Josephine W. Hewlett, Theodosia C. Stickney and Ruth V. Hewlett, born and raised in Buffalo, were all students at the State University of New York at Buffalo. The eldest, Josephine, was born in 1900, followed by Theodosia in 1903 and Ruth in 1906. The sisters traveled extensively throughout their lives, as the importance of leisure was instilled in them at a young age. The family took frequent trips to Atlantic City and also spent a lot of time at local resorts like Point Abino. Their appreciation for nature, history and ethnography is evident in the photo documentation of their travels.

Josephine (also known as Joey or Jo) was a graduate of the UB School of Social Work. She later worked as a case supervisor for the Erie County Department of Social Welfare. After her death in October, 1944, Theodosia and Ruth donated $300.00 towards the "Josephine W. Hewlett Memorial Fund," which was used to help build the library for the School of Social Work. Theodosia and Ruth remained close to the university, becoming lifelong donors.

Theodosia (commonly known as Teddy) completed her undergraduate work at the Connecticut College in New Haven, Connecticut. After which, she moved back to Buffalo and earned her Masters degree in Psychology from UB in 1928. She then took a position as dean of students at Erie County Technical Institute, while teaching sociology, psychology, and industrial and labor relations. Later in her career, she accepted a position with the New York State Department of Labor, where she set up one of five junior placement programs in the state. She and her husband, Richard Stickney, retired and moved to Wilmington, NC in 1965. Richard died in 1982 and Theodosia died in 1997.

Ruth (also known as Ruthie or Ri) earned her undergraduate degree in Library Science from UB in 1928. She went on to earn her MA in Library Science from University of Michigan. She was the arts and music librarian at Syracuse University and then at Tufts University until her retirement in 1971. Upon retirement, she moved next door to Theodosia in Wilmington, NC, where she died in 1998.

In 1992, the two sisters jointly bequeathed a portion of their estates to the UB Foundation to establish the Hewlett Family Enrichment Fund. The fund was to benefit the Department of Psychiatry in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences; the School of Social Work, and the Humanities Institute. An additional bequest of $3,000 in memory of Ruth was designated for the School of Information and Library Studies.