Tags
Appalachia, Devil Anse Hatfield, history, Joe Hatfield, Logan County, Sarah Ann, sheriff, West Virginia
Sheriff Joe D. Hatfield, Son of Devil Anse (1962)
12 Monday Dec 2022
Posted in Hatfield-McCoy Feud
Tag Archives: Devil Anse Hatfield
Gov. E. Willis Wilson
04 Sunday Dec 2022
Posted in Hatfield-McCoy Feud
Tags
Appalachia, Devil Anse Hatfield, E. Willis Wilson, governor, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, history, West Virginia, Willis Hatfield
Hatfield Pioneers by Coleman A. Hatfield (1952)
14 Monday Nov 2022
Posted in Big Sandy Valley, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Matewan
Tags
Anna Musick, Appalachia, Big Sandy River, Blackberry Creek, Clinch River, Coleman A. Hatfield, David Musick, Devil Anse Hatfield, Ephraim Hatfield, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, history, Honaker, Joseph Hatfield, Kentucky, Logan County, Mary Smith Hatfield, Mate Creek, Mingo County, Mud Lick Branch, Native American History, New Garden District, Pike County, Red Jacket, River Wall Hatfield, Russell County, Shawnee, Sprigg, Thompson's Creek, Tug Fork, Valentine Hatfield, Virginia, West Virginia
Here is an excerpt of Hatfield Pioneers composed by Coleman A. Hatfield, grandson of Devil Anse Hatfield. It was published in 1952.
Tom Chafin Recalls Story of Ellison Hatfield’s Killing (1989)
21 Thursday Apr 2022
Posted in Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Matewan
Tags
Allen Hatfield, Anse Ferrell, Beech Creek, Cap Hatfield, Devil Anse Hatfield, Double Camp Hollow, Elias Hatfield, Ellison Hatfield, Estil Hatfield, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Island Creek, John Hennen, Kentucky, Mate Creek, Matewan, Mingo County, North Matewan, Pigeon Creek, Pike County, Rutherford Hollow, Tom Chafin, Truman Chafin, Vicy Hatfield, Wall Hatfield, Warm Hollow, West Virginia, Williamson, Willis Hatfield
On June 21, 1989, scholar John Hennen interviewed Tom Chafin (1911-1997) of Williamson, West Virginia. What follows here is an excerpt of Mr. Chafin’s story about the death of his grandfather Ellison Hatfield in 1882 and other general memories of the Hatfield family.
JH: Okay, let’s go ahead and just follow that line. Tell me about Ellison Hatfield. And of course Ellison Hatfield was one of the participants in the early days of the so called Hatfield and McCoy feud.
TC: He’s the one that the McCoys killed. Uh, he lived up Mate Creek at the mouth of a hollow they call Double Camp Holler. He came down to Matewan here and got with some of his friends and they had a saloon here. It was called a saloon then, not the liquor store like we call it.
JH: Do you have any idea where that saloon was?
TC: Uh…the saloon was close to where the liquor store is now.
JH: Okay.
TC: I’m…I’m sure it was in the same building. That’s the Buskirk building. And he got with some of his friends and they got to drinking and was a having an election across the river in Pike County, Kentucky. Just across the river here. And he said to them said, some of his friends said, “Let’s go over and see how the elections goin’,” and when they got over there, they got into it with them and he was cut all to pieces with knives. He didn’t die in Kentucky. They loaded him up and hauled him back in a wagon. They hauled him back through the river up here at the upper end of Matewan and took him to Warm Holler. Now this is Warm Holler straight across from the bank on the right goin’ down there. You go across the railroad tracks. Uncle Anse Ferrell lived there. That was Ellison’s uncle. Uncle Anse Ferrell lived there in a big old log house. And they took Ellison there to his house that evening and he stayed there all that evening, all that night, and all day the next day and died the next evening. Just about dark. But in the mean time now, the Hatfields captured the three McCoy boys that they said did the killin’ of Ellison. Cuttin’ him up with knives. They captured them and took them up to a place they call North Matewan just out of Matewan here. They had and old school house there at the mouth of Rutherford Hollow. And they had an old school house there at the mouth of Rutherford Holler and that’s where they kept the three McCoy boys. All this evening, all night tonight, all day tomorrow, until tomorrow evening. And they brought him back down here, took him across the river and then a little drain, I call it, instead of a holler. It’s not a holler, it’s just a drain where water runs out where you go up to the radio station. That’s where they tied them to three papaw bushes. Now, we don’t have any papaw bushes around like we used to. We used to have whole orchards of them but they all disappeared. Why, they was papaws everywhere You could pick up a bushel of papaws anywhere when I was a boy. But you don’t even see a papaw tree any more. They said they tied them to three papaw bushes and killed all three of them.
JH: And this was after Ellison died?
TC: They waited until Ellison died. Say he died this evening and they went up there and got them and took them over there I believe the next morning.
JH: Who were some of the Hatfields involved in this?
TC: Well, to be exact, I’d say Cap… Cap was the head man. He was Devil Anse’s oldest son.
JH: I’d like you to tell me a little bit more about Cap Hatfield and well, do you have a personal memory of Devil Anse? I know you have been to his house when you were a boy.
TC: No.
JH: You can’t remember anything directly about him?
TC: I’ve been to his house. I know where his house is. I knew what kind of house it was. It was a log house and it had a window in that end of it and a window in this end of it and it was across the creek. I could show you right where it is on Island Creek over there and I can remember goin’ over there with my grandfather Mose Chafin. Now, he was a brother to Devil Anse’s wife, Aunt Vicy. We’d go over and see Aunt Vicy after Uncle Anse had died. I believe he died in 1921 and I was ten years old when he died. And when I would go over there with him, probably I was twelve or thirteen or something like that, after Uncle Anse had died. And we’d ride a horse. I’d ride on the hind and my grandfather Mose Chafin. And I could tell you exactly how to go. We’d go up Mate Creek across the hill into Beech Creek and from Beech Creek into Pigeon Creek and Pigeon Creek into Island Creek.
JH: And Vicy was still living at that time?
TC: Yeah.
JH: So you knew her then?
TC: Yeah. She was a pretty big fat woman. She wasn’t too big and fat. She was about, say, hundred and sixty, something like that, I’m guessin’. I’m gonna guess it. About a hundred and sixty pound. Anyhow, she was a big fat woman.
JH: Now, Cap lived on up into…to be an old man?
TC: Yeah. Willis is the last man that…last one to die.
JH: He was the son of Devil Anse also?
TC: Yeah. I was with him at a birthday party for Allen Hatfield on Beech Creek. That was his cousin. Allen was Elias’ boy* and he was Ellison’s boy**. Willis was. That made them first cousins and Willis was the only Hatfield left on Island Creek so we got him to come to that… Allen’s boy Estil Hatfield got him to come over to the birthday party, and I believe Truman went with me. He died in seventy-eight. I can tell you when he died.
JH: Willis?
TC: Willis died. Last child that Devil Anse had died in seventy-eight. 1978.
*Should read as “Wall’s boy”
**Should read as “Anse’s boy”
New Year’s Raid (1888): Daniel Whitt’s Testimony
23 Tuesday Nov 2021
Posted in Big Sandy Valley, Hatfield-McCoy Feud
Tags
Appalachia, Bob Hatfield, Cap Hatfield, Charles Gillespie, Christmas, Court of Appeals, crime, Daniel Whitt, Devil Anse Hatfield, Elias Hatfield, Elliot Hatfield, feuds, Frankfort, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Henry Mitchell, history, Jim McCoy, Jim Vance, Johnse Hatfield, Kentucky, Pike County, Pocahontas, Randolph McCoy, Tom Chambers, Tom Mitchell, true crime
Daniel Whitt’s testimony in the Johnse Hatfield murder trial provides one version of the Hatfield raid upon Randolph McCoy’s home on January 1, 1888:
Q. “Do you know Randolph McCoy?”
A. “Yes sir.”
Q. “Do you know Cap Hatfield?”
A. “Yes sir.”
Q. “Do you know Robert Hatfield, Ellison Mounts, Elliot Hatfield, Charles Gillespie, Thomas Mitchell, and Anderson Hatfield?”
A. “Yes sir.”
Q. “Do you remember of the old man McCoy’s house being burned?”
A. “Yes sir, I heard of it.”
Q. “Where were you a short time before that occurred?”
A. “Three days before Christmas I was in the neighborhood of the Hatfield’s.”
Q. “Who was with you?”
A. “Ance Hatfield, Jim Vance, Johnson Hatfield, Cap Hatfield, Charles Gillespie, and Tom Mitchell, I believe about all of the bunch.”
Q. “What were you doing together and how long had you been together?”
A. “About three days and nights.”
Q. “Were all of you armed?”
A. “Yes sir.”
Q. “What were you doing armed and together?”
A. “Just traveling in the woods most of the time.”
Q. “What did you sleep on?”
A. “We carried our quilts with us.”
Q. “Who was your captain?”
A. “Jim Vance.”
Q. “What was the purpose of your getting together?”
A. “They claimed the purpose was to get out of the way of the Kentucky authorities.”
Q. “What else did they claim?”
A. “When I left them we came to Henry Mitchell’s to get dinner. They wouldn’t let me hear what they had to talk about. Cap asked me if I was going to Kentucky with them. Said they were going to Kentucky to kill Randolph and Jim McCoy and settle the racket. He asked me if I was going with them and I said that I was not. He said that I would go or I would go to hell. I said that I would go to hell. Elias came and took me off. We slept in a shuck pen. When he got to sleep I ran away and went to Pocahontas and was there when this occurred.”
Q. “Was Johnson present when Cap was talking?”
A. “He was in the yard close enough to hear, and he came up to me when Cap was talking and took Cap out and had a talk with him.”
Source: Bill of exceptions at the office of the Clerk of the Court of Appeals in Kentucky, Frankfort, KY.
Nancy E. Hatfield Memories, Part 4 (1974)
30 Saturday Oct 2021
Posted in Big Sandy Valley, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Logan, Matewan, Women's History
Tags
Appalachia, attorney, attorney general, Big Sandy River, Bill Smith, Cap Hatfield, Catlettsburg, Devil Anse Hatfield, feuds, genealogy, Georgia, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, history, Howard B. Lee, Huntington, Jim Comstock, Joe Glenn, Kentucky, Logan, Logan County, logging, Mate Creek, Matewan, Mingo County, Nancy E. Hatfield, Ohio, Ohio River, Portsmouth, Tennessee, timbering, Tug Fork, University Law School, Wayne County, West Virginia, Wyoming County
Howard B. Lee, former Attorney General of West Virginia, provided this account of Nancy Hatfield (widow of Cap) in the early 1970s:
“Mrs. Hatfield, we have talked much about an era that is gone. Feuds are ended, railroads and paved highways have come, the huge coal industry has developed, churches and schools are everywhere, and people are educated. Now, I would like to know something about you.”
This is the brief life-story of the remarkable and unforgettable Nancy Elizabeth Hatfield, as she related it to me.
She was Nancy Elizabeth Smith, called “Nan” by her family and friends, born in Wayne County, West Virginia, September 10, 1866. (She died August 24, 1942). In her early years, she lived “close enough to the Ohio River,” she said, “to see the big boats that brought people and goods up from below.” She attended a country school three months out of the year, and acquired the rudiments of a common school education, plus a yearning for wider knowledge.
While she was still a young girl her parents moved by push-boat up the Big Sandy and Tug rivers into what is now Mingo County, then Logan County. They settled in the wilderness on Mate Creek, near the site of the present town of Matewan.
“Why they made that move,” said Nancy Elizabeth, “I have never understood.”
In her new environment, in the summer of 1880, when she was 14 years old, Nancy Elizabeth married Joseph M. Glenn, an enterprising young adventurer from Georgia, who had established a store in the mountains, and floated rafts of black walnut logs, and other timber, down the Tug and Big Sandy rivers to the lumber mills of Catlettsburg, Ky., and Portsmouth, Ohio.
Two years after their marriage Glenn was waylaid and murdered by a former business associate, named Bill Smith–no relation to Nancy Elizabeth. Smith escaped into the wilderness and was never apprehended. The 16-year-old widow was left with a three-weeks old infant son, who grew into manhood and for years, that son, the late Joseph M. Glenn, was a leading lawyer in the city of Logan.
On October 11, 1883, a year after her husband’s death, at the age of 17, Nancy Elizabeth married the 19-year-old Cap Hatfield, second son of Devil Anse.
“He was the best looking young man in the settlement,” she proudly told me.
But at that time Cap had little to recommend him, except his good looks. He was born Feb. 6, 1864, during the Civil War, and grew up in a wild and lawless wilderness, where people were torn and divided by political and sectional hatreds and family feuds–a rugged, mountain land, without roads, schools, or churches.
When he married, Cap could neither read nor write, but he possessed the qualities necessary for survival in that turbulent time and place–he was “quick on the draw, and a dead shot.”
“When we were married, Cap was not a very good risk as a husband,” said Nancy Elizabeth. “The feud had been going on for a year, and he was already its most deadly killer. Kentucky had set a price on his head. But we were young, he was handsome, and I was deeply in love with him. Besides, he was the best shot on the border, and I was confident that he could take care of himself–and he did.”
Nancy Elizabeth taught her handsome husband to read and write, and imparted to him the meager learning she had acquired in the country school in Wayne County. But, more important, the she instilled into him her own hunger for knowledge.
Cap had a brilliant mind, and he set about to improve it. He and Nancy Elizabeth bought and read many books on history and biography, and they also subscribed for and read a number of the leading magazines of their day. In time they built up a small library or good books, which they read and studied along with their children.
At the urging of Nancy Elizabeth, Cap decided to study law, and enrolled at the University Law School at Huntington, Tennessee. But six months later, a renewal of the feud brought him back to the mountains. He never returned to law school, but continued his legal studies at home, and was admitted to the bar in Wyoming and Mingo counties. However, he never practiced the profession.
Nancy Elizabeth and Cap raised seven of their nine children, and Nancy’ss eyes grew moist as she talked of the sacrifices she and Cap had made that their children might obtain the education fate had denied to their parents. But her face glowed with a mother’s pride as she said:
“All our children are reasonably well educated. Three are college graduates, and the others attended college from one to three years. But, above everything else, they are all good and useful citizens.”
As I left the home of the remarkable and unforgettable Nancy Hatfield, I knew that I had been in the presence of a queenly woman–a real “Mountain Queen.”
Source: West Virginia Women (Richwood, WV: Jim Comstock, 1974), p. 153-154.
Nancy E. Hatfield Memories, Part 3 (1974)
11 Friday Jun 2021
Posted in Civil War, Hatfield-McCoy Feud
Tags
Appalachia, Cap Hatfield, civil war, Devil Anse Hatfield, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, history, Howard B. Lee, Island Creek, Kentucky, Logan, Logan County, Nancy E. Hatfield, Pikeville, Randolph McCoy, Tennis Hatfield, West Virginia
Howard B. Lee, former Attorney General of West Virginia, provided this account of Nancy Hatfield (widow of Cap) in the early 1970s:
“Mrs. Hatfield, your husband and his father bore the same given names: ‘William Anderson’. How did they get the nicknames of ‘Cap’ and ‘Devil Anse’?”
“It is very simple,” she replied. “Early in life Devil Anse’s name was shortened to ‘Anse.’ During and after the Civil War he was called ‘Captain Anse’. The son, because he had the same name as his father, was called ‘Little Cap’. As the boy grew larger, the word ‘Little’ was dropped. Also, because of their fierceness in feud combats, the McCoys called the father ‘Devil Anse’ and the son ‘Bad Cap’. The newspapers took up the names and they stuck. Devil Anse liked and cultivated the title; but eventually the word ‘Bad’ was dropped from Cap’s nickname.
“Was I afraid? For years, day and night, I lived in fear. Afraid for my own safety, and for the safety of my loved ones. Constant fear is a terrible emotion. It takes a heavy toll, mentally and physically.
“I now think that my most anxious moments, as well as my greatest thrill, came years after the feud was over. In 1922, Tennis Hatfield and another deputy sheriff went over to Pikeville, Kentucky, to return a prisoner wanted in Logan County. While there, Tennis visited the aged Randolph McCoy1, surviving leader of his clan during the feud. (Tennis was born long after the feud was over.) The old man was delighted to see Devil Anse’s youngest son’, and Tennis spent the night with him.
“The next morning, Randolph told Tennis that he was going home with him. ‘I want to see Cap,’ he said, ‘and tell him how glad I am that I didn’t kill him. I am sorry Devil Anse is gone. I would like to see him, too.’ Tennis was worried. He didn’t know how Cap would receive his old enemy. So he left Randolph in Logan while he acme up to our place to consult Cap.
“Cap listened to Tennis’ story, and said: ‘Does he come in peace?’ ‘Yes,’ said Tennis. ‘He comes in peace.’ ‘Does he come unarmed?’ ‘Yes, he comes unarmed.’ ‘Then I shall be happy to greet him in the same way. Bring him up for supper and he shall spend the night with us.
“My anxious moments were just before these two strong-willed men met. I knew how they had hated each other, that each had tried to kill the other, more than once, that each had killed relatives and friends of the other, and I was afraid of what they might do when they stood face to face.
“My thrill came when I saw them clasp hands, and heard each one tell the other how happy he was to see him. They talked far into the night, and bother were up early the next morning, eager to continue their talks. Tennis came about one o’clock to drive Randolph back to his Kentucky home. Cap watched them until they passed out of sight up the creek, and then remarked, ‘You know, I always did like that cantankerous old cuss.’
“Cap and Randolph never saw each other again.”
1Should be Jim McCoy, son of Randolph.
Source: West Virginia Women (Richwood, WV: Jim Comstock, 1974), p. 152-153
Anderson Hatfield Deposition Relating to Civil War Case (1869)
30 Tuesday Mar 2021
Posted in Civil War, Hatfield-McCoy Feud
Tags
Abe C. Ferrell, Appalachia, civil war, Devil Anse Hatfield, farming, genealogy, Greenville Taylor, history, Kentucky, Lewis Sowards, Logan County, M.C.W. Sowards, Peach Orchard, Peter Creek, Pike County, R.M. Ferrell, Thomas J. Sowards, West Virginia
The deposition of Anderson Hatfield taken on the 20th day of August 1869 at the house of Greenville Taylor near the mouth of Peter Creek in Pike County Ky. To be read as evidence in behalf of the defendant (Jacob Cline) in the suit of M.C.W. Sowards, Lewis Sowards, and Thos. J. Sowards, plantiff, against Jacob Cline, defendant, pending in Pike Circuit Court.
The deponent Anderson Hatfield of lawful age and being by me first sworn deposeth and says:
Question: State your age residence and occupation.
Ans. I am 30 years old my residence in Logan Co., West Virginia. My occupation is farmer.
Question by same: Are you acquainted with the defendant Jacob Cline?
Ans. Yes sir.
Question by : Do you or not know how deft Cline happened to go with the squad to take Sowards goods at Peach Orchard Ky.?
Ans. He had come back from the Federal army and give up to the rebels and they were talking around that if he did not join the rebels that they would kill him and he joined the rebels under these circumstances and went to Peach Orchard. He made several excuses to get out of going but none of them were availing and he had to go.
Question by same. Did he go willingly or unwillingly?
Ans. He went unwillingly.
Question by same. State if you know where defendant Cline was at the time Sowards goods were taken.
Ans. He was on the point this side of the store of Sowards. Something near half a mile distant. He was placed there as a _____.
Question by same. Do you or not know who got the goods after they were taken from Sowards?
Ans. I do not know who all did get goods.
Question by same. Did Jacob Cline get any of the goods taken?
Ans. If he did I do not know it. He did not take any from the store. I was with him and come out with him from there and if he had any goods I did not see them. If he had any goods I think I would have certainly seen them.
Question by same. Would he not have endangered his life by refusing to go, taking everything into consideration that is all the surrounding circumstances of the case?
Ans. He was threatened that if he did not join the company and go he would be killed and this was by men who did kill sometimes.
Question by same. State as near as you can the amount of goods taken from Sowards also how much they had in store at the time of the robbery.
Ans. I don’t think there was exceeding $500.00 worth of goods in Sowards store at the time and I think $300.00 would be the greatest possible amount of the goods taken. And further this deponent saith not.
Attest. Abe C. Ferrell, Ex Anderson (his mark) Hatfield
1 days attendance 26 miles $2.04
State of Kentucky
Pike County
I Abe C. Ferrell Examiner for County and state aforesaid do certify that the foregoing deposition of Anderson Hatfield was taken before me and was read to and subscribed by him in my presence at the time and place and in the action mentioned in the caption the said Anderson Hatfield having been by me first sworn that the evidence he should give in the action should be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth and his statement reduced to writing by me in his presence the defendant Jacob Cline being above present at the examination. Given under my hand this 20th day of August 1869.
Abe C. Ferrell, Examiner
Pike Co.
Examiners Fee 1 Deposition $1.00
Entering 1 witness 25 80 miles $4.00 $4.25
$5.25
$2.04
1 witness claim $7.29
***
[On the reverse side of the last paper:]
Jacob Cline & C
Ans: Deposition of Anderson Hatfield
M.C.W. Sowards & C
Filed Aug 24th 1869.
Abe C. Ferrell, D. for R.M. Ferrell, CPC
Madison Hatfield Subpoena in Anderson Hatfield Suit (1882)
30 Tuesday Mar 2021
Posted in Hatfield-McCoy Feud
Memories of Devil Anse Hatfield (1998)
13 Saturday Mar 2021
Posted in Hatfield-McCoy Feud
Tags
Allen Browning, Appalachia, Cap Hatfield, cemeteries, Devil Anse Hatfield, Dyke Garrett, Emily Browning, genealogy, Hatfield Cemetery, history, Levisa Hatfield, Pearl Browning Burgess, Tennis Hatfield, Willis Hatfield
From Pearl Browning Burgess, ninety-seven-year-old daughter of Allen and Emily Browning, dated September 1998:
“I remember Anse Hatfield as Devil Anse. He was a kind old man. We called him Mr. or Uncle Anse. He was so kind to everyone he met. We children of Allen Browning loved to go to his home to see two bears tied up in a log house. The year was 1916. Also, we loved his two pea fowls that spread their tail feathers to show their beauty. I was a young woman in my teens and did Mrs. Hatfield’s laundry when she was ill. They had a real nice family. Seemed everyone who met Mr. Anse loved him and can’t understand why anyone would call him Devil Anse. When he died, my father and I sang one song and Dyke Garrett preached. The men carried his body nearby to Hatfield Cemetery. There they placed him in a grave. At the close of the grave, two sons that had not spoke for many years reached across the grave and shook hands. When they got his monument, his shoes or boots were on backwards. I am 97 years of age and still love to think of the times my father and I visited Uncle Anse and I can remember three sons: Cap, Tennis, and Willis. I remember his girls, yet I can’t recall their names. All this time is now Sarah Ann in Logan.”
Anse Hatfield Letter to Perry Cline (1886)
06 Saturday Mar 2021
Posted in Big Sandy Valley, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Pikeville
Tags
Appalachia, Cap Hatfield, Coleman Hatfield, Devil Anse Hatfield, genealogy, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, history, Jeff McCoy, Kentucky, Logan County, Mingo County, Nancy E. Hatfield, Perry Cline, Pike County, Pikeville, Preacher Anse Hatfield, Ron Blackburn, Tom Dotson, Tom Wallace, West Virginia, William S. Ferrell
Logan County, W.Va.
December 26, 1886
Mr. P.A. Cline
Pikeville, Ky.
Dear Sir:
I had to answer your Letter in regard to the Late Trouble. We are all very sorry that the Trouble occurred but under Somewhat aggravated circumstances it hapened. but I know and solemnly affirm that if such could have been prevented by me I would have stoped the Trouble. but it has gone by & cannot be ___. Cap was away from Home and Jeff went there to his house in the presents of his wife lying on her sick bed and had been under Treatment of the Doctor for three or four weeks and in undertaking to arrest Wallace shot into the House and when Cap came home he went and arrested Jeff to hand him over to a peace officer. & he met with Tom Wallace, and Wallace went with him and at William S. Ferrell’s he Broke loose in the presents of Wallace, and swam the river and Wallace followed shooting at him. I hope that if their is any question Relative to this affair that it will be ___ by a fair statement of the case.
Your friend
Ans. Hatfield
William S. Ferrell statement
At the time Jeff started Cap was of conversing with me some 40 or 50 yds and I never seen Cap Hatfield fire a single shot. You can write to Wm S. Ferrell for now in conclusion I will say to all the relatives of Jeff McCoy that neither one of the Hatfields has any animosity against them and very sorry that such has occurred and sincerely Trust that there will be no more Trouble in regard to the matter. Perry the very Bottom of this crime is nothing more nor less than Mary Daniels and her girls. Now Bill is gone and says he won’t come back. No person is going to Trouble him let him come back.
Very Respectfully,
Anderson Hatfield
NOTE: Ron G. Blackburn owns the original letter. A copy can be seen in Thomas Dotson’s The Hatfield & McCoy Feud After Kevin Costner: Rescuing History (2013), p. 232-233. Coleman Hatfield said that Nancy E. Hatfield, wife of Cap, wrote the letter, while Tom Dotson feels that Preacher Anse Hatfield wrote the letter.
Significant Tracts in Magnolia District (1867, 1870, 1876, 1886-1889)
19 Friday Feb 2021
Posted in Beech Creek, Big Sandy Valley, Matewan, Wharncliffe
Tags
Alex D. Trent, Beech Creek, Ben Creek, Bend Creek, Big Sandy River, David Mounts, Devil Anse Hatfield, Elias Hatfield, Elkhorn Sandy River Trust Company, genealogy, Glen Alum, Grapevine Creek, history, Isabella Rutherford, J.C. Williamson, J.D. Sergeant, Jacob Cline, Jacob Phillips, Jacob Smith, James Vance Jr., John Ferrell, John Francesco, John W. Deskins, Joseph Glen, Julius Williamson, justice of the peace, Kentucky, Lewis Ratcliff, Lewis Rutherford, Logan County, M.A. Ferrell, M.B. Lawson, Magnolia District, Michael A. Ferrell, Mingo County, Morehead, Philadelphia, Pigeon Creek, Richard Ferrell, Richard Maynard, Richard Ratcliff, Richard Ratliff, Right Fork, Roane County, Spring Fork, Spruce Fork, T.W. Blankenship, Thacker Creek, Tug River, Warren Alderson, West Virginia, William Ferrell, William S. Ferrell
What follows is a list of 1000-plus-acre tracts in Magnolia Township/District of Logan County, WV, for 1867, 1870, and 1886-1889…
1867
Jacob Cline’s Heirs, Logan County, 5000 acres, Sandy River
William Ferrell, Logan County, 3900 acres, Sandy River
Richard Maynard, Logan County, 3250 acres, Sandy River
David Mounts, Logan County, 3000 acres, Tug River and Tributaries
John Ferrell, Logan County, 2812 acres, Sandy River
Warren Alderson, Logan County, 2740 acres, Right Fork Ben Creek
John Ferrell, Logan County, 1814 acres, Pigeon Creek
Richard Ratliff, Logan County, 1340 acres, Stafford and Beech Creek
John W. Deskins, Logan County, 1305 acres, Thacker Creek and Sandy River
Warren Alderson, Logan County, 1300 acres, Spring Fork of Ben Creek
John Ferrell, Logan County, 1100 acres, Sandy River
Jacob Phillips, Logan County, 1000 acres, Sandy River
1870
Jacob Cline’s Estate, Logan County, 5000 acres, Sandy River
Richard Ferrell, Logan County, 3900 acres, On Sandy River
John Ferrell, Logan County, 3075 acres, 7 Tracts on Pigeon
David Mounts Estate, Logan County, 3000 acres, Tug Fork and Tributaries
Warren Alderson, Logan County, 2740 acres, Right Fork Ben Creek
Richard Maynard, Logan County, 2430 acres, On Sandy River
John W. Deskins, Logan County, 1305 acres, Turkey Sandy River
Warren Alderson, Logan County, 1300 acres, Spring Fork Ben Creek
William S. Ferrell, Logan County, 1100 acres, Sandy River
1876
Jacob Cline’s Heirs, Kentucky, 5000 acres, Grape Vine and Sandy
William S. Ferrell, Logan County, 3000 acres, Thacker and Sandy River
Warren M. Alderson, Kentucky, 2640 acres, Right Fork of Ben Creek
Isabella Rutherford, Logan County, 1600 acres, Sandy River
Michael A. Ferrell, Logan County, 1300 acres, Sandy River
Warren M. Alderson, Kentucky, 1175 acres, Spring Fork Ben Creek
Richard Ratcliff, Logan County, 1140 acres, Stafford Branch Sandy
Julius Williamson, Logan County, 1000 acres, Sandy and Branches
1886
William S. Ferrell, Logan County, 2650 acres
Warren Alderson, Morehead KY, 2640 acres, Sandy River
Lewis Rutherford, Logan County, 1600 acres
Jacob Smith, Mouth of Pond KY, 1500 acres
James Vance, Jr., Logan County, 1500 acres
J.D. Sergeant, Philadelphia PA, 1481 acres
Elias Hatfield, Logan County, 1431 acres
M.A. Ferrell, Logan County, 1300 acres
T.W. Blankenship, Roane County, 1200 acres
1887
William S. Ferrell, Logan County, 2650 acres, Thackers Creek and Sandy River
Warren Alderson, Morehead KY, 2640 acres, Sandy River
Anderson Hatfield, Logan County, 2360 acres, Grape Vine
J.D. Sergeant, Philadelphia PA, 1481 acres, Beech Creek
Elias Hatfield, Logan County, 1471 acres, Four tracts on Mates Creek
M.A. Ferrell, Logan County, 1300 acres, Sandy River
T.W. Blankenship, Roane County, 1200 acres, Spruce Fork of Ben Creek
1888
Anderson Hatfield, Logan County, 2656 1/2 acres, Grapevine Creek
William S. Ferrell, Logan County, 2650 acres, Thacker and Sandy
J.C. Williamson, Logan County, 1837 acres, Four tracts on Alum and Sandy River
Lewis Ratcliff, Logan County, 1600 acres, Sandy River
John Francesco, Logan County, 1500 acres, Grapevine and Thacker
Simpkins and M.B. Lawson’s Heirs, Logan County, 1500 acres, Richard Ratcliff Farm and Sandy River
Elkhorn Sandy R. Trust Co., Logan County, 1481 acres, Ben Creek and Sandy
J.D. Sergeant, Philadelphia PA, 1385 acres, Sandy River
M.A. Ferrell*, Logan County, 1300 acres, Sandy River
1889
Anderson Hatfield, Logan County, 2656 1/2 acres, Grapevine Creek
W.S. Ferrell, Logan County, 2650 acres, Thacker and Sandy River
J.C. Williamson, Logan County, 1837 acres, 4 Tracts on Alum and Sandy River
Lewis Rutherford, Logan County, 1600 acres, Sandy River
Jacob Smith, Logan County, 1500 acres, Richard Ratcliff’s Farm and Sandy River
John Francesco, Logan County, 1500 acres, Grape Vine
Elkhorn Sandy River Trust Company, Logan County, 1481 acres, Ben Creek and Sandy River
J.D. Sergeant, Philadelphia PA, 1385 acres, Sandy River
Joseph Glen, Logan County, 1377 acres, Tug River Below Mouth Bend
J.D. Sergeant, Philadelphia PA, 1354 1/4 acres, Mates Creek
J.D. Sergeant, Philadelphia PA, 1338 3/4 acres, Grapevine
M.A. Ferrell*, Logan County, 1300 acres, Sandy River
Alex D. Trent, Logan County, 1246 acres, Spring Fork Ben Creek
Note: On November 6, 1888, M.A. Ferrell was elected justice of the peace; his term commenced on January 1, 1889.
Source: Land Book 1866-1872, Land Book 1873-1874, Land Book 1880-1886, and Land Book 1887-1892.
Johnson Hatfield Property in Logan County, WV (1884-1892)
18 Thursday Feb 2021
Posted in Big Sandy Valley, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Matewan
Tags
Appalachia, Ben Creek, Big Sandy River, Devil Anse Hatfield, genealogy, Grapevine Creek, H.R. Phillips, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, history, J.D. Sergeant, Johnse Hatfield, Johnson Hatfield, justice of the peace, Left Hand Fork, Levicy Hatfield, Lick Branch, Lick Fork, Logan County, Magnolia District, Mingo County, Nancy Hatfield, Philadelphia, Thacker Creek, Valentine Wall Hatfield, West Virginia
The following land information is derived from Land Book 1880-1886 and Land Book 1887-1892, as well as deed books, at the Logan County Clerk’s Office in Logan, WV:
Johnson Hatfield
No property listed in land books for 1865-1881.
On January 28, 1882, Anderson and Vicy Hatfield deeded 200 acres at Lick Fork of Grapevine Creek to Johnson Hatfield (all of Logan County) for $250. Began at a large rock near the creek bank just above the garden field at the mouth of Lick Fork, thence running out to the center of the point above Lick Fork…to the head of Lick Fork and down the top of the ridge between Grapevine and Thacker Creek… Anderson and Vicy Hatfield signed the deed. Justice Valentine Hatfield witnessed the deed on January 28, 1882.
No property listed in land books for 1883.
1884-1885: Magnolia District
Johnson Hatfield, Jr.
200 acres Lick Branch, Grape Vine $1.25 per acre no building $250 total
Johnson Hatfield, Sr.
200 acres Lick Branch, Grape Vine $1.25 per acre no building $250 total
[Note: Two entries exist in the land book for a Johnson Hatfield (Sr. and Jr.) in 1884-1885; this is likely the same person and the same property.]
1886: Magnolia District
No entry for him.
1887: Magnolia District
Nancy Hatfield
300 acres Grapevine, Sandy River $1.25 per acre no building $375 total
[Note: This property was transferred from Johnson Hatfield. Presumably, “Nancy Hatfield” is Johnse’s wife, the former Nancy McCoy.]
1888: Magnolia District
No entry for Johnson or Nancy Hatfield.
[Note: In 1888, Johnson Hatfield, Jr. transferred 500 acres on Grapevine, Sandy River (two tracts) worth $1.25 and total value of $625 to J.D. Sergeant of Philadelphia, PA.]
1889: Magnolia District
No property listed.
1890: Magnolia District
Nancy Hatfield
147 acres H.R. Fk Mates Creek $1 per acre no building $147 total
[Note: This may be Johnse’s wife, Nancy.]
1891: Magnolia District
No property listed.
[In 1891, “Jo Hatfield & wife” transferred 258 acres on Left Hand Fork Ben Creek worth $1 per acre and with total value of $258 to H.R. Phillips, trustee. This may or may not be Johnse Hatfield.]
Anderson Hatfield Property in Logan County (1869-1893)
12 Friday Feb 2021
Posted in Big Sandy Valley, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Matewan
Tags
A.E. Steel, Anna Hatfield, Appalachia, Beech Creek, Big Sandy River, Charles R. Mounts, Conley Bottom, Conleys Creek, Daniel Christian, Dempsey Branch, Devil Anse Hatfield, Double Camp, Double Camp Branch, E.S. Murphy, Ephraim Hatfield, Floyd Hatfield, genealogy, George Hatfield, Grapevine Creek, Harrison Steel, history, Island Creek, J.D. Sergeant, Jacob Francesco, James A. Nighbert, James Ferrell, James Mounts, John Green, Johnson Hatfield, justice of the peace, L.D. Steel, Levicy Hatfield, Lewis Steel, Lick Fork, Little Kanawha Lumber Company, Logan County, Logan District, logging, Magnolia District, Magnolia Township, Mash Field, Mate Creek, Mates Creek, Meadow Branch, Mill Seat Fork, miller, Mingo County, Moses Christian, Nancy Hatfield, Philadelphia, Pigeon Creek, Plyant Mayhorn, Polly Hatfield, Preacher Anse Hatfield, Road Fork, Samuel Mayhorn, splash dams, splashing, Stuart Wood, Thacker Creek, timbering, Tug Fork, Tug River, Valentine Wall Hatfield, West Virginia, William Tiller, Wolf Pen Fork
The following land information is derived from Land Book 1866-1872, Land Book 1873-1874, Land Book 1880-1886, Land Book 1887-1892, and Land Book 1893-1899, as well as various deed books, at the Logan County Clerk’s Office in Logan, WV:
Anderson Hatfield
[Property listed in name of Levecy Hatfield in 1869, Levica Hatfield in 1870-1871, Levisa Hatfield in 1872, 1874, and 1876, Levitna Hatfield in 1873, Lavisa Hatfield in 1875, Levica Hatfield in 1889, Lovicy Hatfield in 1890-1891, Lovica Hatfield in 1892, and Levicy Hatfield in 1893.]
No property listed in land books for 1865-1867.
On October 19, 1867, George* and Nancy Hatfield of Pike County, KY, deeded 100 acres on Mate Creek to Levicy Hatfield of Logan County, WV, for five hundred dollars. The property began in the upper end of Mash Field and extended to the mouth of Meadow Branch. Witnessed by JP William Tiller on October 19, 1867.
No property listed in the land book for 1868.
1869: Magnolia Township
100 acres Mates Creek $4.20 per acre no building $420 total
55 acres Mates Creek $2.10 per acre $75 building $136.50 total
[Note: Based on the land book, both tracts were acquired in 1869 from George Hatfield of Kentucky. Also, the 55-acre total value figure did not include the value of the building. Note the actual date of purchase for one of the tracts was 1867, as per the deed.]
1870: Magnolia Township
100 acres Mates Creek $4.20 per acre no building $420 total
55 acres Mates Creek $2.10 per acre no building $136.50 total
1871-1872: Magnolia Township
100 acres Mates Creek $4.20 per acre no building $420 total
55 acres Mates Creek $2.10 per acre no building $115.50 total
[Note discrepancy in the valuation for the 55-acre tract.]
1873: Magnolia District
100 acres Mates Creek $5.25 per acre no building $441 total
55 acres Mates Creek $4.20 per acre no building $420 total
1874: Magnolia District
100 acres Mates Creek $4.20 per acre no building $420 total
55 acres Mates Creek $2.10 per acre $115.50 total
On December 29, 1874, Anderson and Lovicy Hatfield sold 200 acres to Polly Hatfield (all of Logan County) for $780 on Mates Creek. Began at the foot of the north hill at the upper end of the old Mash Field, a conditional corner between Ephraim Hatfield and Anderson Hatfield to the mouth of Meadow Branch to include all the land that George Hatfield had deeded to Lovicy Hatfield. Anderson and Lovicy signed the deed using an “x.” Justice of the peace Valentine Hatfield witnessed the deed on December 29, 1874.
[Note the original 100 acres from the 1867 deed has now become 200 acres.]
1875: Magnolia District
100 acres Mates Creek $4 per acre $50 building $400 total
55 acres Mates Creek $0.25 per acre no building $13.75 total
1876: Magnolia District
100 acres Mates Creek $4 per acre no building $400 total
55 acres Mates Creek $0.25 per acre no building $13.75
[Note: In 1876, according to the land book, Anderson Hatfield transferred 200 acres on Mates Creek worth $0.25 per acre and with a total worth of fifty dollars to Polly Hatfield; the deed is dated 1874 (see above); the 1878 land record corrected the acreage to 55 acres by order of P.A. Counts]
1877: Magnolia District
No records available for this year.
On July 2, 1877, Anderson and Lovicy Hatfield deeded 150 acres at Double Camp and Road forks of Mates Creek for $75 to Floyd Hatfield (all of Logan County). Began at the back line of the John Green survey below Double Camp, then up the main ridge to the top of the point above Road Fork, thence to John Green survey line. Anderson and Lovicy signed the deed using an “x.” Justice of the Peace Valentine Hatfield witnessed the deed on July 2, 1877.
On December 24, 1877, Anderson and Levisa Hatfield deeded 1500 acres on Grapevine Creek to James Vance, Jr. (all of Logan County) for $1400. Began near the mouth of Wolf Pen Fork, thence to the top of the mountain between Grapevine and the river, thence with mountain to dividing ridge between Grapevine and Beech Creek, thence to head of Thacker Creek, thence down ridge between Thacker and Mates Creek… References the ridge between the Wolf Pen and Mill Seat Fork. Anderson and Levicy signed the deed using an “x.” Justice Valentine Hatfield witnessed the deed on December 24, 1877.
1878: Magnolia District
Anse Hatfield owned no property in 1878.
[In 1878, as per the land book, Anderson Hatfield transferred 150 acres on Double Camp and Road Fork of Mate to Floyd Hatfield worth twenty cents per acre and with a total worth of $20. Records showed this as “transferred from Anderson Hatfield.” Note: The deed (above) shows the transfer as 1877.]
1879: Magnolia District
No records exist for this year.
1880-1881: Magnolia District
As per land book, Anse Hatfield owned no land.
On December 9, 1880, Anderson Hatfield, Lovicy Hatfield, Elias Hatfield, and Henry Mitchell deeded 200 acres on Wolf Pen Fork of Grapevine Creek to Robert Cox (all of Logan County) for $200. Anderson Hatfield, Lovicy Hatfield, Elias Hatfield, and Henry Mitchell signed the deed. Justice of the peace Valentine Hatfield witnessed the deed on December 10, 1880.
1882: Magnolia District
The Hatfield page is missing from the land book.
On January 28, 1882, Anderson and Vicy Hatfield deeded 200 acres at Lick Fork of Grapevine Creek to Johnson Hatfield (all of Logan County) for $250. Began at a large rock near the creek bank just above the garden field at the mouth of Lick Fork, thence running out to the center of the point above Lick Fork…to the head of Lick Fork and down the top of the ridge between Grapevine and Thacker Creek… Anderson and Vicy Hatfield signed the deed. Justice Valentine Hatfield witnessed the deed on January 28, 1882.
1883: Magnolia District
Records for this district are blank.
1884: Magnolia District
37 acres Tug River $1 per acre no building $37 total
2900 acres Grape Vine, Tug River $1.25 per acre $50 building $3625 total
[Note: In 1884, Anse transferred 100 acres to Daniel Christian on Grape Vine and Sandy River worth $1.25 per acre with no building and valued at $125. In 1884, Anse transferred 150 acres on Beech Creek and Sandy River to Jacob Francesco worth $1 per acre with no buildings and total value at $150. This latter tract states “by A. Hatfield by P. Mayhorn” and adds that “books don’t show A. Hatfield is owner.” Anse is not named in the 1884 deed to Jacob Francesco.]
1885: Magnolia District
37 acres Tug River $1 per acre no building $37 total
2750 acres Grapevine Creek and Tug River $1.25 per acre $50 building $3437.50 total
[In 1885, he transferred 50 acres on Sandy River to Moses Christian worth $1.25 per acre with a total worth of $62.50. In 1885, he transferred 100 acres on Grapevine Creek to Samuel Mayhorn worth $1.25 per acre with a total worth of $125.]
1886: Magnolia District
No property listed for him in 1886.
[In 1886, he transferred 500 acres on Pigeon Creek to James Ferrell worth $1.12 per acre with a total worth of $500. This note referenced him as “A. Hatfield Sr.” In 1886, he transferred 25 acres on Tug River to E.S. Murphy worth $1 per acre and a total worth of $25. In 1886, he transferred 340 acres on Beech Creek to Harrison Steel valued at $2.25 per acre and with a total worth of $765. This latter note stated: “2 years back tax and with interest; transferred from Ans Hatfield.”]
1887: Magnolia District
37 acres Tug River $1 per acre no building $37 total
2360 acres Grape Vine $1.25 per acre $50 building $2950 total
[Note: For both entries, the record reads: “one yr bk tax & interest.” In 1887, he transferred 69 acres on Sandy River worth $1 per acre and total worth of $69 to James Mounts. In 1887, he transferred with others 100 acres on Sandy River worth $1 per acre and total value of $100 to Charles R. Mounts. In 1887, he transferred 200 acres on Beech Creek to Harrison Steel worth $1 per acre and total value of $200.]
1888: Logan District
[On April 10, 1888, Lewis S. Steel sold 200 acres on Island Creek to Vicie Hatfield for $900. Deed Book L, p. 53.]
[On May 1, 1888, Anse and Levicy Hatfield agreed to a quit claim deed for mineral rights to 600 acres in the head of Island Creek to Stuart Wood for $1, and fifty cents per acre once surveyed and the title perfected. Deed Book K, p. 158-159.]
[On May 10, 1888, L.D. and A.E. Steel sold 250 acres on Island Creek to Levicy Hatfield for $500. Deed Book L, p. 52.]
1888: Magnolia District
No property listed for him, but a note in 1893 lists back taxes owed for:
Anderson Hatfield
2656 1/2 acres Grapevine Creek $3.50 per acre no building $9297.75 total
[Note: In 1888, he transferred 300 acres on Grapevine, Sandy River worth $1.25 per acre and total value of $375 to J.D. Sergeant of Philadelphia, PA. In 1888, he transferred along with others 1385 acres on Sandy River worth $1.25 per acre and total worth of $1632 to J.D. Sergeant.]
1889: Logan District
Levica Hatfield
250 acres Island Creek $1 per acre no building $250 total
200 acres Island Creek $1.40 per acre no building $280 total
1889: Magnolia District
Anderson Hatfield
2656 1/2 acres Grapevine Creek $3.50 per acre no building $9297.75 total
[On April 9, 1889, Anse and Levisy Hatfield deed to James E. Price, trustee, for $825 the mineral rights of 821 acres on Island Creek. Deed Book 47, p. 67-70.]
[On September 6, 1889, Anse Hatfield deeded all of the timber on his Island Creek property to the Little Kanawha Lumber Company for $352. References Anse having the right to put in a grist mill at the splash dam. Deed Book O, p. 410-411.]
1890-1891: Logan District
Lovicy Hatfield
250 acres Island Creek $1 per acre no building $250 total
200 acres Island Creek $1.40 per acre no building $280 total
[On November 21, 1891, Anse and Levicy Hatfield deeded to Stuart Wood and J.A. Nighbert for one dollar a right of way for splashing timber at the 821 acres. References Conley Bottom, the mouth of Dempsey Branch, and Conley’s Creek. Deed Book M, p. 189.]
1890-1891: Magnolia District
Anderson Hatfield
2656 1/2 acres Grapevine Creek $3.50 per acre no building $9297.75 total
1892: Logan District
Lovica Hatfield
250 acres Island Creek $2 per acre no building $500 total
200 acres Island Creek $5 per acre $500 building $1000 total
[On June 18, 1892, Anse and Levicy deeded to G.R. Buskirk for $2 his timber on 400 acres. Deed Book Q, p. 370.]
1892: Magnolia District
Anderson Hatfield
2656 1/2 acres Grapevine Creek $3.50 per acre no building $9297.75 total
1893-1894: Logan District
Levicy Hatfield
250 acres Island Creek $2 per acre no building $500 total
200 acres Island creek $5 per acre $500 building $1000 total
1893: Magnolia District
Anderson Hatfield
2656 1/2 acres Grapevine Creek $3.50 per acre no building $9297.75 total
[Note: In 1893, the tract at Grapevine Creek was noted: “entered with 5 yrs back taxes and interest.”]
1894: Magnolia District
Anderson Hatfield
2656 1/2 acres Grapevine Creek $3.50 per acre no building $9298 total
*George Hatfield (1804-1883), son of Ephraim and Anna (Musick) Hatfield; father of “Preacher Anse” Hatfield.
NOTE: Many discrepancies exist between the land books and deeds for Anderson Hatfield.
Perry A. Cline Deed to Anderson Hatfield (1877)
12 Friday Feb 2021
Posted in Big Sandy Valley, Hatfield-McCoy Feud
Tags
Devil Anse Hatfield, genealogy, Green W. Taylor, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, history, Jacob Cline Sr., Kentucky, Logan County, Martha Cline, Perry Cline, Pike County, Tug River, West Virginia
Nancy E. Hatfield Memories, Part 2 (1974)
02 Saturday Jan 2021
Posted in Big Sandy Valley, Civil War, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Women's History
Tags
attorney general, Battle of Gravepine, Battle of Scary Creek, Cap Hatfield, Charleston, civil war, Confederate Army, crime, Dan Cunningham, detective, Devil Anse Hatfield, Ellison Mounts, feuds, Frank Phillips, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Howard B. Lee, Jim Comstock, Johnse Hatfeild, Kentucky, Logan Wildcats, Nancy Hatfield, Roseanna McCoy, Tug Fork, Union Army, West Virginia, West Virginia Women
Howard B. Lee, former Attorney General of West Virginia, provided this account of Nancy Hatfield (widow of Cap) in the early 1970s:
Our next stop was at the home of Nancy Elizabeth, the same home where I visited with her and Cap during my campaign. For nearly three hours I asked questions and listened to that remarkable woman recount many of her experiences as the wife of America’s most celebrated feudist.
Nancy Elizabeth’s home also held a number of guns, pistols, and other relics of the feud days. But the most interesting item was Cap’s bullet-proof, steel breastplate, designed to cover the entire front half of his body from his beck to his lower abdomen.
“Mrs. Hatfield,” I said, “judging from the three bullet marks on it, this breastplate was a great protection to Cap; but what was to prevent an enemy from shooting him in the back?” Her eyes flashed as she replied: “Mr. Lee, Cap Hatfield never turned his back on an enemy or a friend.”
“I have read two stories, Mrs. Hatfield, each purporting to give the true cause of the feud: One book stated that it was the result of a dispute between a McCoy and a Hatfield over the ownership of a hog. Another book said that it grew out of the seduction of a McCoy girl by Johnson Hatfield, oldest son of Devil Anse. Is either one of these stories true?”
“No, neither story is true,” she replied. “The McCoys lived on the Kentucky side of Tug River, and the Hatfields lived on the West Virginia side. Hogs don’t swim rivers. I never heard the girl story until I read it in a book, written long after the feud was over. Both stories are pure fiction.”
“The truth is,” she continued, “in the fall of 1882, in an election-day fight between Ellison Hatfield, a younger brother of Devil Anse, and three McCoy brothers, Ellison was shot and knifed. He died two days later. In retaliation, Devil Anse and his clan captured and shot the three McCoy brothers. It was these four senseless killings that started the feud.”
In answer to my inquiry, Nancy Elizabeth said: “Yes, there had been ‘bad blood’ between the two families since the Civil War. In that struggle the Hatfields were ‘rebels’,–loyal to their State, Virginia. Devil Anse organized and was the captain of a company of Confederate sympathizers called the ‘Logan Wildcats’. They were recruited for local defense; but they left the county long enough to take part in the battle of Scary, fought along the banks of the Kanawha River, a few miles below Charleston.
“The McCoys, and their mountain neighbors, were pro-Union; and to protect their region against invasion by ‘Virginia rebels’, they organized a military company called ‘Home Guards’. There were occasional border clashes between the two forces, with casualties on both sides. The war ended only seventeen years before the feud began, and the bitterness still existed in the minds of the older generation, and they passed it on to their children. It was the old sectional and political hatreds that sparked the fight between Ellison Hatfield and the McCoy brothers.”
Nancy Elizabeth declined to estimate the number killed on either side of the feud.
“It was a horrible nightmare to me,” she said. “Sometimes, for months, Cap never spent a night in our house. He and Devil Anse, with others, slept in the nearby woods to guard our homes against surprise attacks. At times, too, we women and our children slept in hidden shelters in the forests.
“But these assaults were not one-sided affairs. The Hatfields crossed the Tug and killed McCoys. It was a savage war of extermination, regardless of age or sex. Finally, to get our children to a safer locality, we Hatfields left Tug River, crossed the mountains, and settled here on Island Creek, a tributary of the Guyandotte River.
“No, there was no formal truce ending hostilities. After a decade or more of fighting and killing, both sides grew tired and quit. The McCoys stayed in Kentucky and the Hatfields kept to West Virginia. The feud was really over a long time before either side realized it.
“Yes, Kentucky offered a large reward for the capture of Devil Anse and Cap. The governor of West Virginia refused to extradite them because, said he, ‘their trials in Kentucky would be nothing more than legalized lynchings’. It was then that Kentucky’s governor offered the reward for their capture–‘dead or alive’. Three attempts were made by reward seekers to capture them.
“Dan Cunningham, a Charleston detective, with two Cincinnati detectives, made the first attempt. They came through Kentucky, and crossed Tug River in the night; but the Hatfields soon captured them. A justice of the peace sentenced them to 90 days in Logan County jail for disturbing hte peace. When released, they were told to follow the Guyandotte River to Huntington, a distance of 60 miles, and ‘not to come back’.
“Next, a man named Phillips led two raids from Kentucky into Hatfield territory. In the first, he captured ‘Cottontop’ Mounts, a relative and supporter of the Hatfields, and took him to Pikeville, Kentucky, where he was hanged. But the second foray met with disaster at the ‘Battle of the Grapevine’. Phillips, and some of his followers escaped into Kentucky, but some where buried where they fell.
“This was the last attempt of the reward seekers. However, Kentucky never withdrew the reward offer, and that is why Devil Anse and Cap were always alarmed and on the alert.”
Source: West Virginia Women (Richwood, WV: Jim Comstock, 1974), p. 151-152
Nancy E. Hatfield Memories, Part 1 (1974)
28 Monday Dec 2020
Posted in Cemeteries, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Logan, Women's History
Tags
Appalachia, attorney general, Betty Caldwell, Cap Hatfield, cemeteries, Devil Anse Hatfield, feuds, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, history, Howard B. Lee, Jim Comstock, Logan, Logan County, Nancy Hatfield, politics, Republican Party, Robert Elliott Hatfield, Sarah Ann, Tennis Hatfield, West Virginia, West Virginia Women, Willis Hatfield
Howard B. Lee, former Attorney General of West Virginia, provided this account of Nancy Hatfield (widow of Cap) in the early 1970s:
HATFIELD WOMEN.
Over the years, much has been written about the male members of the Hatfield clan who took part in that early orgy of blood-letting–the Hatfield-McCoy feud. But nothing has been said concerning the indomitable wives of that stalwart breed of men.
My purpose is to pay a richly deserved tribute to one of those pioneer women–the late Nancy Elizabeth, wife of William Anderson Hatfield, common known “Cap,” second son of Devil Anse, and the most deadly killer of the feud.
More than 30 years have passed since I last talked with her; but I still regard Nancy Elizabeth Hatfield as the most remarkable and unforgettable woman of the mountains.
In the spring of 1924, I was a candidate in the primary election for the Republican nomination for attorney general, and I wanted the Hatfield influence. Devil Anse had died in 1921, and his mantle of leadership of the clan had fallen to his oldest living son, Cap–a power in Logan County politics.
I had met Cap, casually, in 1912, but I had not seen him since that meeting. But his sister, Mrs. Betty Caldwell, and her husband, lived in my county of Mercer, and were among my political supporters. To pave the way for my later meeting with Cap, I had Mrs. Caldwell write and ask him to support me.
Later, when campaigning in the City of Logan, I engaged a taxi to take me the few miles up Island Creek to Cap’s home. The car stopped suddenly and the driver pointed to a comfortable-looking farm house on the other side of the creek and said:
“That’s Cap’s home, and that’s Cap out there by the barn.”
I told him to return for me in two hours.
Cap saw me get out of the car, and, as I crossed the creek on an old-fashioned footlog. I saw him fold his arms across his chest and slip his right hand under his coat. Later, I noticed a large pistol holstered under his left arm. Even in that late day, Cap took no chances with strangers. When I got within speaking distance, I told him my name, and that I had come to solicit his support in my campaign for attorney general. He gave me a hearty handclasp, and said:
“My sister, Mrs. Caldwell, wrote us about you. But, let’s go to the house, my wife is the politician in our family.”
Cap was reluctant to commit himself “so early.” But Nancy Elizabeth thought otherwise. Finally, Cap agreed to support me; and, with that point settled, we visited until my taxi returned.
Meanwhile, with Cap’s approval, Nancy Elizabeth gave me the accompanying, heretofore unpublished photograph of the Devil Anse Clan. In 1963 I rephotographed it and sent a print to Willis Hatfield (number 22 in picture), only survivor of Devil Anse, who made the identification. Nancy Elizabeth is number 16, and the baby in her lap is her son, Robert Elliott, born April 29, 1897. Therefore, the photograph must have been made late in 1897, or early in 1898.
A few months after Cap’s death (August 22, 1930), the West Virginia newspaper publishers and editors held their annual convention in Logan. I was invited to address the group at a morning session. That same day, Sheriff Joe Hatfield and his brother, Tennis, younger brothers of Cap, gave an ox-roast dinner for the visiting newsmen and their guests. The picnic was held on a narrow strip of bottom land, on Island Creek, a half-mile below the old home of Devil Anse.
I ate lunch with Nancy Elizabeth and her sister-in-law, Betty Caldwell. After lunch, at the suggestion of Mrs. Caldwell, we three drove up the creek to the old home of her father–Devil Anse. It was a large, two-story, frame structure (since destroyed by fire, then occupied by Tennis Hatfield, youngest son of Devil Anse).
The most interesting feature in the old home was Devil Anse’s gun-room. Hanging along its walls were a dozen, or more, high-powered rifles, and a number of large caliber pistols, ranging from teh earliest to the latest models. “The older guns,” said Nancy Elizabeth, “were used in the feud.”
As we returned, we stopped at the family cemetery that clings uncertainly to the steep mountainside, overlooking the picnic grounds. There, among the mountains he loved and ruled, old Devil Anse found peace. A life-size statue of the old man, carved in Italy (from a photograph) of the finest Carrara marble, stands in majestic solitude above his grave. On its four-foot high granite base are carved the names of his wife and their thirteen children.
Source: West Virginia Women (Richwood, WV: Jim Comstock, 1974), p. 149-151
State v. French Ellis and Anderson Hatfield (1895)
19 Monday Oct 2020
Posted in Hatfield-McCoy Feud
Tags
Appalachia, crime, Devil Anse Hatfield, French Ellis, genealogy, history, L.H. Thompson, Logan County, West Virginia
Valentine “Wall” Hatfield
05 Sunday Jul 2020
Posted in Big Sandy Valley, Hatfield-McCoy Feud
Tags
Appalachia, Beech Creek, Devil Anse Hatfield, genealogy, history, Mingo County, photos, Valentine Wall Hatfield, West Virginia
Valentine “Wall” Hatfield (1834-1890), a brother to Anse Hatfield, lived at Beech Creek, present-day Mingo County, WV. The family holds the original image.
Joe Hatfield for Sheriff of Logan County, WV (1927)
08 Saturday Feb 2020
Posted in Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Logan
Tags
Appalachia, Delorme, Democratic Party, Devil Anse Hatfield, Evaline Marie Hatfield, genealogy, Grace Ferrell, history, Huntington Business College, Island Creek, Joe D. Hatfield Jr., Joe Hatfield, Levisa Hatfield, Logan Banner, Logan County, Marshall College, Mingo County, politics, Republican Party, sheriff, Stirrat, teacher, Tennis Hatfield, Tug River, West Virginia
From the Logan Banner of Logan, WV, comes this bit of political history dated December 13, 1927:
J.D. Hatfield Announces Candidacy For Sheriff
Native Son Will Ask for Republican Nomination in May Primary–That He Would Enter Race Was Expected, and That He Possesses Unusual Political Strength Is Undisputed
Joe Hatfield will be a candidate for the Republican nomination for sheriff in the primary election May 29.
That announcement will doubtless arouse tremendous interest but will create little surprise. For many months the public has expected that at a seasonable time his hat would be quietly tossed into the ring and remain there until the voters had registered their approval or disapproval. Having determined upon a course of action, he will go straight ahead.
Born and reared in Logan county, in love with its every stream and mountain, hoping and expecting to spend the remainder of his life amid the rugged hills to which his ancestors were lured by fate a century ago, he says he has long had an ambition to serve as sheriff of the county beloved of his kith and kin.
The statement that he was born in this county calls for this qualification: Joe Davis Hatfield was born at Delorme, on Tug River, then in Logan county but now in Mingo. That was 44 years ago. Except for a period at Huntington Business College and a year (1903-4) at Marshall College, he has lived hereabouts and his life is an open book. He attended country school on Island Creek and had some experience as a relief teacher, though at no time did he ever consider that his vocation. He is a brother of Sheriff Tennis Hatfield and a son of the late Captain Anse Hatfield and Lovisa Chafin Hatfield–their fourth youngest child, Tennis being the youngest.
Joe was married in 1917 to Grace Ferrell of a Mingo county family and is the father of two children, Evaline Marie, aged eight, and Joe D., Jr., aged five.
His fraternal affiliation are limited to the Elks and the Modern Woodmen of America.
In commenting on his announcement, Mr. Hatfield said, “I’m not running for the office solely for the honor and rewards it might bring, but also because I believe I can fill it in a way that my children and friends will be proud of. I want to give the people a square deal for their sake and mine–why should a man in an important office like that want to do less? I expect to be nominated, but if not I’ll do my part for the man who beats me; and when nominated I’ll plan to wage an active and winning campaign. Besides my experience and observation have given me some ideas about what a sheriff can and should do and I’ll probably discuss these with friends and perhaps in the papers at the proper time.”
Republican Stronghold
It is not The Banner’s purpose to espouse any man’s candidacy before the primary, yet there is no hesitancy in saying here and now that Joe Hatfield will be regarded by voters of all parties as a formidable candidate for the nomination. Quiet, suave, friendly, neat and attractive in appearance, on intimate terms with hundreds and even thousands of voters in the county, the scion of a prominent pioneer family, his strength is obvious to the humblest citizens as well as those trained in politics. And while on the subject of politics, let it be recalled that Stirrat, Hatfield’s precinct, was the banner Republican precinct in the county in 1926. The Republican vote varied from 310 to 312 for the different candidates; the Democratic vote from 54 to 58. The precinct won a flag for the largest registration of Republican voters before the primary and won a silver cup for the largest Republican vote in the election, the prizes having been offered by the county committee. Incidentally, that feat was credited largely to Joe Hatfield and brought the first prophecy the writer heard that he would be the next sheriff of Logan county.
Brandon Ray Kirk 