm with his blood, and he secured it, the bullet being one of the precious possessions of his son Henry S. Griffith. After the expiration of his time in the army Mr. Griffith returned to a farm, in Barr township, Cambria Co., Pa., residing there for two years, and there he was married to Jennie Conner, a daughter of Robert and Nancy Conner, who came to this country from Ireland. Joseph Griffith and his wife had the following children : Lottie, Grant, Henry S., William, Maggie, Annie and Bertha. After his marriage Mr. Griffith returned to Pine township, where he passed the remainder of his lifetime. In politics he was a Republican. He belonged to the Mount Union Methodist Church.
ITenry S. Griffith after attending the local schools, at the age of sixteen years, started
In politics Mr. Griffith is a Progressive, having been one of the first Progressives in Pine township. He is a coal merchant, oper- ating or mining coal for the local trade, which vocation he has followed for the last ten years. He is well known throughout Indiana county, and highly esteemed by all who come in con- tact with him.
CLIFFORD J. OAKES, of Dixonville, manager and bookkeeper for the Dixon Run Lumber Company, is proving himself equal to the demands of that position and worthy of the responsibilities intrusted to him. He 'was born Nov. 12, 1890, at Conemangh, Pa.,
Joseph Griffith, father of Henry S. Griffith, son of William E. Oakes and grandson of was born in Center township, this county, John G. Oakes.
Edward Oakes, his great-grandfather, was from Ireland, as was also his wife. They came to Pennsylvania in 1794, first settling near Armagh, Indiana county, and later mov- ing to Burrell township, same county, near Blairsville. Edward Oakes was a soldier in the war of 1812 and also in the Mexican war. After the war he moved to the West, where he passed the remainder of his life, dying in October, 1867, near Iola, Kansas.
John G. Oakes was born in 1832 in Blairs- ville. He was a farmer in his early days. In 1864 he enlisted in the Union army for service in the Civil war, becoming a member of Battery K, 2d Pennsylvania Regiment, and serving until mustered out, in January, 1866. At the battle of the Wilderness he was wounded and captured, being taken to Libby prison, where he was held for nine months. After his discharge he returned to Blairsville. Mr. Oakes married Sarah Kauffman, who was born in 1839 in Johnstown, Pa. Four children were born to this marriage: F. J., the eldest, resides in Fall River, Kans .; Jennie is the wife of J. E. Williams, of Johns- town; William E. is mentioned below; Mat- thew is deceased.
William E Oakes attended public school near Blairsville. His first work was on a farm in Kansas, after which he did farm work in Oklahoma. He learned the carpen- ter's trade in Johnstown. Pa., and followed it there for fifteen years. In 1904 he came to Lovejoy, Indiana county, and thence shortly afterward to Clymer, when the town
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HISTORY OF INDIANA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
had just made a start as such. He has been years. His wife survived him some years, engaged in the lumber trade ever since he passing away in 1878, in the faith of the settled there, and has built up a lucrative Methodist Episcopal Church. In politics Mr. business, being regarded as one of the active Duncan was a Whig. He and his wife had and progressive residents of the place. He children as follows: Sophia, who married is very well known in fraternal connections, Peter Stiffler, and is deceased; William; Eliz- heing a member of Indiana Lodge, B. P. O. abeth, who married William Bracken, of Elks, and a high Mason, belonging to Cambria Lodge, F. & A. M., of Johnstown (of which he is a past master), to the Consistory at Williamsport, and to the Shrine at Altoona.
On Jan. 28, 1890, Mr. Oakes was married, at Johnstown, Pa., to Emma R. Devlin, a native of Johnstown, where her parents were also born. Mrs. Oakes died the mother of ten children, namely: Clifford J., Theodore, Earl, Ruth, Carrie, Carroll, Frank, Bessie, Agnes and Olive.
Clifford J. Oakes obtained his early educa- tion at Conemaugh; attending high school there, and later went to the normal school at Indiana, after which he studied bookkeeping. He has since been connected with the Dixon Run Lumber Company, whose employ he en- tered in 1908 as bookkeeper, and in August, 1911, was also made manager. His work has been creditable and he deserves the apprecia- tion it has received.
On May 13, 1909, Mr. Oakes married Ellen Clawson, who was born at Dixonville, daugh- ter of Andrew B. and Jennie (Bolvin) Claw- son, natives of Indiana county, who live at Dixonville. Mr. Clawson is a contractor. Mr., and Mrs. Oakes are members of the Wesleyan Church. They have two children, Clifford C. and Harold Ney.
WILLIAM DUNCAN, a retired farmer and veteran of the Civil war, residing at No. 1335 Philadelphia street, Indiana, Pa., was born Nov. 19, 1840, on a farm near Cherry- tree, in Green township, this county, son of David and Margaret (Pierce) Duncan. His paternal grandfather was a farmer and a native of Virginia, from which State he moved with his wife and children to Indiana county, Pa., and here spent the remainder of his life. His children were: William, Joseplı, James, John, David, Moses and Betsey, the last-named the wife of Thomas McKisick.
David Duncan, father of William Duncan, was born either in Indiana county or in Vir- ginia, and was a man of fair education. He owned a property of 106 acres in Green town- ship, having settled in the woods and cleared his land from the heavy timber, and died on his farm in 1854, at the age of forty-nine
Johnstown, Pa .; Ellen, who married John Fee, of Indiana; Sarah Jane, who married Reuben Boring, deceased; Maria, deceased, who married Larry Perry; Harrison, who died in Kentucky, while a member of Com- pany D, 78tlı Regiment, Pennsylvania Vol- unteer Infantry, during the Civil war; and Elias, who is deceased.
William Duncan was reared in Green town- ship, and had only meager educational ad- vantages, being thrown on his own resources when he was fourteen years of age through the death of his father. At that time he be- gan supporting his mother, brothers and sis- ters, and was the main support of the family at the time of his enlistment, Sept. 10, 1861, at Kittanning, Pa., in Company D, 78th Penn- sylvania Volunteer Infantry, under Captain Forbes and Col. William Sirwell, for service during the Civil war. The regiment em- barked on transports at Pittsburg for Louis- ville, Ky., and went thence to camp at Green River, Ky., where they remained three months, being then attached to the 3d Bri- gade, 2d Division, 14th Corps, Army of the Cumberland. This regiment, which won fame as one of the hardest-fighting organiza- tions in the great struggle between the States, participated in some of the bloodiest and most fiercely-contested battles of the war, includ- ing Pulaski, Lavergne (where Mr. Duncan was captured, made his escape, was recap- tured and again managed to elude his captors), Neely's Bend, Mule Creek, Char- lottesville, Franklin Pike, Stone River (where the gallant 78th turned almost certain defeat into victory for the Union forces), Tulla- homa, Elk River, Dutch Gap, Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Tunnel Hill, Buzzard's Roost, Resaca, Dallas, New Hope Church, Kenesaw Mountain and the second engagement at Pulaski. Even as a young man Mr. Duncan possessed prodigious strength, weighing in the neighborhood of two hundred pounds and being remarkably well built, and he was invariably chosen to take his place among those who were build- ing heavy pontoon bridges. He received his honorable discharge at Kittanning, Nov. 4, 1864, after brave and faithful service that won the admiration of liis comrades and the
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