Talk:Hatfield-McCoy feud

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The article skeet states that Devil Anse Hatfield was killed, but also states "both family leaders" survived. This is contradictory.

Devil Anse died well after the feud. You can visit his gravesite; on the tombstone it states it says 1921. I am a descendant of Preacher Anse Hatfield so the stories were told to me all the time. My mother's family still owns the Alley Cemetery that has some of the individuals of the feud. My mother took me to Devil Anses gravesite a few years ago. It is in another cemetery though. --Wer2chosen 18:02, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Confederate or Union?

This article claims that both families fought for the Confederacy, but the linked CBS article: [1] claims that the McCoys fought on the Union side. Which is correct? SmartGuy 18:30, 15 June 2006 (UTC)

All the Hatfields and nearly all the McCoys fought for (and deserted) the Confederate Army. Asa Harmon McCoy did fight for the Union, and when he returned to Tug Creek he was killed by a group of local militia headed by Anse Hatfield. The fact that Asa was not avenged by his family and that no one was ever charged with the crime indicates that Asa's decision was extremely unpopular with his neighbors. Elle121 02:14, 2 December 2006 (UTC)


This article needs to be expanded greatly, sigh I am lazy though. --Thenormalyears 19:51, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Finding sources.

This article is so well written, so articulate, that it seems a shame to tamper with it. Nevertheless, Wikipedians have been asked to find sources for the material in this article, so let us begin at the top.

Is there any source for the statement that the feud has become "a metaphor for bitterly feuding rival parties in general"?

Sincerely, GeorgeLouis 16:27, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

So, where is the articleskeet for this feud?? Says that there is no such article but I can start one. I'm confused. Laggard

[edit] Beginning of the feud

On 09/21 2006 64.4.112.84 appended the following paragraph at the end of the section "Beginning of the feud":

The feud ended by the hand of Reo B. Hatfield II of Waynesboro, Virginia. He wrote the truce signed by him at the Hatfields and McCoys reunion and was held on National TV CBS Early Show on June 14, 2003. Both Governors of Kentucky and West Virginia credit Reo Hatfield for ending the feud. Reo Hatfield along with Bo McCoy and Ron McCoy signed the truce in support of the President by showing even the famous feuding family come together as Americans to fight together against a common foe outside the United States.

Due to the unfortunate choice of subsection, I deleted and hastily qualified it as vandalism (on the history page), for which I apologize.

However, the actual information (belonging maybe to a new subsection "End of the feud" subsequent to "Escalation") doesn't seem - at least not to me - truly relevant to the historical events, but rather the descendants trying to get exposure, and possibly some political manipulation. IMHO, the 2003 act has no relevance and shouldn't be included in this article.MerryXIV 17:11, 25 September 2006 (UTC)

I think if we move that quote to a new subsection, and take out that last line, which is POV, I think it would work to show the actual official end of the feud.Soldan 13:16, 17 October 2006 (UTC)
I have a real problem with this "ending the feud" silliness. The feud actually "ended" back around 1930, when the principals were dead, prison terms had been served, and the following generations had better things to do. Which is to say, it just faded away with no formal action on anyone's part. This little shindig in 2003 was just a photo-op. It wasn't even the first "treaty" to be signed. I have a number of news clippings (buried in a research file somewhere, unfortunately) about another agreement to "end the feud" that took place some time in the late 1950s or early '60s. --Michael K. Smith 18:22, 7 May 2007 (UTC)


The individual presiding over the case was Anderson "Preacher Anse" Hatfield. In June 1880, Staton was killed by two McCoy brothers, Sam and Paris, who were later acquitted on the grounds of self-defense. But the court decided later on it was not self-defense; it was murder in the first degree.

I think y'all need an editor here... this paragraph doesn't make sense. How can two different results come out of the same trial or even the same court? I'm guessing it overturned in appeals multiple times? Which "later" happened later? Can we get a citing? 70.231.128.218 (talk) 14:36, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

i have trouble understanding some of this too. for example:

The feud escalated after Kristin McCoy began an affair with Barry Hatfield (Devil Anse's son), leaving her family to live with the Hatfields in West Virginia. Kristin eventually returned to the McCoys, but when the couple tried to resume their relationship, Barry 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 Kristin, marrying instead her cousin Nancy McCoy in 1881.

neither kristen mccoy nor barry hatfield is in the family tree. johnse is, and there's a rose anna with a space. are "barry" and "johnse" are the same guy? barry/johnse hatfield was kidnapped by the mccoys, rescued by devil anse who was alerted by rose anna, who then married the rescued man? DyNama (talk) 22:03, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

why are only hatfields listed under "major players"? and another confusion of names is bill stanton in Beginning and Deaths, and stanton hatfield in Beginning, i think. DyNama (talk) 22:16, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Agree to disagree

Does this saying belong in an encyclopedia article? It doesn't sound very formal. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 65.31.99.218 (talk • contribs) 06:49, 3 December 2006 (UTC).


Agreeing to diagree is a very formal sounding statement. All people, at some time or another, agree to disagree with someone about something. If not, we would all be in fueds. It's all part of getting along and LIVING with one another. This is what they should have did in the 1800's. A lot of lives would have been saved if they would have just killed the hog, had a bar-b-que, and agreed to disagree on where the property line was. Then, settle on a permanant bondry line. Hopefully, the world can learn from other people's mistakes.Wills 66 03:31, 12 December 2006 (UTC)wills_66Wills 66 03:31, 12 December 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Pop Culture Reference

Hey, not that this matters, but I thought I would add to your list of references to the Hatfield and McCoy feud in pop culture. There was an episode of The Flinstones that referenced the fued. It's been a while, so I don't remember the details, I just remember that the names were 'cleverly' changed (I believe one of them was Hatrocks) and that the feud had started because Fred's great great whatever make a crack about painting which depicted the matriarch of the other family. Again, not important and not sure if you care, just thought I would let you know about that one.

[edit] Possible Older Roots?

I've been told by a friend who is knowledgeable about the history of the Scottish Borders that both families originally emigrated from that area, and that they to some extent brought the feud with them -- that there was bad blood back in the past. Since I have no source for this, I'm just throwing it out there to see if anyone else has heard it.

It's also possible that I misunderstood and he simply meant that both families brought the feuding culture of the Borders with them (I'll check). That might be a worthwhile comment in any case.

No, the Hatfields were decidedly English in origin, not Scots. There are actually a dozen or so separate Hatfield families in the U.S. with different origins, and only a few of them (those in Massachusetts and elsewhere in New England, mostly) have traceable points of origin in the UK, but all of them appear to have originated below the border. (I'm part of a group, some of us semi-pro, that has been carrying on Hatfield family research for 30+ years.) --Michael K. Smith 18:16, 7 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Who's the real Ran'l ?

Is it Randolph or Randall McCoy? Both forms appear in the article. Axel 14:51, 6 April 2007 (UTC) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.211.39.11 (talk) 21:40, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] mccoys' photo

is there a chance to include any of McCoy family photography in this article?

[edit] Wiki for the Blind

I am 19 years old and blind. I am interested in adding relevant items to wiki that help the blind "visualize" and grasp the subjects at hand. I love the tradition of oral storytelling. I have added a link to a radio story by The American Storyteller.--Trgwilson (talk) 00:11, 27 December 2007 (UTC)