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MOLLY HATCHETT
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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.
