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John Jobe "Johnny" Abbass held the title of president of Abbass Studios. He went on to own and operate Econo Colour camera stores throughout the Maritimes. A prominent businessman and member of the local community, he served as vice president of the Professional Photographers Association of Canada and was involved with the Progressive Conservative Party and the Rotary Club of Sydney. He was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002 for outstanding contributions to his community. After his retirement from the business, his sons Blaise and John took over the Studios.

Albert Almon was born at Glace Bay, Nova Scotia in 1872. He married and had five children: Patrick, Joseph, Cleophas, Mary and Annie. Almon was a self-taught plumber and owned his own business in Glace Bay. An amateur historian, he earned him an honorary Masters of Arts degree from St. Francis Xavier University and recognition from Pope Pius XII. He died in 1960.

The family of Alexander and Susan Anderson lived on Poplar Grove Farm, Baddeck. Son Percival William Anderson was born July 7, 1885, and served for 6 years in the 94th Argyll Highlanders before enlisting for service in World War 1 on October 28, 1915. He was killed in action on March 11, 1917.

Archie "Larry" Gillis was the son of Lawrence (Larry) Gillis and Ann MacDonald (Post). His father emigrated from the Isle of Barra in 1833 at the age of 10. A native of Rear Beaver Cove, he married fellow parishioner Mary MacSween and moved to North Sydney. A carpenter by trade, Gillis would eventually find work at the steel plant but always yearned to return to the calm and peace of the countryside. He composed many songs, many of them of a humorous nature.

Charles Parnell Barrington was born in 1770 in Middlesex, England. He married Elizabeth Hayward Budd and the couple had eleven children: Margaret Sibella, Carter, Harriet, Victoria, Christina, Elizabeth Ann, Olivia Mary, John, Sidney William, Henry and Edwin John Carter. Barrington immigrated to Canada where he joined the militia and was stationed first in Quebec and then Charlottetown, P.E.I. He was finally stationed at Sydney, Nova Scotia, holding the position of Captain of the 7th Battalion of the 60th Rifles of Foot. He settled at Sydney Mines in 1817 and brought his family over from England. Barrington died in 1848. Many of the Barrington children and grandchildren remained in Cape Breton. Yorke Henry Ainsley Barrington, son of Edwin, and his son Yorke Cotrill Barrington, became heavily involved in the founding of the Cape Breton coal industry.

Captain Henry Wolsey Bayfield (1795-1885) was born in Kingston Hull, England. At age 11 he entered the Royal Navy. He moved up in rank and served in the Mediterranean, off the coasts of France, Holland, and Spain, in the West Indies, and at Quebec and Halifax before joining the British flotilla on Lake Champlain in October 1814. He became acting lieutenant in Kingston, Upper Canada, on the sloop Star, a vessel employed in the Royal Navy’s surveying service on the Canadian lakes under the command of Captain William Fitz William Owen. Bayfield assisted Owen in the summer of 1816 in the survey of Lake Ontario and the upper St Lawrence from Kingston to the Galop Rapids at Edwardsburg Upper Canada. Bayfield soon became in charge of surveying. Bayfield was promoted commander in 1826. While in England he persuaded the Admiralty that a survey was required of the St Lawrence River and Gulf, to be connected with the chain of surveys from Lake Superior eastward. The Admiralty appointed Bayfield superintendent of the St Lawrence survey in 1827. One of Bayfield’s special concerns was to obtain measurements of the distances between the meridians of Quebec, Halifax, and St John’s. By 1848 Bayfield had surveyed the entire coastline of Prince Edward Island the Northumberland Strait coast of Nova Scotia, and the northeastern extremity of the Gaspé. In the next five years, he concentrated on a survey of Cape Breton Island begun in 1847, the Strait of Canso, Isle Madame, and the Bras d’Or Lake.

The Beaton Institute was founded in 1957 as Cape Bretoniana, a cultural heritage archive mandated to preserve the social, economic, political and cultural history of Cape Breton Island. It is the official repository for historically significant records of Cape Breton University.

Archibald Beaton was a resident of Mabou Mines, Nova Scotia.

Elizabeth Beaton grew up on a farm in Antigonish County. She was educated at St. Martha’s Hospital, St. F. X. University (BA Celtic Studies), Memorial University of Newfoundland (MA Folklore) and University of Manitoba (Ph.D. Interdisciplinary Studies). She served as a CUSO volunteer in Guyana from 1967-1969, and stayed on in Guyana until 1973. She taught courses in Folklore, Geography, and Community Studies. She spent 33 years at Cape Breton University, including as a Senior Researcher at the Beaton Institute. Her primary interests have always been the culture and traditions – and relevant societal milieus -- of Cape Breton Island. This has led her to study and write about immigration and ethnic relations; the steel industry; housing as a reflection of culture and status, agriculture and the livelihood of farmers especially in Inverness County. As a Senior Research Fellow with the Centre for Cape Breton Studies, her current area of study and writing is on the material culture of the gaspereau fishery as a farm income supplement. She is also active on a committee dedicated to bringing farmer immigrants to Cape Breton Island. Elizabeth now spends a great deal of her time gardening, and cheering on the excellent young scholars who are involved in bringing a deeper and wider understanding of Cape Breton peoples and their respective cultures.