Fonds contains the personal and professional records of four generations of the Bigelow family of Nova Scotia. It includes correspondence, legal and financial documents, diaries and memoirs, and photographs that document primarily the family's shipbuilding activities as well as the genealogical interests of John Robert Bigelow.
Fonds consists of Thomas Cantley's materials accumulated and sometimes annotated by Catherine Campbell in the course of her research on Cantley's life, including correspondence regarding his political and professional activities; correspondence with family members; manuscripts and typescripts; speeches; photographs; financial statements; and other textual records. Fonds also contains records originating with Cantley's family, including correspondence between his children Charles L. Cantley and Marian Cantley, and a letter from Donald F. Cantley to E.W. Sutherland.