Molly Hatchett
MOLLY HATCHETT
LAST OF THE
PAUGASSETTS
EXPERT
BASKET MAKER
1738-1829
There are no known pictures of Molly. However, his is an AI
generated rendering of what she may have looked like as
created by committee member Randy Ritter.
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Molly Hatchett was one of the last of the Paugassett Tribe to live on
the reservation at Turkey Hill in Derby. She was born in 1738 and
developed a name for herself in the skill of making baskets which was
associated with the Tribe. She was particularly known for the small
rattle-basket that you see pictured above. Legend has it that whenever a
child was born in the area, Molly would show up and deliver a basket
filled with six kernels of corn. If the family had more than six
children, she would add an addition kernel as needed!
It is believed that Molly learned the skill of splint basketry from
other tribes traveling through Derby for trade. By that time, the number
of Paugassetts in the area was in decline and focused on Turkey Hill.
Molly became an expert with covered storage baskets and other varieties
which she modified to her own standards. An imposing woman - she was six
feet tall - she traveled all over the area making her living by selling
her baskets. A 2002 article in Harvard magazine noted that the making of
woodsplint baskets was often associated with women in tribes on the
decline who - like Molly - were often referred to as "... the last
of....". Many stories of the women basket makers bordered on racist and
often attributed male attributes to them. It was even said that Molly
had a fondness of "uncupe" which was just another name for rum.
One of Molly's baskets is in the collection of the Derby Public Library
and is on display there and another can be found at the Thomas Darling
House in Woodbridge though they note that Molly did not sign her
creations or mark them as hers. However, her renown for the skill of
basket making has been enough for several museums to attribute baskets
in their collections to Molly.
Molly was the wife of John Hackett who was one of the leaders of the
tribe, but died at a young age leaving Molly to raise their four
children. As mentioned earlier, she was a tall woman with black eyes and
long, black hair. She is said to have always worn a white blanket shawl
and worn a man's hat. She carried a cane of sometimes a hatchet. We
don't know her tribal name though she was often called "Magsawiska". She
died at the grand age of 99 marking the end of the Paugssetts in Derby.
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