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The Hatfield-McCoy Feud was one of the most famous feuds in central Appalachia, and in all the United States, during the late 1800s. It was between the family of “Devil Anse” Hatfield, who lived mostly in Logan County, (now part of Mingo County), and the family of Randolph McCoy, who lived across the Tug Fork River in Pike County, Kentucky. Although the feud lasted for nearly 25 years, most of the major events happened in five key moments. These events, along with the way the media covered them, negatively changed the way many Americans viewed West Virginia and the Appalachian region forever.
Some people believe the feud between the Hatfields and McCoys started because of the 1865 murder of Randolph McCoy’s brother, Harmon. Harmon was a Union soldier during the Civil War, and his death is thought to be linked to the violence from bushw...
The next big event in the feud happened in 1878 when Randolph McCoy accused Floyd Hatfield, a relative of Devil Anse and also from Pike County, of stealing a hog. Floyd Hatfield was found not guilty partly because Randolph’s nephew, Bill Staton, t...
Tensions between the Hatfields and McCoys grew even stronger during the spring 1880 elections at Blackberry Creek in Pike County. Rose Anna McCoy, Randolph's daughter, left the election grounds with Johnse Hatfield, Devil Anse's son, who was visit...
The situation got much worse at the Blackberry Creek election in 1882. Devil Anse’s brother, Ellison Hatfield, was severely wounded in a drunken fight with three McCoy brothers. The argument started over a small debt that was supposedly owed on a ...
Tolbert, Pharmer, and Randolph McCoy Jr., sons of Randolph, were captured by the Hatfields for attacking Ellison at the election. Once Ellison died of his wounds, the three boys were tied to pawpaw bushes on the Kentucky side of the Tug and shot d...
After the killings in 1882, the feud between the Hatfields and McCoys simmered as the McCoys tried, but failed, to have the Hatfields arrested and tried in court. The governor of Kentucky even requested the extradition of the Hatfields, but West V...
The McCoys suffered another devastating blow on the night of January 1, 1888, when Hatfields, led by Devil Anse's uncle Jim Vance, set fire to the McCoys' cabin in Pike County. Calvin and Alifair, Randolph McCoy's grown children, were killed in th...
As he got older, Randolph McCoy (left) became very bitter. He ran a ferry in Pikeville and shared his tragic story with anyone who would listen about his suffering at the hands of the Hatfields. He died on March 28, 1914, at age 88 while tending a...
Even before it ended, the Hatfield-McCoy Feud had become legendary—and helped shape many of the negative Appalachian stereotypes people still associate with the region today. The feud, especially in its later years, was made worse by enterprising ...