DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of the story carved into the official marker for Hatch Cemetery, out in Calhoun County. Now, you want to talk about a life that stretched across wars, oceans, and frontiers — pull up close, because Captain Sylvanus Hatch lived one. He came into this world on June 1, 1788, in Falmouth, Massachusetts.
A long way from Texas, as you can imagine. He worked as a contractor and builder, and somewhere along the way he pointed himself south toward Louisiana. By 1821 he married Pamela Louisa Nicholson Brown, a widow with three children of her own, and together Sylvanus and Pamela would have three more.
But a man like Sylvanus Hatch was not the kind to stay put when history came knockin'. Much of his life, the marker tells us, was devoted to military service. He served in the War of 1812 — and not in some quiet backwater posting.
He served as an adjutant under General Andrew Jackson himself, at the Battle of New Orleans. That's the kind of detail you tuck away and think about on a long stretch of highway. And he wasn't done.
He went on to serve in the Texas War for Independence. Then, in the 1820s, he and his family came to Texas, and by 1842 they had settled in along the Chocolate Creek area. Sylvanus became the founder of the community of Chocolate.
The family threw themselves into civic life, into church, into education — the things that turn a settlement into a community. In 1850, Captain Hatch established this very cemetery. And here's where the story turns heavy, because the reason he established it was this: his wife, Pamela, died of cholera that year.
She and her husband had been out tending to German immigrants who had docked at Indianola, sick with the disease. Pamela did not survive it. The victims of that outbreak are interred here alongside her.
Captain Hatch himself is buried here too. So are two of his sons, John and Davis, both Confederate veterans. Members of the Brett and Foester families rest here, along with other members of the Chocolate community.
The cemetery features curbing, and a 1936 Texas centennial marker honoring Sylvanus Hatch stands on the grounds. In 1959, the Hatch Bend Country Club purchased the property, and since that time the club has maintained the burial ground — making sure a pioneer family's final chapter doesn't get swallowed up by time and tall grass. From Falmouth, Massachusetts, to the Battle of New Orleans, to the creeks of Calhoun County — Captain Sylvanus Hatch covered some ground.
And right here, in this quiet cemetery, the record of all of it still holds.
What the marker says
This cemetery served the Hatch family and other members of the former community of Chocolate. Captain Sylvanus Hatch, founder of the settlement, was born in Falmouth, Massachusetts on June 1, 1788. He became a contractor and builder, eventually moving to Louisiana, where in 1821 he married Pamela Louisa Nicholson Brown, a widow who had three children from her previous marriage; Sylvanus and Pamela would have three additional children, much of Captain Hatch's life was devoted to military service. he served in the War of 1812 as an adjutant under General Andrew Jackson in the Battle of New Orleans. Later, he served in the Texas War for Independence. Sylvanus Hatch and his family came to Texas in the 1820s, moving to the Chocolate Creek area by 1842. The Hatch family became involved in civic, church and educational activities. Captain Hatch established the cemetery in 1850, when his wife, Pamela, died of Cholera. She and her husband had been attending to German immigrants with the disease who had docked at Indianola; victims of the outbreak are interred here. Captain Hatch and two of his sons, John and Davis, who were both Confederate veterans, are buried here as well. Also interred are members of the Brett and Foester families, as well as other community members. Cemetery features include curbing and a 1936 Texas centennial marker for Sylvanus Hatch. In 1959, Hatch Bend Country Club purchased this property. Since that time, the club has maintained the burial ground. Today, Hatch Cemetery continues to serve as a record of a pioneering Texas Family. (2008)