Remembering the Hatsells

Charles Ives Hatsell House circa 1902 - 119 Orange Street

Charles Ives Hatsell (1878-1949) was born at 117 Orange Street in the 1827 Hatsell House, the son of George Andrew Hatsell and Julia Ellen Mace. On December 25, 1902, he married Marie Ella Clawson. 

1902 was a busy year for Charlie Hatsell. He was not only planning a wedding, helping set up the new fisheries lab, but also building this house for his bride and family to come.

During the year, Charles Ives Hatsell was working at the new Federal Biological Laboratory—across Gallants Channel on Piver's Island. Charlie and his siblings were living with their Aunt Julia Read in the Hatsell home place in the first block of Orange Street. Charlie would take a short walk to the water and row to work in a small skiff. If necessary, he would catch a ride with his friend Cap'n Jack Willis who had a small boat on the west end of Front Street. 

Charlie Hatsell went on to serve as the terrapin culturist and foreman at the United States Fisheries Laboratory; he supervised the propagation of thousands of young diamondback terrapins. In 1947, after 45 years at the lab, Charlie retired on his 69th birthday. He later received a bronze plaque from the Department of the Interior for his "long faithful and highly distinguished service." In 1954, Charlie's contributions were included in National Geographic Magazine.

Charlie Hatsell's bride, Marie Ella Clawson (1879-1951) was daughter of  Charles Alfred Clawson and Mary Louise Donovan. Charles Clawson was born in Sweden in 1841; Mary Louise was born in Ireland in 1840. After their December 24, 1868 wedding, Charles and Mary Louise Clawson opened a general store on the south side of Front Street; they lived upstairs and Mary Louise baked bread and pastries for the store. In the early 1880s, the Clawsons built a house and bakery on the north side of Front Street, with a small bake house with oven at rear. In 1908, Charles Jr. built a new brick store, replacing the bakery; about the same time, the bakery operation moved into a new 2-story brick building behind the new general store. Clawson's Grocery and Bakery opened in 1909. 

Charlie Ives Hatsell and Marie Ella Clawson went on to raise three sons in the house Charlie built at 119 Orange Street, just north of the 1827 Hatsell House at 117 Orange. Their three children:

FRANCIS GRAVES HATSELL was born July 29, 1905. Francis is noted on the 1930 census as a boatman for the biological lab. On November 22, 1936, Francis married Helen Charles Proctor in Beaufort. His WWII draft registration, October 16, 1940, noted 119 Orange Street, Beaufort as his address, and D.M. Curtis, Winston-Salem, as his employer. Sometime after 1940, Francis and Helen moved to Alexandria, Virginia. Francis Graves Hatsell died July 22, 1997 in San Antonio, Texas, and was buried Alexandria, Virginia; Mount Comfort Cemetery.

 

Francis and Helen's son, Charles Proctor Hatsell, grandson of 1879 Charlie, was born on September 18, 1944. Doctor Charles Proctor Hatsell specialized in aerospace medicine in San Antonio for 33 years. He was a Colonel in the US Air Force, serving in Vietnam and the Persian Gulf. Dr. Hatsell died on March 16, 2006 and was buried with full military honors at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery. Charlie was a long-time member of the Friends of the North Carolina Maritime Museum. 
      Interestingly, a few years before his death, Dr. C.P. Hatsell's friend Yvonne Speer surprised him by researching his Beaufort roots and finding my painting of the 1827 Hatsell House. The painting was purchased and placed in a prominent spot in Dr. Hatsell's house in San Antonio.

CARL ALFRED HATSELL was born August 28, 1907 and died June 27, 1988. Carl married Verna Eugenia Curren on November 14, 1940. They were Elaine Hatsell Glover’s parents and lived in the brick house on the south side of the other two Hatsell houses.

HENRY WILSON HATSELL was born September 6, 1911 and died June 23, 1964. On October 3, 1943, Henry married Helen Elizabeth Heffner. Helen was born on December 17, 1904 and died January 13, 2000 in Montezuma, Avery County, North Carolina.

___________________

 

In her later years, Marie Ella Hatsell was known by friends and neighbors as “Miss Marie.” In 1947, Charles Hatsell retired on his 69^th birthday after serving 45 years at the U.S. Fisheries Laboratory on Piver's Island. Charlie died July 30, 1949. 

The Charles Ives Hatsell House circa 1902, now named the Hatsell-Clawson House, was restored in 2008.