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Letter from Adolphus Allen, 13 July 1841

Source Note

Adolphus Allen

ca. 1790–ca. 31 Mar. 1857. Physician. Likely born in Northumberland Co., Pennsylvania. Son of Nathaniel Allen and Lydia Stevens. Married Arvilla Skinner, 29 Mar. 1836. Among first settlers in Hancock Co., Illinois. Deeded land to JS, Sept. 1841. Living in...

View Full Bio
, Letter, Des Moines City, Hancock Co., IL, to JS,
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
, Hancock Co., IL, 13 July 1841; handwriting presumably of
Adolphus Allen

ca. 1790–ca. 31 Mar. 1857. Physician. Likely born in Northumberland Co., Pennsylvania. Son of Nathaniel Allen and Lydia Stevens. Married Arvilla Skinner, 29 Mar. 1836. Among first settlers in Hancock Co., Illinois. Deeded land to JS, Sept. 1841. Living in...

View Full Bio
; one page; JS Collection, CHL. Includes map and dockets.
Single leaf measuring 12¼ × 8 inches (31 × 20 cm) and ruled with thirty-seven horizontal blue lines. The letter was written on the recto only. The letter was then trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer. The leaf has a tear caused by detachment of the wafer.
The document was docketed by
Willard Richards

24 June 1804–11 Mar. 1854. Teacher, lecturer, doctor, clerk, printer, editor, postmaster. Born at Hopkinton, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Joseph Richards and Rhoda Howe. Moved to Richmond, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts, 1813; to Chatham, Columbia Co...

View Full Bio
, who served as JS’s scribe from December 1841 until JS’s death in June 1844 and served as church historian from December 1842 until his own death in March 1854.
1

JS, Journal, 13 Dec. 1841 and 21 Dec. 1842; Orson Spencer, “Death of Our Beloved Brother Willard Richards,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 16 Mar. 1854, [2].


Comprehensive Works Cited

Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.

A second docket was added by Andrew Jenson, who began working in the Church Historian’s Office in 1882 and served as assistant church historian from 1897 to 1941.
2

Jenson, Autobiography, 131, 133, 135, 141, 192, 389; Jenson, Journal, 9 Feb. 1891 and 19 Oct. 1897; Bitton and Arrington, Mormons and Their Historians, 44–52.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Jenson, Andrew. Autobiography of Andrew Jenson: Assistant Historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. . . . Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1938.

Jenson, Andrew. Journals, 1864–1941. Andrew Jenson, Autobiography and Journals, 1864–1941. CHL.

Bitton, David, and Leonard J. Arrington. Mormons and Their Historians. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1988.

The letter has presumably remained in institutional custody since its receipt in 1841, when Richards docketed and filed it in JS’s office.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS, Journal, 13 Dec. 1841 and 21 Dec. 1842; Orson Spencer, “Death of Our Beloved Brother Willard Richards,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 16 Mar. 1854, [2].

    Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.

  2. [2]

    Jenson, Autobiography, 131, 133, 135, 141, 192, 389; Jenson, Journal, 9 Feb. 1891 and 19 Oct. 1897; Bitton and Arrington, Mormons and Their Historians, 44–52.

    Jenson, Andrew. Autobiography of Andrew Jenson: Assistant Historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. . . . Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1938.

    Jenson, Andrew. Journals, 1864–1941. Andrew Jenson, Autobiography and Journals, 1864–1941. CHL.

    Bitton, David, and Leonard J. Arrington. Mormons and Their Historians. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1988.

Historical Introduction

On 13 July 1841,
Adolphus Allen

ca. 1790–ca. 31 Mar. 1857. Physician. Likely born in Northumberland Co., Pennsylvania. Son of Nathaniel Allen and Lydia Stevens. Married Arvilla Skinner, 29 Mar. 1836. Among first settlers in Hancock Co., Illinois. Deeded land to JS, Sept. 1841. Living in...

View Full Bio
wrote to JS, referencing a previous conversation between the two of them and offering to sell him land in Des Moines City, Illinois, a few miles downriver from
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
, Illinois.
1

Des Moines City was located in Section 6 of Township 5 North, Range 8 West in Hancock County and was about two miles north of Montebello, Illinois. Adolphus Allen laid out the town in 1837. The town was short-lived but existed until at least 1843, when Gustavus Hills, Alanson Ripley, and Robert Campbell captured it on a map of Hancock County. (Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois, 474; “Map of Hancock County, State of Illinois,” ca. 1843, CHL.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Gregg, Thomas. History of Hancock County, Illinois, Together with an Outline History of the State, and a Digest of State Laws. Chicago: Charles C. Chapman, 1880.

“Map of Hancock County, State of Illinois,” ca. 1843. CHL.

Allen, an early resident of
Hancock County

Formed from Pike Co., 1825. Described in 1837 as predominantly prairie and “deficient in timber.” Early settlers came mainly from mid-Atlantic and southern states. Population in 1835 about 3,200; in 1840 about 9,900; and in 1844 at least 15,000. Carthage ...

More Info
, Illinois, founded Des Moines City in 1837, having arrived in the area as early as 1835. Throughout the 1830s and 1840s, he was heavily involved in efforts to improve the county’s infrastructure and commerce.
2

Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois, 448, 474; Memorial of Adolphus Allen Praying Congress to Construct a Bridge over the Mississippi River at the Town of Des Moines, in Illinois, S. Doc. no. 290, 25th Cong., 2nd Sess. [1838]; Adolphus Allen, 4 Feb. 1841, Letter to the Editor, Western World (Warsaw, IL), 24 Feb. 1841, [1].


Comprehensive Works Cited

Gregg, Thomas. History of Hancock County, Illinois, Together with an Outline History of the State, and a Digest of State Laws. Chicago: Charles C. Chapman, 1880.

Memorial of Adolphus Allen, Praying Congress to Construct a Bridge over the Mississippi River at the Town of Des Moines, in Illinois, and That the Military Road from Chicago to Fort Leavenworth May Pass through Said Town. Senate doc. no. 290, 25th Cong., 2nd Sess. (1838).

Western World. Warsaw, IL. 1840–1841.

Allen

ca. 1790–ca. 31 Mar. 1857. Physician. Likely born in Northumberland Co., Pennsylvania. Son of Nathaniel Allen and Lydia Stevens. Married Arvilla Skinner, 29 Mar. 1836. Among first settlers in Hancock Co., Illinois. Deeded land to JS, Sept. 1841. Living in...

View Full Bio
owed approximately $700 on lands he owned near Des Moines City and was concerned that these properties would revert to former ownership if he defaulted on his payments. He therefore solicited JS’s assistance to pay the money he owed on two large parcels of land, comprising approximately 120 acres. In exchange, Allen promised to allow
church

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

View Glossary
members to settle indefinitely on those parcels and to give them access to adjoining farm lands on his property. In addition to providing an area for new immigrants to settle, Allen suggested that the location would allow the Saints to gain “a preponderance at the polls” in the Montebello precinct.
The letter’s lack of postal marks indicates that
Allen

ca. 1790–ca. 31 Mar. 1857. Physician. Likely born in Northumberland Co., Pennsylvania. Son of Nathaniel Allen and Lydia Stevens. Married Arvilla Skinner, 29 Mar. 1836. Among first settlers in Hancock Co., Illinois. Deeded land to JS, Sept. 1841. Living in...

View Full Bio
sent the letter, which included a drawing of the lots and the surrounding area, with an unnamed bearer to JS in
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
. JS apparently received the letter and found Allen’s properties attractive. On 17 September 1841, JS and Allen executed a bond and deed in which JS agreed to pay $100 for one of the parcels—the forty-acre lot described in the letter.
3

Mortgage from Adolphus Allen, 17 Sept. 1841. At the time of the transaction, Allen did not yet possess the government patent confirming ownership of the larger, eighty-acre tract of land. In the bond, Allen authorized JS to redeem the larger tract on his behalf. In the event that JS was able to successfully pay the debt owed and thus redeem the land, Allen agreed to deed the land to JS and his heirs upon receipt of the government patent. (Bond from Adolphus Allen, 17 Sept. 1841.)


Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Des Moines City was located in Section 6 of Township 5 North, Range 8 West in Hancock County and was about two miles north of Montebello, Illinois. Adolphus Allen laid out the town in 1837. The town was short-lived but existed until at least 1843, when Gustavus Hills, Alanson Ripley, and Robert Campbell captured it on a map of Hancock County. (Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois, 474; “Map of Hancock County, State of Illinois,” ca. 1843, CHL.)

    Gregg, Thomas. History of Hancock County, Illinois, Together with an Outline History of the State, and a Digest of State Laws. Chicago: Charles C. Chapman, 1880.

    “Map of Hancock County, State of Illinois,” ca. 1843. CHL.

  2. [2]

    Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois, 448, 474; Memorial of Adolphus Allen Praying Congress to Construct a Bridge over the Mississippi River at the Town of Des Moines, in Illinois, S. Doc. no. 290, 25th Cong., 2nd Sess. [1838]; Adolphus Allen, 4 Feb. 1841, Letter to the Editor, Western World (Warsaw, IL), 24 Feb. 1841, [1].

    Gregg, Thomas. History of Hancock County, Illinois, Together with an Outline History of the State, and a Digest of State Laws. Chicago: Charles C. Chapman, 1880.

    Memorial of Adolphus Allen, Praying Congress to Construct a Bridge over the Mississippi River at the Town of Des Moines, in Illinois, and That the Military Road from Chicago to Fort Leavenworth May Pass through Said Town. Senate doc. no. 290, 25th Cong., 2nd Sess. (1838).

    Western World. Warsaw, IL. 1840–1841.

  3. [3]

    Mortgage from Adolphus Allen, 17 Sept. 1841. At the time of the transaction, Allen did not yet possess the government patent confirming ownership of the larger, eighty-acre tract of land. In the bond, Allen authorized JS to redeem the larger tract on his behalf. In the event that JS was able to successfully pay the debt owed and thus redeem the land, Allen agreed to deed the land to JS and his heirs upon receipt of the government patent. (Bond from Adolphus Allen, 17 Sept. 1841.)

Page [1]

Des Moines July 13th. 1841
Dear Sir
The diagram below represents the land that I spoke to you about a few days since. It lies on a dry & beautiful ridge between two Streams
1

Des Moines City was bordered by Larry Creek on the north and Waggoner Creek on the south. (“Map of Hancock County, State of Illinois,” ca. 1843, CHL.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

“Map of Hancock County, State of Illinois,” ca. 1843. CHL.

& is skirte[d] on the north & South by timber.
2

Hancock County’s earliest settlements were established on the outskirts of the county’s timbered regions. The trees in the county mainly consisted of “black and white oak and hickory, with an undergrowth of red-bud, sassafras and hazel” on the county’s ridgelines. “Elm, linden, wild cherry and honey locust” trees grew “on the more level portions” of the region. (Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois, 198, 204, 206, 466.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Gregg, Thomas. History of Hancock County, Illinois, Together with an Outline History of the State, and a Digest of State Laws. Chicago: Charles C. Chapman, 1880.

It is admirably calculated for a number of Settlers on the north & south borders with One Common field in the Centre which might be extended to 200 acres. (a few more Settlers here would give a preponderance at the polls, in this election precinct).
3

At the time he received this letter, JS was considering other settlement locations for the growing number of Latter-day Saint immigrants. However, settlement in Des Moines City offered certain political advantages: by relocating only twenty-five more eligible Latter-day Saint voters to the area, the Saints could obtain a democratic majority in the Montebello election precinct. Allen’s suggestion to buy his property came only three weeks after a group of citizens formally established an anti-Mormon political party in Warsaw, Illinois. During the highly contested Hancock County elections in August 1841, two anti-Mormon candidates took office, winning by 4 and 114 votes respectively. Allen’s offer of additional lands provided the Saints an opportunity to secure a majority in the Montebello precinct as well as a majority in Hancock County. (Historical Introduction to Letter from Calvin A. Warren, 31 Aug. 1841; “Anti-Mormon Meeting,” Warsaw [IL] Signal, 23 June 1841, [3]; “Address,” Warsaw Signal, 7 July 1841, [2]; “Anti-Mormon Nominations,” Warsaw Signal, 28 July 1841, [2]; “Hancock County Election,” Warsaw Signal, 11 Aug. 1841, [2]; see also News Item, Sangamo Journal [Springfield, IL], 20 Aug. 1841, [2].)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

Sangamo Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1847.

There is a house with 2 rooms, a Barn with 2 stables, & a large corn house
4

Corn house was another name for a corncrib, a ventilated building or granary for drying and storing ears of corn.


on the lot. this lot contains 80 acres. The other of 40 acres which is coloured, has about 20 acres of beautiful crowning priarie & 20 acres of timber, with a fine stream of water running through it. This lot covers a valuable coal bed which is very accessible.
5

A geological survey of Illinois noted small outcroppings of coal in this portion of Hancock County, including a deposit “on the headwaters of Waggoner’s creek . . . that was worked to some extent in the early settlement of the county.” At the time the survey published its study in 1866, the coal deposit was relatively thin, only “twelve to fourteen inches thick” and was “strongly impregnated with iron pyrites,” making it impure and potentially volatile. (Worthen et al., Geological Survey of Illinois, 331–332; see also Hall and Whitney, Report of the Geological Survey of the State of Iowa, 1:190; and JS, Journal, 12, 14, 16 Jan. 1842.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Worthen, A. H., J. D. Whitney, Leo Lesquereux, and Henry Engelmann. Geological Survey of Illinois. Volume 1, Geology. Springfield: Legislature of Illinois, 1966.

Hall, James, and J. D. Whitney. Report of the Geological Survey of the State of Iowa: Embracing the Results of Investigations Made during Portions of the Years 1855, 56 & 57. 2 vols. Des Moines: Legislature of Iowa, 1858.

These two lots I purchasd at $1000.
6

Allen had borrowed approximately $1,000 from Nathaniel Allen of Troy, Pennsylvania, to pay for land in Illinois. (Hancock Co., IL, Deed Records, 1817–1917, vol. 11F, pp. 400–402, 10 Jan. 1839, microfilm 954,194, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

have paid $500. The residue with interest & cost amts to something short of $700— They are to be sold on the first monday in August next. Should it fall into the original owners hands, it cannot be had presume for 12 Dollars pr acre, as he has lamented much that he <​had​> sold it. The lot East of it I gave $10. pr acre for & the one West of the 40— A. Leving gave 10 Dollars pr acre for, with no improvements on. The title to this land is derived from government— (entered at
Quincy

Located on high limestone bluffs east of Mississippi River, about forty-five miles south of Nauvoo. Settled 1821. Adams Co. seat, 1825. Incorporated as town, 1834. Received city charter, 1840. Population in 1835 about 800; in 1840 about 2,300; and in 1845...

More Info
) If it can be saved by the
Church

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

View Glossary
, those who may settle on it can be accommodated with land to till adjoining it of mine— for any length of time.
With much respect Your humble servant
Adolphus Allen

ca. 1790–ca. 31 Mar. 1857. Physician. Likely born in Northumberland Co., Pennsylvania. Son of Nathaniel Allen and Lydia Stevens. Married Arvilla Skinner, 29 Mar. 1836. Among first settlers in Hancock Co., Illinois. Deeded land to JS, Sept. 1841. Living in...

View Full Bio
[Drawing of land described above; transcript of map notations follows]
Priarie
I gave 10 Dollars pr acre for this
 
Field
80 acres
 
Timber
7

TEXT: Areas containing timber are identified in Allen’s drawing with green brush strokes.


 
Prairie
A. Allen

ca. 1790–ca. 31 Mar. 1857. Physician. Likely born in Northumberland Co., Pennsylvania. Son of Nathaniel Allen and Lydia Stevens. Married Arvilla Skinner, 29 Mar. 1836. Among first settlers in Hancock Co., Illinois. Deeded land to JS, Sept. 1841. Living in...

View Full Bio
 
40. acres
A. Allen

ca. 1790–ca. 31 Mar. 1857. Physician. Likely born in Northumberland Co., Pennsylvania. Son of Nathaniel Allen and Lydia Stevens. Married Arvilla Skinner, 29 Mar. 1836. Among first settlers in Hancock Co., Illinois. Deeded land to JS, Sept. 1841. Living in...

View Full Bio
Priarie
 
Timber
Coal Mine
40. as
Beautiful
Priarie
 
$10. Pr acre
A. Levings
8

Owner of land adjacent to Allen’s in the drawing.


 
Samuel Steele
9

Owner of land adjacent to Allen’s in the drawing. Steele arrived in Hancock County around 1830 and participated in the Black Hawk War. He served as justice of the peace for twenty-eight years and as county assessor for several terms. (Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois, 817.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Gregg, Thomas. History of Hancock County, Illinois, Together with an Outline History of the State, and a Digest of State Laws. Chicago: Charles C. Chapman, 1880.

 
Coal Bank
 
J. M. Fadden
10

Likely John McFadon, owner of land adjacent to Allen’s in the drawing. McFadon owned large tracts of land throughout Hancock County. (Hancock Co., IL, Deed Records, 1817–1917, vol. 10E, pp. 461–462, 28 Aug. 1838, microfilm 954,194, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

 
A. Allen

ca. 1790–ca. 31 Mar. 1857. Physician. Likely born in Northumberland Co., Pennsylvania. Son of Nathaniel Allen and Lydia Stevens. Married Arvilla Skinner, 29 Mar. 1836. Among first settlers in Hancock Co., Illinois. Deeded land to JS, Sept. 1841. Living in...

View Full Bio
[end of map] [p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Adolphus Allen, 13 July 1841
ID #
664
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D8:194–199
Handwriting on This Page
  • Adolphus Allen

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Des Moines City was bordered by Larry Creek on the north and Waggoner Creek on the south. (“Map of Hancock County, State of Illinois,” ca. 1843, CHL.)

    “Map of Hancock County, State of Illinois,” ca. 1843. CHL.

  2. [2]

    Hancock County’s earliest settlements were established on the outskirts of the county’s timbered regions. The trees in the county mainly consisted of “black and white oak and hickory, with an undergrowth of red-bud, sassafras and hazel” on the county’s ridgelines. “Elm, linden, wild cherry and honey locust” trees grew “on the more level portions” of the region. (Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois, 198, 204, 206, 466.)

    Gregg, Thomas. History of Hancock County, Illinois, Together with an Outline History of the State, and a Digest of State Laws. Chicago: Charles C. Chapman, 1880.

  3. [3]

    At the time he received this letter, JS was considering other settlement locations for the growing number of Latter-day Saint immigrants. However, settlement in Des Moines City offered certain political advantages: by relocating only twenty-five more eligible Latter-day Saint voters to the area, the Saints could obtain a democratic majority in the Montebello election precinct. Allen’s suggestion to buy his property came only three weeks after a group of citizens formally established an anti-Mormon political party in Warsaw, Illinois. During the highly contested Hancock County elections in August 1841, two anti-Mormon candidates took office, winning by 4 and 114 votes respectively. Allen’s offer of additional lands provided the Saints an opportunity to secure a majority in the Montebello precinct as well as a majority in Hancock County. (Historical Introduction to Letter from Calvin A. Warren, 31 Aug. 1841; “Anti-Mormon Meeting,” Warsaw [IL] Signal, 23 June 1841, [3]; “Address,” Warsaw Signal, 7 July 1841, [2]; “Anti-Mormon Nominations,” Warsaw Signal, 28 July 1841, [2]; “Hancock County Election,” Warsaw Signal, 11 Aug. 1841, [2]; see also News Item, Sangamo Journal [Springfield, IL], 20 Aug. 1841, [2].)

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

    Sangamo Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1847.

  4. [4]

    Corn house was another name for a corncrib, a ventilated building or granary for drying and storing ears of corn.

  5. [5]

    A geological survey of Illinois noted small outcroppings of coal in this portion of Hancock County, including a deposit “on the headwaters of Waggoner’s creek . . . that was worked to some extent in the early settlement of the county.” At the time the survey published its study in 1866, the coal deposit was relatively thin, only “twelve to fourteen inches thick” and was “strongly impregnated with iron pyrites,” making it impure and potentially volatile. (Worthen et al., Geological Survey of Illinois, 331–332; see also Hall and Whitney, Report of the Geological Survey of the State of Iowa, 1:190; and JS, Journal, 12, 14, 16 Jan. 1842.)

    Worthen, A. H., J. D. Whitney, Leo Lesquereux, and Henry Engelmann. Geological Survey of Illinois. Volume 1, Geology. Springfield: Legislature of Illinois, 1966.

    Hall, James, and J. D. Whitney. Report of the Geological Survey of the State of Iowa: Embracing the Results of Investigations Made during Portions of the Years 1855, 56 & 57. 2 vols. Des Moines: Legislature of Iowa, 1858.

  6. [6]

    Allen had borrowed approximately $1,000 from Nathaniel Allen of Troy, Pennsylvania, to pay for land in Illinois. (Hancock Co., IL, Deed Records, 1817–1917, vol. 11F, pp. 400–402, 10 Jan. 1839, microfilm 954,194, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

  7. [7]

    TEXT: Areas containing timber are identified in Allen’s drawing with green brush strokes.

  8. [8]

    Owner of land adjacent to Allen’s in the drawing.

  9. [9]

    Owner of land adjacent to Allen’s in the drawing. Steele arrived in Hancock County around 1830 and participated in the Black Hawk War. He served as justice of the peace for twenty-eight years and as county assessor for several terms. (Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois, 817.)

    Gregg, Thomas. History of Hancock County, Illinois, Together with an Outline History of the State, and a Digest of State Laws. Chicago: Charles C. Chapman, 1880.

  10. [10]

    Likely John McFadon, owner of land adjacent to Allen’s in the drawing. McFadon owned large tracts of land throughout Hancock County. (Hancock Co., IL, Deed Records, 1817–1917, vol. 10E, pp. 461–462, 28 Aug. 1838, microfilm 954,194, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

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