Historical Artifacts or links of interest because of their connection to the Hatchell surname
Bill Hatchell has passed along these interesting items. The first is an Anglo-Saxon Culture website “…which talks about clothing the Anglo-Saxons wore, and which happens to include a hacel or hooded cloak for men. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles refer to a mass hakel which was an ecclesiastical garb worn by priests of the Saxon Church prior to the Norman Invasion.”
Then there are these two photographs with accompanying text from Bill…
“The hackle photos where contributed by Mr. Eric Peterson of Lillian, Alabama who is a textile tool expert and historian. He took these while visiting the Museum of Appalachia. The sign on the one above reads “Vineyard Family Flax Hackle’…A flax hackle was found in almost every homestead in Southern Appalachia. It was used in the processing of flax for making linen. This hackle was acquired from 90-year old Emma Vineyard who still lived on her ancestral farm located between Sweetwater and Madisonville, Tennessee.”
“This is really the ‘classic’ hatchel. Both are typically used to illustrate a hatchel, however, it’s just that this one has longer teeth and when placed on a platform allows the hackler to draw bunches of flax through the hackles, thus cleaning and straightening the fibers. The teeth are mounted on an upright wooden platform which sits about 14 inches above the base so that when it is placed on the floor, a hackler sitting in a chair doesn’t have to bend down far.”
