USA > Wisconsin > Columbia County > The history of Columbia county, Wisconsin, containing an account of its settlement > Part 162
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kept as a hotel till the last eight years. He has held the offices of Marshal, Constable and Supervisor. Has seven children-William H., Mary Jane, John D., Tillie, Homer, Minnie and Frankie. He is a Republican in politics. Mrs. Pary died April 9, 1875.
JOSEPH PHILLIPS, farmer, Sec. 34; P. O. Randolph; was born June 6, 1821, in Yorkshire, England, in the parish of Fewston ; son of Joseph Phillips. Was married April 28, 1845, in the Parish of Fewston, to Martha Phillips, daughter of James Phillips. He came to America in 1855 ; came direct to Wisconsin ; lived two years in Fountain Prairie, then removed to his present location. where he has since resided. Mrs. Phillips died in Courtland July 17, 1864, leaving four children-Elizabeth ( now Mrs. Paul Hanson, of Hall Co., Neb.), Mary Hannah (now Mrs. Augustus Denman, of Nebraska ). Samuel (living with Mr. Denman in Nebraska ), and Joseph Alfred (at home). Was married the second time, Dec. 25, 1866. to Grace Waterworth, who was born Nov. 29. 1841, daughter of Thomas Water- worth, a native of Yorkshire, England ; have three children by the second marriage-Sarah Jane, Andrew and Gracie. Mr. Phillips' mother's name was Mary Dagget, and his grandfather was a Welshman, named Jonathan Phillips; his great-grandmother lived to be over 100 years old. He is a Democrat, and lias been Treasurer of the school district nine years. Has 308 acres of land.
JOHN QUINN, farmer, Sec. 32; P. O. Doylestown ; was born Feb. 16, 1835, in County Wex- ford, Ireland, Parish of Gorey. His father died when he was a child, and his mother married Mathew Shirlock ; they came to America in 1851. He was married in November, 1855, in Utica, N. Y., to Har- riet A. Welter, who was born Sept. 12, 1838, in Herkimer Co., N. Y; came to Wisconsin immediately after marriage, and settled in Columbia Co .; lived in Lowville three years. and eleven years in Otsego; in the fall of 1869, came to Courtland and bought his present farm ; has eight children living-John, James, Dorothy, Mary, Eliza, Kate, Julia and Ellen ; have lost two-Martin died in 1868, aged 4, and one dicd in 1855, in infancy. Has 93 acres of land, and although a Democrat, has been elected Assessor in a town where the Republicans outnumber the Democrats 7 to 1.
JOHN S. RANDALL (deceased), one of the first settlers of the town of Courtland ; was born May 17, 1799, in German Flats, Herkimer Co., N. Y. His parents came to Orleans Co., N. Y., when he was about 17; his father died soon after ; John S., being the youngest child, remained on the farmi with his widowed mother. Was married, May 13, 1821, to Almira Fanning, who was born in Che- vango Co., N. Y., Feb. 22, 1804, daughter of Joshua Fanning. Mr. Randall came to Wisconsin in the fall of 1844, and lived in Walworth Co. two years; then came to Columbia Co. and settled in what is now the town of Courtland, in the spring of 1846, and resided in the same town till his death, which occurred July 20, 1878, in the 80th year of his age. He was for years a Deacon in the Baptist Church, of which himself and wife had been consistent members for upward of fifty-five years. He was an earnest, conscientious, public-spirited man, and enjoyed the confidence and estecm of his neighbors and associates. Was Republican in politics, and held several town offices. Mrs. Randall survives him, and, although in ber 77th year, her mind seems as active, and her memory as good, as ever. Mr. and Mrs. Randalt had trn children, three of whom died in childhood, and seven are still living-Allen W., lives in Winona Co., Minn .; Adaline, is now Mrs. J. W. Peck, of Walworth Co., Wis .; Mary, is now Mrs. Jeremiah Williams, of Carroll Co., Mo .; Harriet R., is now Mrs. R. C. Penney. of Courtland ; John Jay, lives in Washington ('o., Kan .; Caroline, is now Mrs. Joseph Patton, of Walworth Co., Wis., and Joseph H., who was mar- ricd in 1864 to Amanda, daughter of George Bliss, of Fountain Prairie ; she died in 1868, leaving one daughter, Mattie A., born Aug. 13, 1866. He was married the second time, March 22, 1871, to Anna E. Conklin, who was born in Ohio City ( now Cleveland ), Ohio, Sept. S, 1842, daughter of Joshua Conk- lin, a native of Herkimer Co., N. Y .; her mother (Rachel ) was from Oswego Co., N. Y .; by the second marriage he has three boys. Both members of the Baptist Church. Has 100 acres of land, and is Republican
ILLIAM REES (deceased); he was born in Montgomeryshire, North Wales ; a son of Richard Rees, who died in Wales at the advanced age of 104 years; Wm. Rees went to Liverpool, England, before his marriage, and worked at carpenter work, which trade he had learned in Wales. He was married, in Liverpool, to Hannah Williams, a native of Flintshire, North Wales. Mr. Rees came to America in 1850, and lived in Utica, N. Y., till the fall of 1856, then went to Dubuque, Iowa, and lived there till the fall of 1861, working at his trade up to this time; he then came to Cambria, and weut into the furniture business, in which he continued till his death, June 1, 1878, of heart disease. Mr. and Mrs. Rees had in all four children, of whom two are still living; one died in infancy in Liverpool, and Richard died in Cambria in 1874, aged about 35; Thomas is living in Oshkosh, Wis .; William was born November 30, 1848, in Liverpool, England, and is now in the drug business, and has been about fourteen years in a store on north side Main street. Mrs. Rces is still living with her son William, aged 68 years.
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TOWN OF COURTLAND.
DAVID RICHARDS, farmer, Sec. 27; P. O. Randolph; was born Aug. 14, 1816, in the town of Radnor, Radnorshire, South Wales; he is a son of Evan and Elizabeth Richards, who came to America in 1819, as stated in the biography of Seaman Richards, a brother of David ; he was engaged in farming and lumbering in Susquehanna Co., Penn., till Christmas, 1854; then started West, and arrived at the house of his brother Evan in Oak Grove, Dodge Co., Wis., Jan. 1. 1855; he soon after came to Columbia Co., and has resided in the town of Courtland ever since. He was married, Dec. 28, 1859, in Beaver Dam, Wis., to Ruth Bentley, who was born Jan. 23, 1826, in Kings Co., Nova Scotia , daughter of David and Abigail Bentley, who came to Wiseonsin in the spring of 1848; Mr. Bentley died in Courtland May 13, 1852, aged 62, and Mrs. Bentley is still living in the village of Cambria, in the 90th year of her age. Mr. Richards has two children living-John Scott, born May 30, 1861, and Martha Ann, born April 21, 1866; Lucy Maud was born Oet. 3, 1862, and died July 28, 1864. Has 80 aeres of land, and is a Republican.
GRIFFITH RICHARDS, farmer and stock-breeder, Sec. 19; P. O. Carabria ; was born Nov. 13, 1844, in Racine Co., Wis. ; son of Richard Richards, of Raeine, one of the oldest stock-raisers in the State; he is a native of Merionethshire, North Wales, and was a member of Assembly from Racine in 1873. Mr. Richards was married, Jan. 4, 1871, in Courtland, to Laura A. Williams, daughter of William R. Williams ; she was born July 24, 1850, in Courtland, on the farm now owned by her hus- band; has one son-William B. llas 264 acres in the farm, which is known as the " Sunnyside Stock Farm ; " the Welsh name of the farm is " Fronhaulog ; " he is breeding short-horn eattle, draft and trot- ting horses. Berkshire hogs and Spanish sheep. Is First Vice President of the County Agricultural Society, and was last year Second Vice President. He is a Republican ; is now a member of the County Commissioners, and takes an active part in politics ; has held the office of Supervisor. Mrs. Richards is a member of the Calvinistic Methodist Church.
JOSEPH L. RICHARDS, farmer, Sec. 2; P. O. Randolph ; was born Feb. 4, 1845, in Merionethshire, Wales; came to America in the summer of 1869, and stayed a few weeks on the Hudson River, a few miles below Albany; then came to Columbia Co., Wis., and lived in the town of Courtland till the fall of 1872, when he went to Milwaukee and worked at the carpenter's trade till January, 1874 ; he then returned to Courtland, and. on the 9th of that mouth (January, 1874), was married to Ann Jane, daughter of William R. and Ann Roberts, of Portage Prairie, Columbia Co., Wis., natives of Wales, and born in the same place as Joseph L. Richards, as were also his father, Edmund Richards, and his mother, Ellen Lloyd. Mrs. Richards was born in the town of Clyman, Dodge Co., Wis., March 22, 1849. Mr. Richards spent his early life on a farm, and the last six years before leaving Wales, worked in a slate quarry. Purchased his farm of 120 acres in the fall of 1874, and went on it in the spring of 1876. Has four children-Willie E., Ellen Ann, Maggie and Laura. He is a Republican, and both members of the Welsh Methodist Church.
THOMAS RICHARDS, farmer, Sec. 29; P. O. Cambria; born Dee. 13, 1822, in Great Bend. Susquehanna Co., Penn .; son of Evan and Elizabeth Richards, natives of South Wales, who came to America in 1819, and settled in Great Bend, Penn. He was married, in Great Bend, Sept. 7, 1848. to Catharine M. Smith, who was born Dec. 25, 1820, in Orange Co., N. Y .; daughter of Samuel and Martha Smith ; immediately after his marriage, Mr. Richards eame to Wisconsin and settled in the town of Courtland, in which town he has resided ever since; has eight children, all living, and seven of them boys-Theodore S., Edward J .. Maggie Jane (now Mrs. Thomas Bradley, of the town of Courtland), Frank L., George W., Charles J., Thomas L. and Fayette; all the boys are living at home, and all are Republicans who are old enough to vote. Has 100 acres of land, SO in his home farm and 20 acres in timber.
SEAMAN RICHARDS, farmer, See. 27; P. O. Randolph ; one of the pioneers of Colum- bia Co .; was a son of Evan and Elizabeth Richards, natives of South Wales, who came to America in 1819, taking passage on the sailing-vessel Importer, from Liverpool, England-Capt. Lee; when within three days' sail of New York. on the 20th day of July, 1819, a son was born, and the first mate, who was also born on the ocean, named the new arrival Seaman, after himself, and gave his mother a guinea to be invested for his benefit ; on landing in New York City, they went to Broome Co., N. Y., and lived about a year with Richard W. Lewis, of the town of Conklin ; they then went to Great Bend, Susquehanna Co., Peun., where Mrs. Richards died when he was about 17 years old. Seaman worked out by the month in that vicinity till June 1, 1839, when he was married to Hannah M. Ackerman, who was born Sept. 18, 1820, in the town of Franklin, Susquehanna Co., Penn., daughter of Isaae and Elizabeth Ackerman, natives of Westchester Co., N. Y .; after marriage, he worked at farming and lumbering most of the time for several years, but for the past year and a half of his residence there, was employed as foreman on the
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES:
N. T. & E. R. R., on the Summit section, east of Deposit ; in the fall of 1848, having a severe attack of Western fever, he started with his family for Wisconsin, coming by ennal from Binghamton to Buffalo, then by steamer Henry Hudson, from Buffalo to Milwaukee : he came direet to the town of Courtland, and, in the spring of 1849, bought the farm he now own, and where he has since resided; has 260 acres all under cultivation, with good farm buildings and well stocked; in the fall of 1849, he left his wife at home with their three children and worked in the pinery on the Eau Claire River. in Wisconsin, during the winter, and in the spring, ran the Wisconsin River and down the Mississippi to Galena, Ill., where he was paid off, and came home on foot, after being away five months, with $160 in gold in his pocket as the result of his winter's work. Mr. and Mrs. Richards have had ten children, of whom eight are still living -Mortimer F., lives in Worth Co., Iowa; Charles Henry, lives in McLeod Co., Minn .; Julia Jane. i> now Mrs. Charles F. Chapman, of the town of Courtland ; Carrie M., now Mrs. Owen F. Jones, of the village of Randolph ; Seaman, Jr., living at home with his parents ; Susan E., now Mrs. John Seckerson. of the village of Randolph ; Melissa A., now Mrs. Wm. Tompkins, of the town of Randolph; and Grant I .; the youngest son, living with his parents; have lost two-Julia Jane, died Oct. 11, 1843, aged 7 months, and Hannah Elizabeth, died Jan. 11, 1851, aged nearly 2 years. Mr. Richards cast his first vote for Gen. Harrison, and has voted the Republican ticket eversince the party was organized.
THOMAS R. ROBERTS (Tunddarmen), farmer, Sec. 18; P. O. Cambria ; was born Jan. 9, 1840, in Merionethshire, North Wales; son of Robert Roberts; Thomas R. came to America in the spring of 1865, and lived the first year in Oshkosh, Wis .; then came to Cambria and worked a farm on shares till . 1874; then worked on a farm by the year for John ap Jones two years; in the spring of 1876, he bought the farm he now owns (80 acres). for which he paid $3,000. Was married Nov. 20, 1869, in Cambria, to Miss Minnie Davis, daughter of James T. Davis, a native of South Wales. Mr. Roberts has five children- Annie, Maggie, Robbie, Jennie and John. Both members of the Calvinistie Methodist Church. He is a Republican.
WILLIAM J. RORERTS, deceased, was born in North Wales in July, 1802; son of John Roberts. Was married in September, 1841, to Elizabeth Davis, daughter of William Davis; she was born Feb. 13, 1817, also in North Wales; came to America in 1855, and lived in Utica, N. Y., one year ; then came to Wisconsin and settled in the town of Courtland, where he followed farming till his death, June 3. 1877. He left one daughter, Mary, born Dec. 31, 1842, in Wales, and married, Feb. 27, 1863, to Griffith Gce Jones, and has three children-Ellen, Owen and William. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts lost three children on the passage to America, who died of cholera-Ellen, aged 11, Ann, aged 7, and John, aged 3-and one in Utica ; William died in infancy. Mrs. Roberts is a member of the Congregational Church, as was her hus- band. Has 40 acres of land, and her daughter, Mrs. Jones, is living with her.
HORACE RUST (deceased), one of the first settlers of Courtland, was born Feb. 20. 1798. in Windsor Co., Vt., town of Rochester. Ilis first wife was Lydia Freneh, to whom he was married in 1821 ; she lived only about two years after her marriage and left one child (a daughter) that survived her but a short time. Hle was married the second time in Vermont to Roxana Mills, sister of Dr. J. C. Milli. of' Walworth Co., who was a member of the First and Second Legislature of Wisconsin, and a State Sen. ator in 1858. Mr. Rust came to Wisconsin in the fall of 1844, located land in what is now the town of Courtland in September, 1845, and came on it with his family July 4, 1847 ; he resided on this farm till his death, April 7, 1879, being a little over 81 when he died. He was the first Postmaster, one of the first Supervisors, and the second Assessor in the town of Courtland ; the first caucus, first town meeting, first election and first school meeting were all held at his house in the fall of 1848; his first commission as Postmaster was from Andrew Jackson, and the office at Rochester, Vt .; he was also appointed Postmaster at Cambria in 1863, and held the office four years; was also appointed by Gov. Dewey as one of the Commissioners to lay out a State road from Columbus to Princeton. He was an old-time Jackson Demo- crat, but an earnest Republican ever since the party was organized ; he took an active part in politics up to the time of his death, and the last time he ever went outside his own yard was to attend a caucus. Mr. Rust had in all eleven children, five of whom died in childhood, and one, Harvey H., died in California. April 7, 1876, aged 41 ; there are five still living-Mills lives on a farm adjoining the old homestead. and Henry B. is living on the homestead, and his mother, now in her 74th year, is living with him in good health and, to all appearances, good for another ten years at least. Henry was married, in October, 1850, to Julia Cameron, of Walworth Co., Wis., and has five children living-Frank G., Elizabeth A. (now Mrs. J. A. Ketehum, of the town of Courtland ), Harvey H. (now now in Milwaukee, a printer by trade), Cameron R. and Flora L. IIe has been Chairman and Assessor, and is now Secretary of the town insur- ance company. In the spring of 1860, he removed to Missouri with his family, enlisted in the Home Guards and was elected First Lieutenant; afterward eulisted under Gov. Gamble's proclamation calling
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TOWN OF COURTLAND.
for six-months men, and was elected Captain of Co. C, 1st Battalion Mounted Rifles ; was in the service about one year, then returned to Wisconsin and bought the homestead, where he still resides. Charles, the third son of Horace Rust, is now in Rochester, Minn., in the produce business ; Mary P. is now Mrs. Orlando Ralph, of Brookfield, Vt., and Lucelia is now the wife of Geo. C. Griffin, living in Colorado, six- teen miles north of Denver.
ORANGE D. SCOFIELD, farmer, Sec. 1; P. O. Randolph ; born Oct. 25, 1827, in Sara- toga Co., N. Y. Was married Dec. 31, 1854, to Margaret McDonald, who was born June 9, 1829, daugh- ter of Alexander McDonald, of Scotch descent. Mr. Scofield came to Wisconsin in 1856, and settled in the town of Richford, Waushara Co., and engaged in the mercantile business, which he continued in that place about five years; came to Pardeeville, Columbia Co., in the fall of 1861, and carried on the same business till the spring of 1866, then sold out his store and spent one year traveling with his family; in the spring of 1867, he returned to Columbia Co. and bought the farm he now owns in the town of Court- land ; has 70 acres only three-quarters of a mile from the village of Randolph, which, with the buildings he put up himself, cost about $5,000. Has no children. Mr. Scofield and family are Congregationalists ; Republican. His father, Harry Scofield, was born March 12, 1789, in the town of Stamford, Conn., and died Jan. 10, 1875, at Hadley, Saratoga Co., N. Y.
MYRON A. SHAW, M. D., Cambria ; was born in Fairlee, Orange Co., Vt., March 11, 1837 ; migrated to Wisconsin with his parents when 18 years of age, making a temporary residence in Leon, Monroe Co .; he then entered as an apprentice in the printing office of the Sparta Watchman, com- mencing work on the fourth number of that journal ; in the spring of 1856, he went to work on the first number of the Eau Claire Times ; the following year he went to Oneida Co., N. Y., to study medicine with Dr. E. I Baker, where he stayed one year, when Dr. Baker went to Eau Claire Co., Wis., and was soon followed to that place by Mr. Shaw, who continued his studies for a short time ; but in 1861, went to Durand, Wis., and commenced the publication of the Home Mirror ; the paper, though a success, as far as the paper was concerned, did not prove a very profitable financial venture ; after a year's experience in this enterprise, he sold out and retired from journalism ; his health much broken down by hard work, but enlisted soon after in Eau Claire, under the call for hundred-day men, but which order was counter- manded before any of the troops were mustered into service; in 1863, he enlisted from Eau Claire in the 16th W. V. I., Co. C, then commanded by Col. Cassius Fairchild; he participated in the battle before Atlanta, Kenesaw Mountain, Lovejoy's Station, etc .; voted for Lincoln at Marietta, Ga., went through ou the " march to the sea," and was severely wounded near Savannah; got his discharge in 1865; he then edited the Durand Times one year ; after that, he resumed the study of medicine and took a course of lectures in Rush Medical College in 1868-69, and in 1870, located in Fall River, where he practiced med- icine five years, then removed to Cambria, where he still resides. In 1866, he married Miss Blanche E. Dyer, daughter of Wayne B. and Ursula Dyer, residents of Durand, Wis., formerly carly settlers in Columbia Co .; has three children-Paul Francis, Herbert W. and Edgar M. A. Shaw. In religion, lib- eral, and still holds a membership in the Eau Claire Universalist Society. Voted for Horace Greeley in 1862, and has since acted with the Democratic party. His parents, Josiah and Elizabeth Shaw, are now living in retirement in Eau Claire, at an advanced age.
HUGH W. THOMAS, merchant, Cambria ; was born Aug. 11, 1836, in Carnarvonshire, North Wales ; came to America with his father, Wm. W., in the spring of 1843, located in Oneida Co., N. Y., and lived there till 1858 ; Hugh W. left home at 18 years of age, and went to Utica, N. Y., where he lived two years, then in the fall of 1857 came to Wisconsin and lived in La Crosse Co. a year and a half, then in Sparta, Monroe Co., about four years, clerking in a dry-goods store; in 1863, he went into the mercantile business in Bangor, Wis., which he followed one year, and then again went to clerking in Portage City, Wis., till 1865 ; then came to Cambria and formed a partnership with Evan W. Lloyd (firm Thomas & Lloyd) in the mercantile business, keeping a general stock, where they are still doing a flourishing business. Was married May 14, 1859, in Bangor, Wis., to Jane P. Mann, daughter of Abram Mann, of Montpelier, Vt .; has two children-Hermie and Laura ; has lost four-Carrie, Allie, Willie and Frankie. Is a Republican, and has been a member of the Village Board several years at different times ; both Presbyterians.
PETER THOMAS, farmer, Sec. 10; P. O. Randolph; born in Flintshire, North Wales ; son of Abel and Ellen Thomas; came to America in 1841 ; lived in Upper Canada till fall of 1843, then returned to Wales and stayed till the spring of 1844, when he again came to Canada and followed farming till 1854; then came to Wisconsin and located in the town of Courtland, where he has since resided ; came on the farm he now occupies in August, 1854. Was married in Canada, July 7, 1851, to Ellen Williams, a native of Wales, daughter of Owen Williams; she died July 27, 1879, of pneumonia, aged
PP
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES:
57, leaving two children-Edward and Ezra, both living on the homestead ; lost five children-Owen, Abel and Ellen, all died within a week's time, of diphtheria, in June, 1863, aged respectively 8, 6, and 2; in 1865, another one, Ellen, died, 15 months old, and one died in infancy in 1863. Although having lived in Wisconsin over twenty-five years, Mr. Thomas has never ridden a mile on a railroad since he came here, and has never stayed over night away from his own house but once during that time, then stayed in Portage because it stormed so he could not get home. Is a member of the Congregational Church. and a Republican.
ROBERT B. THOMAS, farmer, Sec. 21; P. O. Randolph; was born Sept. 31, 1816, in Addison Co., Vt .; son of Isaac and Arathusa Matilda Thomas. He was married, in Vermont, May 31, 1848, to Julia Elizabeth Wells, who was born June 10, 1822, in Hinesburg, Chittenden Co., Vt .; daugh- ter of Manton Wells. Mr. Thomas came to Wisconsin first in April, 1854, and bought a farm in the town of Courtland; he then returned to Vermont for his family ; came on in June of the same year, and has resided on the same farm ever since. Mrs. Thomas died Aug. 29, 1879, of cancer, after an illness of seven months, leaving five children ; Julia Elizabeth, Frances R. (now Mrs. Wm. R. Owen, of Randolph Village), Hannibal H., Isabell Idla and James Eugene, all at home with their father, except the one mar- ried. Mr. Thomas' ancestors came from Wales at an early day, and his father's uncle, Isaiah Thomas, founded the Boston Spy, a paper which was suppressed by King George III for disloyal sentiments, in 1772; it was afterward removed to Worcester, Mass., and is still published as the Worcester Spy ; he also founded the Antiquarian Library of Worcester ; his father's brother John was a Revolutionary sol- dier; he was in the battle of Bunker Hill, and was afterward killed in the service. Mrs. Thomas ( whose mother's name was Clarissa Boothe) was a direct descendant of the Earl of Marl, England. Mr. Thomas has been Chairman of the town one year, Supervisor three years, Justice of the Peace, and was Treasurer six years. Has 223 acres of land, and is a Republican; Mrs. Thomas has been a member of the Meth- odist Church ever since she was 18 years old.
WILLIAM THOMAS, JR., farmer, Sec. 12; P. O. Randolph ; born in Anglesea, Wales, Feb. 12, 1847 ; son of William and Elizabeth Thomas, who came to America with their family in 1849, and settled in Waukesha Co., Wis., where they lived till December, 1874, then sold out, came to Columbia Co., and lived in the village of Cambria a few months, and then bought a farm in Courtland, on Sec. 12, where they still reside. William, Jr., was married, March 24, 1870, in Oconomowoc, Wis., to Phebe Gudger, who was born in 1846, in Waukesha Co., Wis. ; daughter of John and Lydia Gudger, natives of England ; Mr. Thomas has two children-Willie and Frankie. Has 125 acres of land, worth $5,000. Republican.
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