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Tag Archives: Frank Phillips

Nancy E. Hatfield Memories, Part 2 (1974)

02 Saturday Jan 2021

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Big Sandy Valley, Civil War, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Women's History

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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

Hatfield-McCoy Feud Prisoners (1889-1890)

08 Saturday Jun 2019

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Hatfield-McCoy Feud

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Tags

Alex Messer, Andy Varney, Appalachia, crime, Doc Mayhorn, Eddyville, farmer, Frank Phillips, Frankfort, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, history, Kentucky, L.D. McCoy, Mose Christian, murder, Pike County, Plyant Mahorn, Randolph McCoy, Sam Mahon, Selkirk McCoy, Tom Mitchell, Valentine Wall Hatfield, West Virginia

In December of 1887 and January of 1888, Frank Phillips and his posse captured nine members of the Hatfield faction accused of murdering various members of Randolph McCoy’s family. Captured persons included Selkirk McCoy, Mose Christian, Tom Mitchell, Valentine “Wall” Hatfield, Doc Mahon, Sam Mahon, Andy Varney, Plyant Mahon, and L.D. McCoy. In November of 1888, detectives captured Hatfield partisan Alex Messer. The following information is derived from Kentucky State Penitentiary records:

VALENTINE HATFIELD

NAME: Valentine Hatfield

SEX OR COLOR: White Male

CRIME: Murder

SENTENCE: Life

COUNTY SENT FROM: Pike

TERM OF COURT: August 1889

RECEIVED: January 2, 1890

NO. OF COMMITTAL: 73

AGE: 56

HEIGHT: 6′

WEIGHT: 162

COMPLEXION: Fair

COLOR OF EYES: Yellow

COLOR OF HAIR: Dark

EDUCATION: Com.

NATIVITY: Ky

OCCUPATION: Farmer

PREVIOUS HABITS: Int.

SOCIAL RELATION: M

SUNDAY SCHOOL: No

DESCRIPTION: Book 2, page 117

FORMER CONVICTIONS: —

HOW AND WHEN DISCHARGED: Died February 13, 1890

MARKS, SCARS, ETC.: Mole on left side of neck; ____ in front of neck; scars on right knee and shin; some varicose veins on legs; two dark moles on outside left thigh

ALEXANDER MESSER

NAME: Alexander Messer

SEX OR COLOR: White Male

CRIME: Murder

SENTENCE: Life

COUNTY SENT FROM: Pike

TERM OF COURT: August 1889

RECEIVED: September 7, 1889

NO. OF COMMITTAL: 420 (or 419)

AGE: 52

HEIGHT: 5’8 ¼”

WEIGHT: 158

COMPLEXION: Fair

COLOR OF EYES: Blue

COLOR OF HAIR: Grayish

EDUCATION: None

NATIVITY: Ky

OCCUPATION: Farmer

PREVIOUS HABITS: Temp.

SOCIAL RELATION: M

SUNDAY SCHOOL: Yes

DESCRIPTION: Book 2, page 78

FORMER CONVICTIONS: —

HOW AND WHEN DISCHARGED: —

MARKS, SCARS, ETC.: 2nd finger of left hand scarred at end; scar on each knee; great toe on right foot crooked and badly scarred where it joins foot; great number of scars behind left shoulder; scars in small of back; scar under right nipple; scar on right side

DOC MAHON

NAME: Doc Mayhorn

SEX OR COLOR: White Male

CRIME: Murder

SENTENCE: Life

COUNTY SENT FROM: Pike

TERM OF COURT: August 1889

RECEIVED: January 2, 1890

NO. OF COMMITTAL: 74

AGE: 35

HEIGHT:   5’9 ½”

WEIGHT: 156

COMPLEXION: Fair

COLOR OF EYES: Blue

COLOR OF HAIR: Sandy

EDUCATION: Com.

NATIVITY: W.Va

OCCUPATION: Farmer

PREVIOUS HABITS: Int.

SOCIAL RELATION: M

SUNDAY SCHOOL: No

DESCRIPTION: Book 2, page 118

FORMER CONVICTIONS: —

HOW AND WHEN DISCHARGED: —

MARKS, SCARS, ETC.: Vaccine mark on right arm; scar inside right wrist; small scar outside right hip

PLYANT MAHON

NAME: Plyant Mahorn

SEX OR COLOR: White Male

CRIME: Murder

SENTENCE: Life

COUNTY SENT FROM: Pike

TERM OF COURT: August 1889

RECEIVED: January 2, 1890

NO. OF COMMITTAL: 75

AGE: 37

HEIGHT: 5/10 ½”

WEIGHT: 148

COMPLEXION: Fair

COLOR OF EYES: Blue

COLOR OF HAIR: Sandy

EDUCATION: Com.

NATIVITY: W.Va

OCCUPATION: Farmer

PREVIOUS HABITS: Temp.

SOCIAL RELATION: M

SUNDAY SCHOOL: No

DESCRIPTION: Book 2, page 118

FORMER CONVICTIONS: —

HOW AND WHEN DISCHARGED: —

MARKS, SCARS, ETC.: Vaccine mark on right arm.

Sources:

Eddyville Prisoner Description Book 1889-1910, Roll No. 7009897

Eddyville Prisoner Register 1885-1910, Roll No. 7008244

Frankfort Prison Cell House Register 1883-1919, Roll No. 7010207

Frankfort Prison Sentence Register 1874-1894, Roll No. 7010211

Frankfort Prisoner Descriptions 1887-1906, Roll No. 7009898

Frankfort Register of Prisoners 1848-1893, Roll No. 7009891

Frankfort Register of Prisoners 1880-1911, Roll No. 7009892

Interview of Jean Hatfield at Sarah Ann, WV (2001), Part 3

29 Wednesday May 2019

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Cemeteries, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Pikeville

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Altina Waller, Appalachia, Brandon Kirk, Cap Hatfield, Coleman Hatfield, Democratic Party, Devil Anse Hatfield, Dyke Garrett, feuds, Frank Phillips, genealogy, Hatfield Cemetery, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Henry Hatfield, history, Jean Hatfield, Jim Vance, Joe Hatfield, John Ed Pearce, Johnson Hatfield, Kentucky, Levisa Hatfield, Logan Banner, Logan County, Otis Rice, Pikeville, Republican Party, Rosa Browning, Roseanne McCoy, Sarah Ann, Tennis Hatfield, The Hatfield and McCoy Feud After Kevin Costner, The McCoys: Their Story, The Tale of the Devil, Thomas Dotson, Truda Williams McCoy, West Virginia

In 2001-2002, I wrote a series of popular stories for the Logan Banner that merged aspects of well-known Hatfield-McCoy books written by Otis Rice and Altina Waller in the 1980s. I had previously enjoyed Rice’s narrative and Waller’s analysis; I did not conduct any new research. Even though I believed the definitive Hatfield-McCoy Feud book remained unwritten, my purpose in writing these stories was not a step toward writing a book; my purpose in writing these stories was to revisit the narrative with some analysis for Banner readers. My hope was that readers would see what I saw: first, fascinating history (or folk story) for its own sake; second, the power of history to create a popular type of tourism.

I was fortunate during this time to meet Jean Hatfield. Jean, born in 1936, operated a Hatfield family museum at Sarah Ann, WV. Jean was not a native of West Virginia but had lived her entire adult life locally and had personally known several of Anderson Hatfield’s children. I really appreciated her desire to promote regional history. She “got it.” She inspired me. Anytime that I drove up Route 44, I stopped to visit Jean at the museum. She was always welcoming. Knowing her reminded me that every Hatfield (and McCoy) descendant is a source of information–-and that for the most part they have yet to tell the story in their own words. Three notable exceptions include The McCoys: Their Story by Truda Williams McCoy (1976), The Tale of the Devil (2003) by Coleman Hatfield and Bob Spence, and The Hatfield and McCoy Feud After Kevin Costner: Rescuing History (2013) by Thomas Dotson.

What follows is Part 3 of my interview with Jean, which occurred on August 7, 2001:

What kind of shape is the [Hatfield] cemetery in?

Pretty rough right now because Henry’s been gone two years and he was sick two years before so he didn’t get to take care of it the way he normally did. It’s pretty well growed up. The main part of the cemetery, the family part, is pretty good. It’s just where the hill’s growed up.

There are unmarked graves in there.

There’s a bunch in there. Well, the main part of the cemetery is just the Hatfield people. And there’s a lot of graves up there, neighborhood people that couldn’t afford to buy grave plots and things like that. They just let them be buried up in there. So they’re not all Hatfields. I think all of the Hatfields now are marked up there, because we put Aunt Rosie’s up last fall and she was the last one in the family not to be marked. And we got that done. But there’s a lot of neighborhood people up in there and a lot of friends that Tennis and Joe made and they died off and they wanted to be buried close to the family.

What about Devil Anse’s politics?

Well, Henry’s father [Tennis] changed. Grandpa [Devil Anse] was a Democrat. The way I can understand it, the Democrat Party was so closed they wouldn’t let Tennis in when he wanted to run for sheriff so he ran for sheriff on the Republican ticket and won. Surprised the heck out of them, I imagine. And then Joe carried on as a Republican. But my husband was a Republican until he died. Me, I vote for both sides. Depends on the person that’s running. You know how politics is. Once you’re out of favor then you live a pretty rough life. And that happened in the family, too. Kind of wild back in those days. Even back 30-40 years ago, it was wild. I think we’re about to get civilized.

There’s hope.

I don’t know. If they don’t get a handle on these drugs there’s not going to be much hope. We’ve got problems here with the drugs. I just wish they could get them settled so people could get back to normal. When we built our house up there… We went on vacation we left the house wide open. Nobody bothered anything. Neighbor went in and let my little dogs run for a while, fed ‘em, put ‘em back in the house. Never even thought of locking the door. But you wouldn’t do that now. I think there’s been like five break-ins up here in the last couple of weeks. I think you can probably trace it right back to drugs. People trying to get stuff to sell for drugs. Which is pitiful.

What about Dyke Garrett?

Uncle Dyke? He was with the family most of the time, off and on. He done the burying and the marrying. Of course, the picture back there shows him baptizing Grandpa. He was a circuit preacher. He traveled everywhere.

Do you have a favorite character in the story? Anyone you feel attached to?

Well, all of them.

Even on the McCoy side?

Well, I think Roseanne is my favorite on the McCoy side, of course. And I think Grandma. Because think of what she went through. How many nights did she set up worrying about those reckless boys of hers? And every picture you see of them together, they look like love. Their body language shows it. They care for each other. And I think he took a lot of her advice and things like that. And if he was half the man that the people he helped and things like that, I think he must have been a pretty great person, too. There’s one of the pictures there… There was a Chafins boy that they just took in and raised. He didn’t have no family. Evidently his mother and father died when he was young and they took him in and raised him. They done several people that way. If they didn’t have a job, he’d work them, timbering and things like that so they could have a little bit of money along. That’s another thing about Altina Waller’s book I liked because she told the people who worked for him. There was a lot of McCoys who worked for him, too.

Have you read John Ed Pearce’s book about feuds in eastern Kentucky? I think he was unfair to Devil Anse.

Well, maybe he had ties to the McCoys or something.

I think Cap and Uncle Jim Vance are the two who…

They were the instigators.

Devil Anse, he really didn’t…

He wasn’t in the major things. If you notice, all the incidents that happen, he wasn’t there. But Uncle Jim and Cap were. So I think they kind of pushed it and Frank Phillips pushed it on the other side. Frank Phillips was the type of man who would kill you for fifty cents bounty. He was a bounty hunter. Back at that time, five dollars was a big bounty. They had a five-hundred-dollar bounty on Grandpa and Johnse’s head back in 1887. Usually like Jesse James and them, theirs didn’t go over one hundred dollars.

Was that in Kentucky?

Uh huh, right.

I’m hoping someone will link all of these historical sites together…

Well, that’s what they’re trying to do out in Pikeville but Logan County is not interested in it. There’s no driving force behind it, more or less. I was reading in the paper where the county commission was talking about taking over the cemetery, but it won’t do no good unless they clean it up and fix it so people can get up there. There’s a lot of people who can’t walk up the hill. And we need a road and a bridge up through there so people can get up there.

I was told the Cap Hatfield cemetery is not supposed to be visited. Is that true?

I don’t know. Neighborhood people go up in there so I really don’t know.

How would you describe his ‘set’ of the family?

They were more private people. They didn’t mix with the public like… Well now, Henry’s father [Tennis] was always in the public so I think it just come naturally for his children to be that way, too.

Interview of Jean Hatfield at Sarah Ann, WV (2001), Part 2

28 Tuesday May 2019

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Civil War, Hatfield-McCoy Feud

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Altina Waller, Appalachia, Asa Harmon McCoy, Betty Caldwell, Bob Hatfield, Bob Spence, Brandon Kirk, Cap Hatfield, Cincinnati, civil war, Coleman Hatfield, crime, Devil Anse Hatfield, Don Chafin, Ellison Hatfield, feud, feuds, Frank Phillips, genealogy, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Henry Hatfield, history, History Channel, hunting, Jack Hatfield, Jean Hatfield, Joe Hatfield, Johnson Hatfield, Levisa Hatfield, Logan Banner, Logan County, logging, Mingo County, Nancy McCoy, Otis Rice, Perry Cline, Preacher Anse Hatfield, Rosa Browning, Roseanne McCoy, Sarah Ann, Tennis Hatfield, The Hatfield and McCoy Feud After Kevin Costner, The McCoys: Their Story, The Tale of the Devil, Thomas Dotson, timbering, tourism, Truda Williams McCoy, West Virginia

In 2001-2002, I wrote a series of popular stories for the Logan Banner that merged aspects of well-known Hatfield-McCoy books written by Otis Rice and Altina Waller in the 1980s. I had previously enjoyed Rice’s narrative and Waller’s analysis; I did not conduct any new research. Even though I believed the definitive Hatfield-McCoy Feud book remained unwritten, my purpose in writing these stories was not a step toward writing a book; my purpose in writing these stories was to revisit the narrative with some analysis for Banner readers. My hope was that readers would see what I saw: first, fascinating history (or folk story) for its own sake; second, the power of history to create a popular type of tourism.

I was fortunate during this time to meet Jean Hatfield. Jean, born in 1936, operated a Hatfield family museum at Sarah Ann, WV. Jean was not a native of West Virginia but had lived her entire adult life locally and had personally known several of Anderson Hatfield’s children. I really appreciated her desire to promote regional history. She “got it.” She inspired me. Anytime that I drove up Route 44, I stopped to visit Jean at the museum. She was always welcoming. Knowing her reminded me that every Hatfield (and McCoy) descendant is a source of information–-and that for the most part they have yet to tell the story in their own words. Three notable exceptions include The McCoys: Their Story by Truda Williams McCoy (1976), The Tale of the Devil (2003) by Coleman Hatfield and Bob Spence, and The Hatfield and McCoy Feud After Kevin Costner: Rescuing History (2013) by Thomas Dotson.

What follows is Part 2 of my interview with Jean, which occurred on August 7, 2001:

What year was your husband born in?

He was born in ‘25. Grandpa died in 1921. He didn’t remember him but he remembered his grandmother. Grandma died in ’28.

Where did Devil Anse’s house sit here?

It’s up above the cemetery. There’s a ranch-style house there now. There’s a concrete bridge going over there. And a big bottom. And where the ranch style house is, that’s where the old homeplace was.

Is it still in family hands?

No. It’s been out of the family for I guess fifty years or more.

Now, Devil Anse having that many kids, do the grand-kids mingle pretty well?

They’re scattered. We really need to get back to the tradition of having a family reunion where they could all come in. But they’re scattered all over the country. Some in Florida, some in Ohio.

Are there other pictures like this that other branches of the family have?

I would say they all have some. There’s always pictures hidden back in attics and things like that. You never know. There’s one… Bob Hatfield from Cincinnati, he has an extensive family also. He’s through Anderson Hatfield. Preacher Anderson.

Do you know any stories about Anse and bear?

He was a bear hunter. And he killed a momma bear and brought the baby cubs home and raised them. They had them for years. A male and a female. Their names was Billy and Fanny. And Grandma would have to go out and run them out of the well house because they was out there slurping all of the cream off of the milk. They were down-to-earth people. They planted their gardens and things like that.

What about Don Chafin?

He was distant relation to the Hatfields. Grandma was a Chafin so he would have come in on her side. Maybe cousins. There’s a picture over there of Grandpa and him together.

The pictures of Johnse that I’ve seen, I don’t think he’s the best looking of the boys.

Well, I don’t either. Some of the pictures doesn’t do him justice either. This is the one that I like of him. It’s a little bit better. As he got older, he didn’t age very well. But then he had about five wives, too. That has a tendency to age you a bit.

If you have just one wife and she’s no good that can be enough.

I was lucky in that respect. We had 47 good years together. Now that top picture there is Joe and Cap and one of the deputies. His name was Lilly.

Devil Anse’s home burned, right? Did they lose a lot of things in it?

Uh huh. It had a lot of things in it. Somebody said Tennis had stored a lot of guns and ammunition and things like that in it. People were afraid to go by there for a week afterwards because the shots was going off. I would say it was something else because at that time there was no fire departments or anything. It probably just burned out.

Did you ever hear what year it was built?

1889. That’s a replica of it there. It was a seven-room two-story. Cap’s was built on the same pattern.

Did your husband read a lot about the feud?

Mostly, but he disagreed with a lot of it. The Altina Waller book, he liked that. It was a good one. They interviewed him on the History Channel. She never interviewed anyone. She went with public record on everything. And I think a lot of it was Perry Cline pushed a lot of it. Grandpa had sued him because he got on Grandpa’s land and timbered it. Grandpa won 5000 acres of land off of him. After that, all the warrants and the bounty hunters started looking for Grandpa and the boys. Grandpa decided all of a sudden that he was just going to sell him the land and get rid of it and when he did that everything just stopped. She thought in the book too that Perry Cline was the one really instigating the Hatfields and the McCoys and he was taking money off both sides of the family for things. He would buddy up to one side and then do something for someone and they’d pay him and then he would go to the other one and do the same thing.

Did you say you had something of his?

No. Frank Phillips. A pocket knife. We got it through one of our friends way back there. And he didn’t want it because he said it was too grisly. And it is rusty but you know the blade is razor sharp. And it has to be way over 100 years old.

Didn’t he marry Nancy McCoy?

She was Johnse’s first wife. She left Johnse for Frank Phillips. Well now, Asa Harmon McCoy was her father. And he was the one… Grandpa wounded him in the Civil War. And when they all come back from the Civil War he was found dead in the Hatfield territory and they blamed the Hatfields for the killing. But I think years later on they found out that one of his own people had killed him and just throwed him in the Hatfield territory. But now it was his daughter that married Johnse and from what I can understand she made Johnse live pretty rough, which he probably deserved for treating Roseanne the way he did. But now, I talked to Aunt Betty and Aunt Rosie both about Roseanne and they were living at the house with her and they loved her. They said she was a beautiful person. She had coal-black hair, she had a good turn. She was just a nice person. And I think they kind of got mad at Johnse because he was running around and chasing women and things like that.

Now, I’ve heard that Devil Anse wouldn’t allow them to be married.

He wouldn’t. But years later he said he wished he had’ve because Roseanne saved Johnse’s life a couple of times there. That is true. And he did say that he wished he had let them marry. But back at that time there was so much hatred going on between the families. Her father, as far as I know, never spoke to her again. Just because she did take up with Johnse.

What about the shirt that Ellison wore when he was stabbed?

As far as I know, it’s in a museum in New Orleans. There’s a picture there. Uncle Joe had it and he sold it to one of his sister’s grandsons and he passed away and his wife has it. I heard that it was on display in a museum. Henry tried to buy it back after his cousin died but we never did get an answer back from them. I would still like to have it back. Actually, it belonged to Henry’s father and he left it in storage at Uncle Joe’s and Uncle Joe sold it. It should have come down to Henry or Jack. But that’s life.

State v. Frank Phillips (1894)

03 Saturday Feb 2018

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Culture of Honor, Hatfield-McCoy Feud

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Appalachia, Frank Phillips, genealogy, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, history, Logan County, Mack France, Noah White, W.R. France, West Virginia

IMG_4161

Logan County Circuit Clerk’s Office, Logan, WV. Accessed 2 February 2018.

IMG_4162

Logan County Circuit Clerk’s Office, Logan, WV.  Accessed 2 February 2018. Note: This event occurred after the Hatfield-McCoy Feud.

Johnson Hatfield (1890-1900)

28 Tuesday Nov 2017

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Culture of Honor, Gilbert, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Matewan, Pikeville

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Alifair McCoy, Appalachia, Beech Creek, Calvin McCoy, Chafinsville, crime, Dan Cunningham, Devil Anse Hatfield, Dollie Hatfield, feud, feuds, Floyd County, Frank Phillips, genealogy, George Hatfield, Gilbert Creek, Greek Milstead, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Henry Clay Ragland, history, Huntington Advertiser, Johnse Hatfield, Johnson Hatfield, Kentucky, Logan County, Logan County Banner, Matewan, Mingo County, murder, Nancy Hatfield, Norfolk and Western Railroad, Oakland Hotel, Pikeville, Portsmouth Blade, Prestonsburg, Southern West Virginian, T.C. Whited, Thomas H. Harvey, true crime, Vanceville, West Virginia

From the Logan County Banner of Logan, WV, and the Huntington Advertiser of Huntington, WV, come the following items relating to Johnson Hatfield:

Johnson Hatfield Notice of Deposition LCB 02.20.1890.JPG

Logan County Banner (Logan, WV), 20 February 1890. Also appeared on 13 March 1890.

***

Johnson Hatfield v. N&W RR LCB 07.30.1891.JPG

Logan County Banner (Logan, WV), 30 July 1891.

***

We are glad to see that Johnson Hatfield, who has been confined to his room for the last ___ weeks, is able to be on the street again.

Source: Logan County Banner (Logan, WV), 2 March 1893.

***

There was an unfortunate difficulty at Matewan on Sunday last in which Mr. Johnson Hatfield was severely wounded through the hand. His son had become involved with an officer which drew his father into the trouble.

Source: Southern West Virginian via the Logan County Banner (Logan, WV), 1 January 1896.

***

Johnson Hatfield, accompanied by his daughter, Miss Dollie, left on Monday last for a visit to friends and relatives in Mingo county.

Source: Logan County Banner (Logan, WV), 23 January 1897.

***

Johnson Hatfield and daughter, Miss Dollie, have returned from a visit to friends on Sandy.

Source: Logan County Banner (Logan, WV), 6 February 1897.

***

Johnson Hatfield, the genial proprietor of the Oakland Hotel, is visiting friends at Pikeville, Kentucky.

Source: Logan County Banner (Logan, WV), 28 August 1897.

***

Johnson Hatfield has returned from a visit to Pikeville, Ky.

Source: Logan County Banner (Logan, WV), 9 October 1897.

***

Johnson Hatfield is at Williamson this week.

Source: Logan County Banner (Logan, WV), 23 October 1897.

***

The many friends of Mrs. Johnson Hatfield will regret to learn of her serious illness. She has a very bad attack of rheumatism.

Logan County Banner (Logan, WV), 13 November 1897.

***

Johnson Hatfield and wife, of Mingo, passed through here [Chafinsville] last Sunday en route for Vanceville, where they will make their future home.

Source: Logan County Banner (Logan, WV), 21 April 1898.

***

HATFIELD KIDNAPPED.

TAKEN TO KENTUCKY ON A SERIOUS CHARGE–NOW IN JAIL.

Johnson Hatfield was arrested yesterday and taken to Pikesville, Kentucky, and lodged in jail on a charge of being an accomplice in the murder of Alifair McCoy on New Years night about nine years ago. This murder was committed during the feud of the Hatfields and McCoys.

Source: Huntington (WV) Advertiser, 20 July 1898.

***

Johns Hatfield Captured LCB 07.21.1898

Logan County Banner (Logan, WV), 21 July 1898.

***

Johnson Hatfield Interview LCB 8.11.1898.JPG

Logan County Banner (Logan, WV), 11 August 1898.

***

Johnson Hatfield LCB 10.20.1898.JPG

Logan County Banner (Logan, WV), 20 October 1898.

***

Johnson Hatfield LCB 1.19.1899.JPG

Logan County Banner (Logan, WV), 19 January 1899.

***

Johnson Hatfield Gets Life HuA 01.21.1899.JPG

Huntington (WV) Advertiser, 21 January 1899.

***

Johnson Hatfield LCB 4.12.00.JPG

Logan County Banner (Logan, WV), 12 April 1900.

NOTE: Not all of these stories may pertain to the Johnson “Johnse” Hatfield of Hatfield-McCoy Feud fame. For instance, items relating to the Oakland Hotel and a daughter named Dollie relate to a Johnson Hatfield (born 1837), son of George and Nancy (Whitt) Hatfield.

Randolph McCoy Home Site (2016)

12 Monday Dec 2016

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Hatfield-McCoy Feud

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Tags

Appalachia, Brandon Kirk, Diggers, feud, feuds, Frank Phillips, George Wyant, Hardy, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, history, Kentucky, National Geographic, Neil Warren, photos, Pike County, Randolph McCoy, Tim Saylor

On December 7, 2016, I visited the Randolph McCoy Home Place in Hardy, Pike County, Kentucky. Neil Warren provided a friendly welcome to the property and offered detailed historical insight into the Hatfield-McCoy Feud. If you are following the Hatfield and McCoy Driving Tour brochure, this is Site 3.

img_6758

Signage leading to the Randolph McCoy Home Site in Hardy, Pike County, KY. Local resident Neil Warren will likely greet you right away and provide much historical information. Mr. Warren is a great host.

img_6763

Here I am standing “inside” of the Randolph McCoy home. This is the location of the infamous New Year’s Day raid in 1888. It was incredibly powerful to visit the location of this tragedy, which I first read about as a high school student over 25 years ago. The awful events that transpired here are what brought the feud to national attention. Photo by Suzy Phillips (descendant of Frank Phillips).

img_6766

Just back of the McCoy home site is this woody slope. I looked up into these trees and imagined Hatfields swarming down upon the McCoy cabin. After surveying the property, my lasting impression of this site was: “I don’t see how Randolph McCoy survived this attack.”

img_6764

This large bottom is located behind Randolph McCoy old home site. “King” George Wyant and Tim “Ringy” Saylor of National Geographic’s “Diggers” TV program have twice visited here. http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/diggers/episodes/hatfields-mccoys/

img_6773

The wooded slope behind the McCoy cabin fascinated me. The McCoy cabin had been extremely close to the slope making it easy to shoot down on Randolph McCoy’s family from above… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vc1AWh40PZ4

img_6777

The Randolph McCoy well. Wonderful to realize that Randolph and his family drank from it. A piece of history.

Johnson Hatfield v. Nancy L. Hatfield (1890)

23 Sunday Oct 2016

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Hatfield-McCoy Feud

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Alexander Varney, Appalachia, Devil Anse Hatfield, Elza Phillips, Frank Phillips, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Henry Clay Ragland, history, John B. Gillespie, Johnson Hatfield, Kentucky, Logan County, Nancy L. Hatfield, Pike County, Pleasants Chafin, T.C. Whited, Thomas H. Harvey, Urias Buskirk, West Virginia

Johnson “Johnse” Hatfield’s relationship with Nancy McCoy represents one of the more interesting components of the Hatfield-McCoy Feud. I recently located Hatfield’s 1890 divorce record, which I transcribed as follows:

DOCUMENT 1

State of West Virginia

County of Logan to wit

In the Circuit Court of said County

The Bill of Complaint of Johnson Hatfield filed in the Circuit Court of Logan County against Nancy L. Hatfield.

To the Hon. Thos. H. Harvey, Judge of the Circuit Court of Logan Co.

Humbly complaining your orator Johnson Hatfield would respectfully ____ unto your Honor that on the 14th day of May 1881 he intermarried with the defendant Nancy L. Hatfield, then Nancy L. McCoy, that he was at all times to her a kind and affectionate husband, that some time in 1888 he was forced to leave his home in Logan County West Virginia, and that shortly thereafter the said defendant abandoned his home and went to the state of Kentucky where she has since that time been living in adultery with Frank Phillips, and ____ other lewd and lascivious _____.

Your orator further represents that he cohabitated with the said defendant for the last time on or about the 8th day of March 1888 in Logan County West Virginia and that they last lived together as husband and wife in said County within five years from the institution of this suit.

Your orator further represents that he be informed and so believes that some time in the month of December 1889, the said defendant was delivered of a child, which was as a ____ of more than twelve months since he had last had any sexual intercourse with her.

Your orator further represents that the adultery complained of was not committed by his consent, connivance or procurement or knowledge. He therefore prays that the bonds of matrimony existing between your orator and the said Defendant be dissolved, and that your orator be restored to his ________ rights, and as is duly bound he will ever pray

Johnson Hatfield, By Counsel

DOCUMENT 2

State of West Virginia

To the Sheriff of Logan County, Greeting:

We command you that you summons Nancy L. Hatfield if she be found in your bailiwick, to appear before the Judge of our Circuit Court for the County of Logan at rules to be held in the Clerk’s Office of said Court on the first Monday in February next, to answer a Bill in Chancery exhibited against her in our said Court by Johnson Hatfield

And have then and there this writ.

Witness: T.C. Whited, Clerk of our said Court at the Court House of said County, on the 1st day of February 1890, and in the 27 year of the State.

T.C. Whited, Clerk

DOCUMENT 3

Order of Publication.

State of West Virginia, Logan County, T0-Wit:

At Rules held in the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of said county on Monday the 3rd day of February 1890

Johnson Hatfield v. Nancy L. Hatfield, In chancery

The object of this suit is to obtain a divorce from the bonds of matrimony. This day came the plaintiff by his Attorney and on his motion it appearing from an affidavit filed with the papers of this suit that the defendant is a non-resident of this State, it is therefore ordered that she appear here within one month from the first publication of this order and do what is necessary to protect her interest herein.

Teste: T.C. Whited, Clerk

H.C. Ragland, Sol.

DOCUMENT 4

I, U.B. Buskirk, one of the Publishers of the Logan County Banner, a newspaper published in Logan County, West Virginia, do hereby certify that the annexed notice was duly published in said paper for 4 successive weeks, ending on the 27 day of February 1890.

Given under my hand this 28th day of February 1890

U.B. Buskirk

Printer’s fees: $6.00

DOCUMENT 5

State of West Virginia

Logan County to wit:

Johnson Hatfield the plaintiff whose name is signed to the forgoing bill being first duly sworn upon oath says that the facts and allegations contained in the forgoing bill are true except so far as the same are ______ stated to be upon information and that so far as the same are stated to be upon information he believes ___ to be true.

Johnson Hatfield

Taken, __________ and sworn to before me this 10th day of March 1890.

T.C. Whited, Clerk

DOCUMENT 6

Notice to Take Deposition

To Nancy L. Hatfield. You will take notice that on the 10 day of October, 1890, between the hours of 8 o’clock A.M. and 6 o’clock P.M., at the house of Anderson Hatfield, in Logan County, West Virginia, I will proceed to take the deposition of myself and others to be read as evidence in behalf of myself in a certain suit in chancery now pending in the Circuit Court of Logan County wherein you are Defendant and I am plaintiff and if from any cause the taking of the said deposition be not commenced on that day, or if commenced and not completed on that day, the taking of the same will be adjourned and continued from day to day or from time to time, at the same place, and between the same hours, until completed.

Respectfully, &c., Johnson Hatfield

DOCUMENT 7

The depositions of Johnson Hatfield and others taken before Pleasants Chafins a notary in and for the county of Logan and State of West Virginia  at the house of Anderson Hatfield on Friday October 10 in 1890, to be taken and consider as evidence in a certain chancery cause pending in the Circuit Court of said county wherein Johnson Hatfield is a plaintiff and Nancy L. Hatfield is a defendant.

Present Johnson Hatfield in person and by counsel , no appearance for the defendant.

Johnson Hatfield a witness of lawful age after being first duly sworn deposes in answer _____ as follows:

Q. What is your name, age, and where do you reside?

A.  Johnson Hatfield. I am 28 years old past. I was born and raised in this county.

Q. What relation do you have to this suit?

A. I am plaintiff.

Q. When were you and the defendant Nancy L. Hatfield married?

A. It was on the 14th day of May 1881.

Q. How did you treat her during the time that you and she lived together as man and wife?

A. .I always kept her plenty of everything she wanted and was always good and kind to her.

Q. State about when it was that you and your wife separated.

A. It was on the 18 of March 1888.

Q. Have you lived with her since that time or had sexual intercourse with her?

A. No, sir.

And the next came Alex Varney, witness of lawful age being by me duly sworn, deposed and say as follows:

Q. State your name, age, and residents.

A. Alexander Varney, Age 56 years. Residents Logan County, West Va.

Q. State wither or not you are acquainted with the partys in this suit.

A. I am.

Q. State whether or not you know anything about the defendant Nancy L. Hatfield living in adultery with Frank Phillips or anyone else since her separation from the plaintiff.

A. I saw her in Pike Co. Kentucky on the 13 day of September 1890. She was staying at the house of frank filips and she told me that she was living with him. She showed me her baby and told me that frank filips was its father.

Q. How old do you suppose that the child was.

A. She told me that the child was 9 month and 4 days old and I suppose it was about that old as it was still sucking.

[Deposition of John B. Gillespie]

Q. State whether or not you know anything about the defendant Nancy L. Hatfield living in adultery with any person.

A. I was at a house in Pike County  Ky. Frank Phillips and Nancy L. Hatfield were there. They called it their home.

Q. State whether or not it was the general impression throughout the community that they were living together as man and wife.

A. No, sir. Not as man and wife. It was that they were living together in adultery.

And further this _________ saith not.

John B. Gillespie

[Deposition of Johnson Hatfield]

_______ ________ __________ recalls and deposes as follows:

Q. State whether or not the acts of adultery committed by your late wife Nancy L. Hatfield with one Frank Phillips ______ in the two foregoing depositions were committed by or with your consent, knowledge, __________, or __________.

A. They were not.

And further this _________ saith not.

Johnson Hatfield, Jr.

State of West Virginia

Logan County, to wit:

I, Pleasants Chafins a notary in and for the county and state aforesaid do certify that the foregoing depositions were duly taken, sworn to, and subscribed in my presence at the time and place _____ in the notice here to _____.

Pleasant Chafin, a notary for Logan Co., W.Va.

Notary’s Fee

2 hrs work as notary     $1.50

DOCUMENT 8

Johnson Hatfield v. Nancy Hatfield, In chancery

This day this cause in which the defendant is prosecuted against as a nonresident and it appearing that the order of publication has been duly published and posted as required by law, came on to be heard upon the plaintiff’s bill and the depositions there with filed in support thereof together with the argument of counsel for plaintiff and the same being considered and inspected by the court the court is of the opinion that the plaintiff is entitled to the relief therein prayed for, whereupon it is adjudged, ______, and decreed that the said plaintiff Johnson Hatfield be and he is hereby divorced absolutely from the defendant the said Nancy L. Hatfield and that the bonds of matrimony now existing between himself and the said defendant be dissolved and the said plaintiff Johnson Hatfield be and he is hereby restored to all the rights, privileges and immunities of an unmarried man. And this cause having performed its object, the same is ordered to be stricken from the docket and it appearing that this order was made at the October 1890 term of this Court, and by _________ not entered, it is ordered that the same be entered now as for ____.

Source: Logan County Circuit Clerk’s Office, Logan County, WV, Case No. 33, File No. 35

State v. Frank Phillips and others (1888)

04 Tuesday Aug 2015

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Big Sandy Valley, Hatfield-McCoy Feud

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Appalachia, Bud McCoy, crime, David Straton, feuds, Frank Phillips, genealogy, George McCoy, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, history, James McCoy, Jasper McCoy, John B. Dotson, John Norman, Joseph F. Smith, Lark McCoy, Logan County, Samuel King, Samuel McCoy, West Virginia, William Saunders

IMG_5476

State v. Frank Phillips, Bud McCoy, Jasper McCoy, Lark McCoy, James McCoy, Samuel McCoy (son of Randall), Samuel McCoy (son of Samuel), Samuel King, David Straton, John Norman, William Saunders, Joseph F. Smith, John B. Dotson, and George McCoy (5 April 1888), Law Orders Book E, 1887-1890 (p. 107), Logan County Clerk’s Office, Logan, WV.

Suzy Phillips (2015)

22 Monday Jun 2015

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Big Sandy Valley, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Women's History

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Appalachia, Big Sandy Valley, Brandon Kirk, Frank Phillips, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, history, Kentucky, Matewan, Matewan Depot, Mingo County, photos, Pike County, Suzy Phillips, Tug Fork, U.S. South, West Virginia

When I visit the Tug River section, Suzy Phillips is often my guide and partner. She is a descendant of Frank Phillips, who gained fame during the Hatfield-McCoy Feud. She loves history. 20 June 2013

Frank Phillips is shot and killed (1894)

22 Wednesday Apr 2015

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Hatfield-McCoy Feud

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Tags

Appalachia, crime, detective, Frank Phillips, genealogy, history, Logan County Banner, Shang Ferrell, Tennessee, U.S. South, West Virginia, Will Bevins, William Cole

Frank Phillips story LCB 4.19.1894

Source: Logan County (WV) Banner, 19 April 1894

“Rebel Bill” Smith and Frank Phillips (1890)

13 Friday Mar 2015

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Culture of Honor, Hatfield-McCoy Feud

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Appalachia, Bill Smith, Catlettsburg, Enquirer, Frank Phillips, genealogy, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, history, Johns Creek, Kentucky, Logan, Logan County Banner, Pike County, Rebel Bill Smith, U.S. South, West Virginia

Bill Smith kills Frank Phillips LCB 05.01.1890

Logan County (WV) Banner, 1 May 1890

Frank Phillips is Given Up to Die (1895)

16 Wednesday Jul 2014

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Big Sandy Valley, Culture of Honor, Hatfield-McCoy Feud

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Tags

Appalachia, Big Sandy River, blood poisoning, crime, Frank Phillips, genealogy, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, history, Huntington Advertiser, Kentucky, Mingo County, Pike County, Sheriff Keadle, U.S. South, West Virginia, Williamson

Frank Phillips HA 09.28.1895

“His Last Fight: Frank Phillips is Given Up to Die,” Huntington (WV) Advertiser, 28 September 1895

Frank Phillips death 1898

03 Tuesday Jun 2014

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Big Sandy Valley, Culture of Honor, Hatfield-McCoy Feud

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Appalachia, crime, Frank Phillips, genealogy, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, history, Kentucky, Knox Creek, Logan County Banner, Pike County, U.S. South

Frank Phillips LCB 7.14.1898

Frank Phillips death, Logan County (WV) Banner, Thursday, July 14, 1898

Feud Poll 1

If you had lived in the Harts Creek community during the 1880s, to which faction of feudists might you have given your loyalty?

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Who do you think organized the ambush of Al and Hollene Brumfield in 1889?

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