Alba Barbara Eaton was born on 4 May 1894, in Lower Canard, Kings County, Nova Scotia. Her parents were Everard Doe Eaton (5 March 1844 – 7 February 1905) and May Florence North (ca. 1861 - 6 July 1955), who married June 24, 1891. She was one of five children, her siblings included Evangeline (June 30, 1892-1988), Seldon (May 7, 1895 – August 24, 1895), Clement George (Jun 7, 1896-1966) and Bernard Harris North (b. April 3, 1898). Eaton kept journals from the summer of 1938 to spring 1943. Eaton never married and her lifelong occupation was dressmaker until her ill health forced her to retire. Her entries indicate that she also supplemented her income through picking and canning local produce to sell. She was an active member of the Canning United Church and a member of the Missionary Society. She passed away from after a brief battle with cancer on March 12, 1966, at the age of 71.
Thomas Beamish Akins was born in Halifax in 1809 and died there in 1891. A lawyer by profession, he was an antiquarian and bibliophile by vocation. In 1857 he was appointed Nova Scotia's commissioner of public records, holding the office until his death. A prolific historical author and editor, he is best known for his history of the town of Halifax and for Selections from the Public Documents of the Province of Nova Scotia (Halifax 1869).
Thomas Akin (1702-1775) and his son Stephen (1739-1827) of New England were grantees at the founding of the Township of Falmouth, N.S. in 1760. Stephen married Elizabeth King in New Jersey in 1761 and returned to Falmouth where their five children were born. Their eldest son Thomas (1762-1832) married Margaret Ott Beamish (d. 1809) and changed his surname to Akins after moving to Liverpool where he was an insurance broker and merchant. Their only child, Thomas Beamish (1809-1891), became a barrister and was appointed commissioner of public records for Nova Scotia in 1857. Captain John Stephen Akins (1796-1867), son of John (1766-1859) and Rebecca (1771-1826) and grandson of Stephen and Elizabeth, married Margaret Wilson in 1832. Their son Charles Edward (1833-1914), a farmer and orchardist, was married to Elizabeth Armstrong and had eight children. Charles' son Thomas Bernard Akins (1871-1959) participated in the organization of the Avon River Power Company Ltd. in 1923.
Ajax Hospitality Headquarters was established in 1942 and was located at 90 Spring Garden Road in Halifax, Nova Scotia. As the chair was Mrs. Janet E. McEuen, the organization is believed to have arisen out of the demise of the former Ajax Club, which she also chaired. The aim of the organization was to provide temporary sanctuary to men of the Royal Navy, the Fleet Air Arm and British Military Forces who armed the defensive equipment of the merchant ships. The men registered in Halifax and were sorted into groups that were sent out to smaller Nova Scotia communities. The following are the locations involved in the program and the dates they began to be active: Hantsport, (ca. 1943), Chester (August 1943), Musquodoboit Harbour (27 June 1944), Shubenacadie (6 July 1944), Sheet Harbour (23 August 1944), and Wolfville (1 January 1945). The project was also spearheaded by Financial Campaign Committee chairman, J. McGregor Stewart. They were aided further by similar financial committees in Ontario and Quebec. During 1944 the office in Halifax welcomed 25,184 visitors, according to its guest book. The operations of the organization are believed to have concluded with the end of the war in 1945.
The Ajax Club of Halifax, Nova Scotia was sponsored by the Interallied Hospitality Fund and established in August of 1940. The club's objective was to uphold the morale of servicemen, to bring warmth and joy into their lives, and help them forget the grim realities of war. The chair of the Ajax Club secured the use of the Odell House at the corner of Queen and Tobin Streets in Halifax for this purpose. The Ajax Club opened on 4 November 1940, with the official opening taking place on 14 December 1940 when Sir Gerald Campbell came from Ottawa. The club featured a library widely supported by donors and a bar that served beer to a maximum of two quarts a day. The ability to serve alcohol was considered controversial and on 23 February 1942 the license to sell alcohol was withdrawn by the Nova Scotia Liquor Commission and the club was in effect closed.
Mary Jane Aitkin lived in Pictou, Nova Scotia, in the mid-nineteenth century. Sophia Catherine Brehm lived in Halifax ca. 1857.
James (Jim) Hermiston Aitchison was born on January 22, 1908 to James C. and Elizabeth Aitchison in Innerleithen, Scotland. He came to Canada at age four and was raised and educated in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Aitchison received a B.A. (1928) and B.Ed. (1929) from the University of Saskatchewan as well as a B.Sc. from the London School of Economics (1935). While in London, Aitchison married Oriole, with whom he had one daughter, Elizabeth. In 1953, he received a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto.
Aitchison’s career as an educator began in 1929. He taught high school from 1929 until 1933 and lectured at Brandon College (1935-1938), University of Toronto (1938-1939), and McMaster (1939-1941). Aitchison then became an associate professor at Victoria College (1946-1948). He also served with the Canadian Army from 1942 to 1946, reaching the rank of Major.
Aitchison came to Dalhousie in 1949 and served as head or chairman of the Department of Political Science until 1973. His research centred on Canadian politics and government and he wrote profusely on the topic. He also edited The Political Process in Canada: Essays in Honour of R. MacGregor Dawson in 1963. Aitchison was active in the Dalhousie community and served as the first president of the Dalhousie Faculty Association in 1951. Even after his retirement, Aitchison maintained a close connection with Dalhousie’s Department of Political Science, continuing to work in his office as late as 1993 at age eighty-five. He was also active in a number of professional organizations, including the Canadian Association of University Teachers and the Social Science Research Council of Canada, where he served as president and chairman, respectively.
In the 1960s, Aitchison was also involved with the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party, serving as chairman of the committee for the party (1961-1962), party president (1962-1964), president and acting leader (1964-1966), and leader (1966-1968). He also ran unsuccessfully for election in the 1962 and 1965 federal elections, as well as in the 1967 provincial election.
In 1993, Aitchison’s contributions to his field were honoured by the Atlantic Provinces Political Science Association. He died in Halifax on July 12, 1994.