The details of Clyde A. Barbour's early life on the Mississippi River call to mind the adventures of that famous riverboat pilot Mark Twain, and like Twain, Clyde would never be content with a life limited by riverbanks - his dreams and ambitions went far beyond the river's reach. A determined young man with boundless ambition, Clyde became a steamboat captain, a self-taught man with an appreciation of art and culture, and a driven businessman and pioneer of American industry and development. With his beloved Jennie beside him, he set out to build a life for his growing family that would change the lives of almost everyone with whom he came in contact, and of many who never met him.

In Barbours Cut, novelist Nancy Potter has painstakingly combined family lore and documented fact to recreate the compelling story of her great- grandparents. In 1900, as today, there were many in America who were determined to make as much money as possible-and by whatever means necessary. Captain Barbour was different, a hard-working laborer and then entrepreneur whose open honesty and sincerity drew people to him and inspired trust. Whenever he saw someone in need or an opportunity waiting to be seized, he acted without hesitation, confidently, shrewdly, and prudently. Clyde suffered many hardships, disappointments, setbacks, and struggles, but he never stopped believing in himself or his vision, and his Jennie never stopped believing in him.