Hinton Rowan Helper was born on December 27, 1829 in Davie County, North Carolina. Helper attended Mocksville Academy, graduating in 1848. After failing to strike it rich in California, Helper returned to North Carolina and published The Land of Gold Versus Fiction in 1855 which he presented a negative view of California and its potential. Helper relocated to New York and published The Impending Crisis of the South, a famous abolitionist work and critique of the American South, in June 1857. President Lincoln appointed Helper as a U.S. consul to Buenos Aires from 1861-1866. While there, he met and married Maria Louisa Rodriquez. In 1867, he returned to North America, living in Asheville, New York, St. Louis, and Washington D.C. He wrote an additional five books in his life, and while some of his writings were coherent and logical, much of it was irrational. After his wife returned to South America with their son, Helper's mental state worsened, and he committed suicide on March 8, 1909.

Gerald H. Gaither was born on July 24, 1940. He received his bachelor's degree in 1964 from Appalachian State University and earned his master's (1967) and doctoral (1972) degrees from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Gaither then worked with Texas A&M University as the Director of Institutional Effectiveness, Research, and Analysis with the Prairie View A&M University campus. He has authored and contributed to several writings on higher education, particularly focused on planning and institutional research.

Fannie Memory Farmer Mitchell (known as Memory F. Mitchell) was born in 1924 to James (died 1938) and Foy Farmer (1887-1971). She studied at Meredith College. She married Thornton W. Mitchell (died 2003) who served as the North Carolina State Archivist from 1973-1981.