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THE HATFIELDS VS.
THE McCOYS
The legendary family feud that bloodied the
Eastern Kentucky hill country.
The Hatfields and the Mc Coys, by saying those
words, anyone at all familiar with Kentucky's mountain history, thinks
of one thing, feud! Because it was not one specific wrong -doing
that could be said, "that caused the feud", you must look at several things
that added together were probably the causes of the feud.
The fuel itself took place in the Appalachian
Highlands, in the Tug Fork Valley of the Big Sandy River. During
the mid part of the 19thcentury, this land was probably the most rugged
in the state, with many valleys that lay secluded and mostly inaccessible
to outsiders. The river divided Kentucky and West Virginia, not only
geographically, but politically as well. This was to lead somewhat
to the aggravation that may have led to America's most infamous feud.
During the years of the feud, each clan had
it's leader. The head of the Hatfield clan was William Anderson Hatfield,
born in 1839. He was better known as "Devil Anse", his nickname.
His wife, whom he had married in the early 1860's, was Levicy Chafin.
They settled in what is now Delorme, West Virginia, and had 13 children.
Randolph McCoy, known better as Rarf 1, born in 1825, headed the McCoy
clan. He had married his first cousin, Sarah (or Sally) in 1849.
They finally settled on property left to Sally by her father on Blackberry
Fork of Pond Creek, that ran off the Tug Fork, in Pike County, Kentucky.
They bore sixteen children.
The majority of the Hatfields lived in West
Virginia, while most of the McCoys lived in Pike County, Kentucky.
The Hatfields were described as large and physically strong people.
The McCoys were also tall and good looking people. Their ancestry
was Scotish, probably from the Lowlands of Scotland, and mixed with the
Highland Celtics by marriage. Both clans were described as friendly
folks, but on the
high spirited side.
Both families were farmers and hunters, and
some were moonshiners. Later, many went into the logging business.
Ran'l and Devil Anse both owned a lot of land and livestock during this
time; the time of the feud.
During the Civil War was probably about the
time the feud began to show first signs of what was to come. Many
of both clans began deserting the Confederate Army during the later stages
of the war, as it was becoming apparent they were supporting a lost cause,
and they feared for their families and their homes.
Devil Anse Hatfield deserted and returned
to Logan County, Virginia, where he formed the Logan Wildcats, a local
militia. It was said that Ratf I McCoy was a member for a short time.
This group, and some of the McCoys, several times engaged in what could
be called "irregular military raids."
Pointing to one particular incident that may
have been significant in the start of bad feelings between the two clans,
happened in 1863, in the woods on Bushy Creek, in Pike County, Kentucky.
The brother of Devil Anse, Ellison McCoy, and three other men, came upon
Asa Peter McCoy and John McCoy, both brothers of Ran'l, after words, shots
were fired by both groups. Ellison and his friends then stole four
of Asa Peter's hogs and took them to John Murphy's place on Mate Creek,
in Logan County, and divided them. A legal battle began over this
when Asa filed suit against the men who tok his hogs.
On January 7, 1865, the feud took a turn,
with the death of Harmon McCoy, one of Raif I's brothers. Harmon
had joined the Union Army late in the war, serving in Company E of the
Forty- fifth Regiment of Kentucky Infantry Volunteers. He was mustered
out on Christmas Eve, 1864 and returned home to Peter Creek. Shortly
afterwards, he was shot at from
ambush, and fearing for his life, hid out in
a cave. Harmorf s slave, Pete, was trailed to the cave after he delivered
food and the guerillas that had trailed him, then killed Harmon.
Of course, upon finding Harmon McCoy's body,
the Logan Wildcats and Devil Anse were blamed, even though it may have
been other guerilla's in the area. Most however blamed Jim Vance,
a friend of Devil Anse's for the murder. Vance was a later casualty
of the feud.
Then a minor grievance over a hog was said
by many as the event that actually started the feud. Floyd Hatfield
rounded up his hogs, during the fall of 1878, from the woods near his home,
near Stringtown, Kentucky, on Tug Fork. Ran'l McCoy, happening upon
Floyd and his pen, saw a hog with McCoy markings, and immediately accused
Hatfield of stealing. Floyd Hatfield, outraged at this accusation,
denied he had ever stolen any of the McCoy's hogs.
Raif I McCoy would not let this rest, and
went to the local Justice of the Peace in Raccoon Hollow, Reverend Anderson
Hatfield, and filed a suit against Floyd Hatfield for the hog. Relatives,
and members oth clans, showed up for the trial, most carrying . The Reverend
Hatfield, fearing the worse, de up a jury of six McCoys and six Hatfields.
Then a surprised McCoy clan saw Ratf I's cousin.
Selkirk McCoy, vote for acquittal with the Hatfields. This was the
deciding vote, and Floyd Hatfield was acquitted. Selkirk McCoy, from
that day forward, was considered one of the Hatfields.
The feud was now in full force. The
first to fall was Bill Staton, a nephew of Ran'l McCoy. He was a
witness for Floyd Hatfield and his testimony was what presuaded Selkirk
McCoy to vote for acquittal. Staton said he had seen Floyd mark the
hog himself. StatoiYs sister Sarah, it should be noted, had married
Ellison Hatfield, Devil Anse's younger brother. Staton, while hunting
near Matewan, West Virginia, came upon Sam and Paris McCoy. What
happened next, no one knows, but Bill Staton met his death that day.
Later, Sam McCoy stood trial, but was found not guilty, based on self-defense.
The infamous Hatfield and McCoy feud lasted
over the next decade with many deaths on both sides. Even in the
1890's, several incidents came close to bringing more violence to Pike
County, but the worst was over. Many exaggerated stories, reported
by newspapers around the country, made great reading for their readers
of the time, but held, most of the time, little truth. This was the
feud that was romanticized. It was the Hatfields and the McCoys!
WRITTEN BY RON PUCKETT
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