Hatfield-McCoy feud

The Hatfield-McCoy feud (1878–1891) is an account of American lore that has become a metaphor for bitterly feuding rival parties in general. It involved two warring families of the West Virginia-Kentucky backcountry along the Tug Fork River, off the Big Sandy River. The Hatfields involved in the feud descended from Ephraim (born c1765), and the McCoys from William (born c1750). Partial family trees for both clans are shown at the end of this article.

Family origins

The McCoys , led by Randolph "Ole Ran’l" McCoy (1825–1914) (grandson of William), lived mostly on the Kentucky side of Tug Fork (a tributary of the Big Sandy River), and the Hatfields, led by William Anderson "Devil Anse" Hatfield (1839–1921) (great-grandson of Ephraim), lived mostly on the West Virginia side. Both families were part of the first wave of pioneers to settle the Tug Valley. The majority of both the Hatfields and the McCoys fought for the Confederacy in the American Civil War. However, the first real violence in the feud was the murder of a returning Union soldier, Harman McCoy. Harman was killed by a group of ex-Confederates called the "Logan Wildcats". Devil Anse Hatfield was a suspect at first but later confirmed to have been at home sick at the time of the murder. [ Pearce pg 59-60]

The Hatfields were more affluent than the McCoys and were well-connected politically. "Devil Anse" Hatfield's timbering operation was a source of wealth for his family, but he employed many non-Hatfields, and even hired Albert McCoy, Lorenzo Dow McCoy, and Selkirk McCoy.

The major players

Hatfield clan

* Anderson "Devil Anse" Hatfield, the younger, more militant brother of eldest Hatfield, Valentine, led the clan in most of their combative endeavors.

* Valentine "Uncle Wall" Hatfield, the elder brother of "Devil Anse" was overshadowed by Anderson's ambitions but was one of the eight convicted to end the feud. He died in prison of unknown causes. He had petitioned his brothers to assist in his emancipation from jail, but none came for fear of being captured and brought to trial. He was buried in the prison cemetery which has since been paved over.

* Doc D Mahon, son-in-law of Valentine and brother of Pliant, was one of the eight convicted to end the feud. He served 14 years in prison before returning home to live with his son Melvin.

* Pliant Mahon, son-in-law of Valentine, brother of Doc, was one of the eight convicted to end the feud. He served 14 years in prison before returning home to rejoin his ex-wife who had remarried (she left her second husband to be with Pliant again).

The feud

Beginning

According to historian Michel Sellers, the feud began when a Hatfield wanted to marry a McCoy, but the clans disagreed and strife resulted. "Most people believe that the Hatfield-McCoy feud began with the death of Asa Harman McCoy (Randall McCoy's brother) on January 7, year unknown." The uncle of Devil Anse, Jim Vance, and his "Wildcats" despised Hans Hall McCoy because he had joined the Union army during the American Civil War. Harman had been discharged from the army early because of a broken leg; several nights after he returned home, he was murdered in a nearby cave.

The first recorded instance of violence in the feud occurred after an 1873 dispute about the ownership of a hog: Floyd Hatfield had it and Randolph McCoy said it was his. [ [http://www.wvculture.org/history/crime/hatfieldmccoy01.html Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Beckley Post-Herald August 7, 1957] ] But in truth, the dispute was over land or property lines and the ownership of that land. The pig was only in the fight because one family believed that since the pig was on their land, that meant it was theirs; the other side objected. The matter was taken to the local Justice of the Peace, and the McCoys lost because of the testimony of Bill Staton, a relative of both families. The individual presiding over the case was [http://www.ghat.com/hatfah01.htm Anderson "Preacher Anse" Hatfield] . In June 1880, Staton Hatfield was killed by two McCoy brothers, Sam and Paris, who were later acquitted on the grounds of self-defense.

Escalation

The feud escalated after Roseanna McCoy began an affair with Johnse Hatfield (Devil Anse's son), leaving her family to live with the Hatfields in West Virginia. Roseanna eventually returned to the McCoys, but when the couple tried to resume their relationship, Johnse Hatfield was kidnapped by the McCoys and was saved only when Roseanna made a desperate ride to alert Devil Anse Hatfield, who organized a rescue party.

Despite what was seen as a betrayal of her family on his behalf, Johnse thereafter abandoned the pregnant Roseanna, marrying instead her cousin Nancy McCoy in 1881.

The escalation continued in 1882 when Ellison Hatfield, brother of "Devil Anse" Hatfield, was murdered by three of Roseanna McCoy's brothers, Tolbert, Pharmer, and Bud. Ellison was stabbed 26 times and finished off with a shot. The brothers were themselves murdered in turn as the vendetta escalated. They were kidnapped and tied to pawpaw bushes, where each was shot numerous times. Their bodies were described as "bullet-riddled."

Between 1880 and 1891, the feud claimed more than a dozen members of the two families, becoming headline news around the country and compelling the governors of both Kentucky and West Virginia to call up their state militias to restore order after the disappearance of dozens of bounty hunters sent to calm the conflict.

familytree|A1|A2|A3|A4|A5|A6|A7|A8|A9|A16|A10|A11|A12|A13|A14|A15
A1=Josephine b. c1850
A2=James H. (Uncle Jim) b. c1851 m. Malissa Smith
A3=Floyd b. 1853 m. Mary Rutherford
A4=*Tolbert [4] b. 1854 m. Mary Butcher
A5=Samuel b. 1855 m. Martha Jackson
A6=Lilburn b. c1856
A7=daughter b. 1857
A8=*Alifair [6] b. 1858
A9=Rose Anna b, 1859 m. Johnse Hatfield
A16=Calvin [6] b. c1862
A10=*Pharmer [4] b. c1863
A11=*Randolph Jr. [4] b. c1864
A12=William b. c1866
A13=Trinvilla b. c1868 m. William Thompson
A14=Adelaide b. 1870
A15=Fanny b. 1873 m. Roland Charles

References

Further reading

*

*

* U.S. Supreme Court [http://supreme.justia.com/us/127/700/case.html Mahon v. Justice] , 127 U.S. 700 (1888)

* Jones, Virgil Carrington. "The Hatfields and the McCoys." Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1948. (Still regarded by local historians as the best and most balanced narrative history of the feud.)

* "Feud: Hatfields, McCoys, and Social Change in Appalachia, 1860–1900", Altina L. Waller, University of N. Carolina Press, 1998 ISBN 0807842168

External links

* [http://www.theamericanstoryteller.com/story-details.cfm?story=161 Listen online – The Story of the Hatfields and McCoys - The American Storyteller Radio Journal]
* [http://www.wvculture.org/history/notewv/hatfield.html Hatfield-McCoy Feud] West Virginia Division of Culture and History
* [http://matewanwv.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=73&Itemid=84 The Hatfield and McCoy Feud] — Matewan, West Virginia website
* [http://www.blueridgecountry.com/hatmac/hatmac.html Hatfield-McCoy Feud; Roseanna: Juliet of the Mountains] ; from "Blue Ridge Country", March/April 1996.
* [http://www.matewan.com Official Matewan, WV Website] at Matewan.com
* [http://visitmatewan.com Official Matewan, WV Tourism Website] at VisitMatewan.com
* [http://www.theatrewestvirginia.com Theatre West Virginia] A professional outdoor theatre company that puts on a musicalized version of the story of the Hatifields and McCoys every summer since 1970