William Edward Utley earned a bachelor's degree in history from Syracuse University, a master's degree in criminal justice from the University of New Haven, and a master's degree in military history from Norwich University. He served in the U.S. Army as an infantry officer and in Vietnam with the 101st Airborne Division. He was a special agent with the Treasury Department for twenty-seven years, and as an avocational archaeologist he has participated in numerous site excavations, including Fort Niagara. Patricia Kay Scott earned a bachelor's degree from the Anthropology Department of the State University of New York at Buffalo. After retiring from a teaching career, she assisted her husband, Dr. Stuart D. Scott, in directing the 1979-1990 Old Fort Niagara Archaeology in Progress Project and the 1984 excavations at Fort Ontario.