e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia Online

Murder

Hatfield-McCoy Feud Section 4 of 9

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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 fiddle. Ellison’s injuries were so severe that he soon died from them, deepening the hatred between the two families. (Sketch from A Mountain Feud).