A Rare Titanic Family: The Caldwells' Story of Survival

By Julie Hedgepeth Williams

Albert and Sylvia Caldwell were one of those rare Titanic families who lived through the tragedy at sea. Their lucky rescue aboard the Lifeboat 13 is told for the first time here. But the trip was only one part of a bigger nightmare. The Caldwells has been Presbyterian missionaries in Bangkok, Siam, but fled in what they described as a desperate journey around the world to save Sylvia’s health. Fellow missionaries, however, believed that the couple had plotted to renege on their contract at financial loss to the church. Not even sinking Titanic ended the hunt for the Caldwells. A Rare Titanic Family follows all the true-life plot twists of a family who successfully fled aboard the Titanic but never could get out from under the shadow the ship cast over them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: NewSouth Books
• Release date: Mar 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781603061162

Julie Hedgepeth Williams

JULIE HEDGEPETH WILLIAMS is an adjunct communication and media professor at Samford University. She is also the recipient of the 2021 Kobre Award for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism History. Williams is the author or coauthor of eleven books, including Wings of Opportunity: The Wright Brothers in Montgomery, Alabama.

Reviews for A Rare Titanic Family

[elizajane_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Reason for Reading: I've always been intrigued with the Titanic and I am participating in a Titanic Reading Challenge this year.This is a fascinating story that read like a novel for me. My first time sitting down with the book I almost read halfway through. I've always enjoyed missionary stories and I found the first part of the book on Sylvia and Albert's early life and time spent in Siam just as interesting as the rest of the book which focuses on the Titanic sinking and the effect it had on their future lives. The author has a compelling storyteller's voice which is easy and addictive to read, making this an entertaining and unusual story to read. Because of the author's personal involvement with Albert and this being her own family history there are times when one wonders at the veracity of some of the events presented, but the author does fully admit that in light of lack of proof and hearsay in certain circumstances she has had to make educated guesses at times. She does have extensive proof from research which is fully documented online for Titanic historians that show her devotion to finding the facts behind this interesting family story. This is all to say that the book is completely believable in its research and facts but when the author pieces her logic together to make educated guesses, the reader may beg to differ. However, I just loved Albert and Sylvia both and thank Ms. Williams for bringing their personal story to the public with all its controversial sidestories put out there for the world to ogle. So many books are about the ship itself and the facts of what happened that night that it is imperative to read a story like this that reminds us about the people that were on board those few days. We think of all those who perished but what of those who survived. This book let's readers know it wasn't all over for the survivors once they drove away from the dock. Men especially had a hard time simply because they had survived and babies later became the last living survivors, whom the media were always after for interviews and yet they remembered nothing. This book brings home the personal side of the Titanic sinking and through one family's very personal story the reader gets an inside look into the sinking and the aftermath that a "just the facts" book can never provide. A riveting, fast, read profusely illustrated with family & contemporary photographs. A joy to read.

[skstiles612 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

April 12, 2012 will mark 100 years since the Titanic sank. Julie Williams is the great-niece of Albert Caldwell. Albert and his first wife Sylvia went to college together, accepted a mission to Siam and then married. The day they married they left for their new life. Sylvia was not recommended to go because of possible future health issues. She went anyway. The weather was very agreeable with Albert. A combination of the tropical weather and pregnancy made Sylvia very sick. After Alden was born she just couldn't seem to get her strength back. She was unable to hold her own child. Upon the recommendation of a doctor the Caldwells left Siam, headed to Europe where they ended up on the ill-fated Titanic. Albert was a very personable person. He made friends with everyone. According to Mrs. Williams it is because of this that he and his wife and child managed to survive. Julie Williams has told a story that was passed down to her from Albert. She became so intrigued she had to find out more. A photograph started it all, and graces the cover of the book. This biography held my attention not only because of the topic, but because of the other story. Haunted by the Titanic and Hunted by the Presbyterian mission board took its toll on their marriage. This story was told in a hauntingly beautiful way. It is full of emotions and memories but doesn't dwell on the macabre. This is a book I will most definitely recommend to my friends.