Photo 1: The photo is of a group of ladies, probably associated with the North Argyle Presbyterian Church, at the Town of Argyle Community picnic, held at Summit Lake in August 1900. The lady in front reclining with the umbrella is Elizabeth (Libbie) Shields of the "Hook", North Argyle. Her sister, Jennie Shields may also be in the picture at the back. My grand-aunt Mazie Huggins (or possibly Nancy Huggins) is in the center of the photo, with her face partially obscured. (Mazie, her husband Grant Tefft, and their children, lived in Greenwich and ran the Greenwich Journal. Nancy Huggins was later Mrs. Archibald Skellie of North Argyle. I am not 100% sure which aunt it is.) It is likely that Mary Black of the "Hook" is also in this picture, but I am not sure of that, either. The other ladies are a mystery to me.
Photo 2: This photo was taken in October 1899, somewhere in the area of the Hook, North Argyle. I do not know who the three girls are. I would like to find out.
Photo 3: This is a photo of John Huggins originally of Co. Monaghan, Ireland, and his grand-daughter, Clara F. Huggins. It was taken around 1880. John Huggins was the son of Samuel Huggins and Mary Gleason Huggins from the Ballybay area of Co. Monaghan, Ireland (or possibly Cootehill, Co. Cavan). In 1832, John and his new bride, Nancy Williamson (daughter of John Williamson and Margaret Ann Dodson Williamson of Ballybay), emigrated to the US, and settled in the Argyle area with other Scotch-Irish Presbyterians (the Huggins family may have originally been French Huguenot in origin). His brother Samuel Huggins (spouse: Margaret Deacon) and sister Elizabeth (Betsy) Huggins McKernon (spouse: Robert McKernon) followed him to the same area. John had other siblings: Robert, Edward, Richard, David, James, Sarah (spouses: James King and Robert Bump), and Mary Ann (spouse: Mr. Reynolds); however, we don't have much information on them. John Huggins was a hand-loom weaver and a farmer. His children were Samuel E. Huggins (spouse: Elizabeth Foster), John W. Huggins (spouse: Lucina Fuller), and Margaret Ann Huggins. In about 1845, John and Nancy packed up their belongings and their small children, and left Argyle for the Madison, Wisconsin area). They walked, rode on horse, and rode on Erie Canal barges. They homesteaded in Wisconsin for a few years, and put up with prairie brush fires, dust storms, wolves, and disease. Due to Nancy's continuing bad health, they gave up the homestead and returned to Argyle to raise their family. After his wife Nancy died, he moved in with his daughter Margaret Ann. According to Rev. Henning of North Argyle, he was "the most perfect gentleman (I have) ever met." "He (always) met me with perfect courtesy and a smile." (The photo is also courtesy of Mrs. Ruth [Huggins] Ward).
Photo 4: This photo from late fall, circa 1895, is of pupils and teacher of District School No. 2 in South Argyle, NY. The school was a little west of the South Argyle Church, near the intersection of current County Rte. 338 and Lohret Rd., west of Cossayuna Lake. The school was later a residence. A similar photo, maybe a year or two before or after this one, is in the book, "Argyle, My Argyle" by the Argyle History Group. See that book for information on the school. I can only identify two people in this photo. The teacher in the back row, extreme right, is my great-grandmother Julia Amanda Fowler (daughter of David Doane Fowler and Hannah Abigail [Niles] Fowler), later to become Mrs. Dewey F. Cornell of Argyle. The young girl in the front row, far right (who Julia has her hand on) is my grandmother Jennie Irwin (daughter of James Irwin and Sarah Amanda [Tinkey] Irwin of South Argyle). Jennie married Arthur Huggins of North Argyle, in March 1912.
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