LATER, SLATER
Visitors from Derbyshire, birthplace of Samuel Slater, reflect on his journey from England to America
PAWTUCKET – In the United States, and particularly in Pawtucket, Samuel Slater is regarded as the father of the American Industrial Revolution, bringing his knowledge of textile factory machinery across the pond from England to design the nation’s first textile mills.
But in Derbyshire, a county in England and the home of Steve and Karen Haseldine, the Slater name carries with it a much different heritage and a particularly cutting nickname: “Slater the Traitor,” as the then-21-year-old Slater left his home and immigrated to the United States with the knowledge of the water-powered spinning machine.
Having grown up in England and settling in Derbyshire, the Haseldine family knew of Slater’s legacy in the
United States – and his infamy in their home nation – but thanks to research from amateur genealogist Karen, they now know that Slater – the hero or the villain, depending on perspective and nationality – is her first-cousin, six times removed.
“It’s lovely to prove the relationship, however distant. But I was quite shocked,” Karen said. “I said, ‘Do I want to be related to someone who’s known as a traitor?’ Although he was quite good at his business.”
“In Belper (a town in Derbyshire), he’s considered a traitor, that he took all the industrial ideas … We lost out on all that business in England,” Steve added.
The husband and wife duo decided that it was time to see what all the fuss was about and examine their long-lost relative’s impact and his perception in the United States. They are visiting the United States from their home in England and as part of their cross-ocean jaunt, they toured the Slater Mill Historic Site on Thursday.
Slater’s grandparents are Karen’s sixtime-great grandparents, making her Samuel Slater’s first cousin six-times removed. Their home in Derbyshire is less than seven miles from where Slater lived in Belper.
Karen explained that her parents were both only children and she had only one living grandparent when she was a young girl. With no aunts, uncles, or cousins to her name, the only lineage she could consider was her father’s cousin, who fought and died in World War II. She said the family would always recall him on solemn days of remembrance, but she wanted to know more of the man she memorialized.
“I fired up the computer and that triggered it,” Karen said. While she admits her amateur genealogy can become “obsessive,” it’s what led her to realize her connection to one of the most significant men in American history.
Steve Haseldine said his family owned manufactured and woven goods spun in the mills in the 1800s, so the connection between his famed in-law and his own family can be traced back to textile manufacturing.
“What surprised us was to find out it existed,” Steve said. “Karen’s been involved in family history for 10 years, but we hadn’t gone down this line. We found some links and realized the history that surrounded us.”
“That Slater is part of the family is quite amazing,” Steve added. “I didn’t expect it. I looked on Wikipedia and he was such an important person at the time. It’s incredible.”
Steve and Karen also found some unique coincidences during the course of their research, unrelated to Slater. They discovered that in the 1800s, one of Karen’s extended relatives lived on the farm where their house is now built. They also found out about a neighborhood church built in the 1500s, which has links to Karen’s side of the family.
Yet another connection between Slater, the Haseldines, and the city of Pawtucket is that Pawtucket shares a sister city relationship with Belper, one the two cities have shared for nearly 25 years.
“It was all by accident,” Steve said. “We made it into the village, but it’s like we were guided there.”
The Haseldine family were led on a tour of the Slater Mill Historic Site and the various buildings that encompass the mill grounds on Thursday afternoon. Guiding them along the way was tour guide Carl Johnson.
As part of their journey across the Atlantic Ocean, Steve and Karen are visiting historic destinations in New England in addition to Slater Mill, including Boston and Plymouth. They travel to the United States yearly to attend a radio convention in Ohio – Steve is in the process of building The Radio Communication Museum of Great Britain in Derby – before taking in the Indianapolis 500.