Francis Hugh Bell was born 6 August 1855 at Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he later became a barrister. He married M. Leila Steede (1862-1933) of Hamilton, Bermuda. They had at least two children, a daughter Barbara and a son, Hugh. Bell was a member of the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron and closely involved with the Marblehead to Halifax races. Frank H. Bell died in 1940.

Charles Russell Fulton (1896-1924) was the first Halifax police officer to be killed on duty. He was shot by gang leader Lewis Bevis during the investigation of an armed robbery. He had been a police officer for four years and had been married to Ada Pearl Hartling for three years. His widow was responsible for forming this collection.

John E. Lloyd was involved with Halifax City Council for nineteen years. Elected as an alderman for Ward 6 in 1937, he became mayor in 1943 but left to work for the UN in 1945. In 1946 he returned to local government and served as an alderman from 1946 thru 1949 and 1952 thru 1960, becoming mayor once again from 1960 thru 1963. He then moved on to federal politics.

A fuller biography is available at HRM Archives.

Joshua Mauger, (born in the parish of St John, Jersey 25 Apr 1725; died at Warborne, England 18 Oct 1788), was an influential figure in Halifax during the early years of the colony. In 1751 he became an agent victualler for the navy at Halifax. Based in England after 1760, he served as agent for the Nova Scotia Assembly at London, 1762-1768, and remained there until his death, serving as a Member of Parliament from 1768 until 1780. He kept his business and political interests in Nova Scotia while in London, as he was Halifax's largest ship owner, ship builder, brewer and distiller, and traded in lumber, fish and mercantile goods. He wielded a great deal of influence in Nova Scotia through his many associates in the colony, including businessmen John Butler (his attorney), Isaac Deschamps, and Nova Scotia Lt. Governor Michael Fracklin.

Richard L. Weldon was a barrister and the grandson of Richard Chapman Weldon, founder and first dean of Dalhousie Law School in 1883. He served as Dartmouth alderman for Ward 5 from 1966/67 into the 1970s. In 1971/72 he served as Deputy Mayor. He later became a Progressive Conservative member of Legislature and served on the Utility and Review Board.

Charles F. Longley operated a shipping company, C.F. Longley and Co. in Halifax. He served in South Africa in the 1890s. He purchased land around the Northwest Arm, including Deadman's Island in 1907 and Melville Cove are land ca. 1914. He was a principal in the Melville Park Company which initated an amusement park on Deadman's Island.

Henry Stubbs Colwell was a City of Halifax Alderman for Ward 1 between 1915-1925, and was Deputy Mayor in 1917 and again from 1923-1924. He considered running for Mayor in 1925, but withdrew because of ill-health. During the Halifax Explosion, December 6, 1917, Mayor Peter F. Martin was away, so Deputy Mayor Colwell took responsibility for the City's response to the tragedy, and initiated numerous aid committees.

Colwell was born in Saint John, New Brunswick on June 3, 1863. After enlisting in the contingent in 1885 and serving in the North-West Rebellion in Manitoba, Colwell returned to Halifax and established Colwell Brothers Limited in 1891. Colwell Brothers Limited was a succesful clothier, and Colwell was the company president. Colwell died on May 7, 1948, at the age of 85.

Ernie Reksten was a travelling salesman and compulsive photographer from British Columbia. He was born in Edmonton in 1912, moved to Vancouver ca. 1936, where he died in February 1997.

Lou Collins was a prominent Halifax, Nova Scotia heritage activist, historian, educator and writer. Louis William Collins was born July 26, 1922 at home on Liverpool Street in Halifax. His parents were William Snowden Collins (1882-1965) and Amy Louisa (Higgins) Collins (1889-1975). Collins attended Chebucto Road School and Bloomfield High School, and later Dalhousie University where he earned a B.A. (1944) and M.A. (1945) in English and History, and a Diploma of Education (1946). On July 23, 1955, he married Pamela Betty Ventham and had three children with her: Margaret, Heather and Diane.

Collins began his long career in education in 1948, working first at King’s Collegiate School before moving into the Halifax public school system in 1950. Collins served as a teacher, administrator and/or principal at Richmond School Junior High, Westmount School, and Cornwallis Junior High before retiring in 1983. He continued to teach night classes for the Continuing Education Department and lecture on historical and architectural topics at local universities and institutions. In the course of his career as an educator, Collins was involved in several professional associations and unions, including being a founding member of the Nova Scotia Teachers’ Union and Nova Scotia Teachers’ Union Credit Union.Throughout much of his adult life, Collins was heavily involved in the Halifax and Nova Scotia heritage communities. In the 1960’s Collins began advocating for the preservation of numerous historic buildings in Halifax which were threatened by demolition under the new development practice of urban renewal. His efforts were pivotal in stopping the proposed Harbour Drive and preserving the Halifax waterfront area that became the Historic Properties development. Collins was chair of the City of Halifax’s Civic Advisory Committee on the Preservation of Historic Buildings and helped establish its successor, the Halifax Landmarks Commission, which he also chaired for a number of years. Later he was a member of the Heritage Advisory Committee and the Halifax Foundation. Collins’ extensive involvement in heritage societies and associations across the province included tenure as President of the Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society and membership on several boards including those of the Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia and the Public Archives of Nova Scotia. For his heritage preservation efforts, Collins received a number of awards, among them an honorary doctorate from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in 1979, the Heritage Canada Lieutenant-Governor's Gold Medal in 1981 (with his wife Pamela), and investiture in the Order of Canada in 1996.Collins was appointed Honorary Civic Historian for the City of Halifax from 1968-1996, and in this capacity was consulted by the Mayor and other city officials on various historical and heritage-related matters. Throughout his life Collins developed and delivered historical tours of Halifax, gave speeches and lectures at various events and functions, and worked as a research associate and historical consultant for local institutions. He was also active as a writer and journalist, producing a book, poems and many columns and articles for local newspapers and magazines. His wife Pam assisted Collins with his research and took many of the photographs he used to illustrate his lectures. In addition, Collins was active in the Boy Scouts of Canada for a number of years, and served as president of the Nova Scotia Camping Association and the Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Association of Nova Scotia. He died in Halifax on September 1, 2007.

Harold F. Jones was an athlete during his youth in Halifax. He was born on 31 October 1900 in Halifax, Nova Scotia the son of Frederick Henry and Jane (Carter) Jones. He was educated in public schools in Halifax and went on to work with Eatons, the Bank of Commerce and subsequently joined the Halifax Rifles, becoming a Sergeant Major at Aldershot. He first married Dorothy Millett Hawboldt on 10 December 1928 in Halifax, Nova Scotia and was later married to Flo Manson. He served for twenty-five years as the Town Clerk in Canning, Nova Scotia and later became the comptroller of the Sherbrooke Village restoration project. He died on 20 September 1984 in Sherbrooke, Nova Scotia.