Across the Water

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Stored in the archives of the Hart Cluett Museum in Troy, New York, forty-three letters trace the lives of a family separated by a trans-Atlantic move in the middle of the nineteenth century.

William Cluett feared for the future of his family in England in 1850. An upstanding citizen and church-elder, he made the shocking decision to flee his debts from his book-selling business, and to leave for America with his wife and six of his children. Eldest daughter Emily remained in England in order to marry John Cadby, but the Cluetts stayed connected through their letters.

In the letters, family members urge each other to be faithful in Christian practice, and William takes up lay preaching again. The Cluetts make valuable contributions to the business, church, and civic life of Troy, and build what became a worldwide shirt company, famous for its Arrow brand. After Emily dies in childbirth in 1870, the correspondence ends. But did the Cluetts pay off their debts? And how did their hidden past affect the family as a whole?

Marjorie Cluett Seguin takes a critical and appreciative look at the lives of William Cluett and his family. Across the Water: Debt, Faith and Fortune includes the Cluett Cadby letters, historic background, contributions from other descendants, and a commentary on William's debt.