18 Thursday Feb 2021
Posted in Big Sandy Valley, Hatfield-McCoy Feud
Tags
Amos Acord, Appalachia, Bill Staton, county clerk, crime, feuds, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, history, John Chafin, Logan County, Mingo County, murder, Sam McCoy, true crime, West Virginia
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: On January 30, 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.]
16 Tuesday Feb 2021
Posted in Big Sandy Valley, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Matewan
Tags
Appalachia, Double Camp Branch, Ellison Hatfield, Ephraim Hatfield, genealogy, H.R. Phillips, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, history, Logan County, Magnolia District, Mates Creek, Mingo County, West Virginia
The following land information is derived from Land Book 1880-1886, Land Book 1887-1892, and Land Book 1893-1899 at the Logan County Clerk’s Office in Logan, WV:
Ellison Hatfield
No property listed in 1865-1879.
1880: Magnolia District
50 acres Double Camp Fork, Ben Creek $0.25 per acre no building $12.50
300 acres Mates Creek $0.25 per acre no building $75 total
[Note: The 300-acre tract was transferred from Ephraim Hatfield.]
1881: Magnolia District
50 acres Double Camp Fork Mates Creek $0.25 per acre no building $12 total
276 acres Mates Creek $0.25 per acre no building $69 total
[Note: The reduction of the 300-acre tract is unexplained.]
1882: Magnolia District
The Hatfield page is missing.
1883: Magnolia District
No records are listed for this year.
1884: Magnolia District
50 acres Double Camp Br. Mates Creek $2.50 per acre $25 building $125 total
276 acres Double Camp Br. Mates Creek $1 per acre no building $276 total
20 acres Double Camp Mates Creek $1 per acre no building $20 total
[Note: The 50-acre and 276-acre tract is listed in the name of “Ellison Hatfield’s Heirs”. The 20-acre tract is listed in the name of Ellison Hatfield.]
1885: Magnolia District
50 acres Double Camp Branch, Mates Creek $2.50 per acre $25 building $125 total
276 acres Double Camp Branch, Mates Creek $1 per acre no building $276 total
50 acres Double Camp Branch, Mates Creek $2.50 per acre $30 building $125 total
1886: Magnolia District
50 acres Mates Creek $2.50 per acre no building $56 total
20 acres Mates Creek $1 per acre no building $130 total
1887-1889: Magnolia District
Ellison Hatfield
50 acres Mates Creek $2.50 per acre $30 building $125 total
20 acres Mates Creek $1 per acre no building $20 total
Ellison Hatfield’s Heirs
50 acres Double Camp, Mates Creek $2.50 per acre $25 building $125 total
276 acres Double Camp, Mates Creek $1 per acre no building $276 total
20 acres Double Camp, Mates Creek $1 per acre no building $20 total
[Note: In 1887, the latter three tracts are noted as “one yr back tax & interest.” In 1888, the latter three tracts are noted as “sold to Okeefe for tax.” In 1889, the latter three tracts are restored to Ellison Hatfield’s heirs.]
1890-1891: Magnolia District
Ellison Hatfield
50 acres Mates Creek $2.50 per acre $30 building $125 total
20 acres Mates Creek $1 per acre no building $20 total
Ellison Hatfield’s Heirs
50 acres Double Camp, Mates Creek $2.50 per acre $25 building $125 total
276 acres Double Camp, Mates Creek $1 per acre no building $276 total
28 acres Double Camp, Mates Creek $1 per acre no building $28 total
1892: Magnolia District
Ellison Hatfield
50 acres Mates Creek $2.50 per acre $25 building $125 total
20 acres Mates Creek $2 per acre $40 building $175 total
Ellison Hatfield’s Heirs
50 acres Double Camp, Mates Creek $3.50 per acre $30 building $175 total
276 acres Double Camp, Mates Creek $3.50 per acre no building $966 total
28 acres Double Camp, Mates Creek $3.50 per acre no building $98 total
1893: Magnolia District
Ellison Hatfield
50 acres Mates Creek $2.50 per acre $30 building $125 total
20 acres Mates Creek $2 per acre no building $40 total
[In 1893, Ellison Hatfield’s heirs by commissioner transferred 250 acres on Mates Creek worth $3.50 per acre and total value of $875 to H.R. Phillips, trustee.]
15 Monday Feb 2021
Posted in Big Sandy Valley, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Matewan
Tags
Appalachia, Ephraim Hatfield, genealogy, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, history, Logan County, Magnolia District, Marks Branch, Mates Creek, Mingo County, Nancy Hatfield, Patterson Hatfield, Smith Hatfield, West Virginia
The following land information is derived from Land Book 1873-1874, Land Book 1880-1886, and Land Book 1893-1899 at the Logan County Clerk’s Office in Logan, WV:
Smith and Patterson Hatfield
No property listed in 1865-1877.
1878: Magnolia District
Smith and Patterson Hatfield
100 acres Mates Creek $4 per acre $25 building $400 total
[Note: This tract was transferred from Ephraim Hatfield in 1878.]
Smith Hatfield
25 acres Marks Branch, Mates Creek $0.20 per acre no building $5 total
1879: Magnolia District
No records for this year.
1880-1881: Magnolia District
Smith and Patterson Hatfield
100 acres Mates Creek $4 per acre $25 building $400 total
Smith Hatfield
25 acres Marks Branch, Mates Creek $0.20 per acre no building $5 total
[Note: In the 1880 census, widowed Nancy Hatfield lived with her son, Patterson.]
1882: Magnolia District
The Hatfield page is missing.
1883: Magnolia District
The page is mostly blank but does list:
Smith Hatfield 25 acres M__ Br of Mates Creek $2.50 per acre [rest is blank]
1884-1885: Magnolia District
Smith and Patterson Hatfield
100 acres Mates Creek $3 per acre $35 building $300 total
Smith Hatfield
25 acres Marks Br. of Mates Creek $2.50 per acre no building $62.50 total
1886: Magnolia District
Smith and Patterson Hatfield
100 acres Mates Creek $3 per acre no building $230 total
Smith Hatfield
25 acres Mack Branch, Mates Creek $2.50 per acre [blank]
1887-1888: Magnolia District
Smith and Patterson Hatfield
100 acres Mates Creek $3 per acre $35 building $300 total
Smith Hatfield
25 acres Marks Branch, Mates Creek $2.50 per acre no building $62.50 total
1889: Magnolia District
Smith Hatfield
25 acres Mark Branch, Mate Creek $2.50 per acre no building $65 total
Pat Hatfield
50 acres Mates Creek $3 per acre $35 building $150 total
1890: Magnolia District
Smith Hatfield
25 acres Mate Creek $2.50 per acre no building $65 total
50 acres Mate Creek $3 per acre $35 building $150 total
Patterson Hatfield
50 acres Mate Creek $3 per acre $30 building $150 total
1891-1892: Magnolia District
Smith Hatfield
25 acres Mate Creek $2.50 per acre no building $62.50 total
50 acres Mate Creek $3 per acre $35 building $150 total
Patterson Hatfield
50 acres Mate Creek $3 per acre $30 building $150 total
1893-1894: Magnolia District
Smith Hatfield
25 acres Mate Creek $2.50 per acre no building $62.50 total
50 acres Mate Creek $3 per acre $40 building $150 total
Patterson Hatfield
50 acres Mate Creek $2.50 per acre $40 building $125 total
13 Saturday Feb 2021
Posted in Big Sandy Valley, Hatfield-McCoy Feud
Tags
Appalachia, Beech Creek, Big Sandy River, Doc Mahon, Double Camp Branch, Ephraim Hatfield, genealogy, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, history, J.D. Sergeant, Jane Hatfield, Logan County, Magnolia District, Mingo County, Philadelphia, Valentine Wall Hatfield, West Virginia
The following land information is derived from Land Book 1873-1874, Land Book 1880-1886, Land Book 1887-1892, and Land Book 1893-1899 at the Logan County Clerk’s Office in Logan, WV:
Valentine Hatfield
No property listed in 1865-1873.
1874: Magnolia District
84 acres Beech Creek, Sandy River $5.25 per acre no building $441 total
144 acres Double Camp Branch, Beech $0.10 per acre no building $14.40 total
[Note: Regarding the latter tract, the book reads “entered on Books and corrected.”]
1875: Magnolia District
84 acres Beech Creek, Sandy River $5.25 per acre no building $441 total
144 acres Double Camp Branch, Beech $0.25 per acre no building $36 total
1876: Magnolia District
84 acres Beech Creek, Sandy River $5.25 per acre no building $441 total
144 acres Double Camp Branch, Beech $0.10 per acre no building $14.40 total
1877: Magnolia District
The record is blank.
1878: Magnolia District
48 acres Beech Creek $5.25 per acre no building $141 total
144 acres Double Camp Branch, Beech Creek $0.25 per acre no building $36 total
1879: Magnolia District
No records for this year.
1880-1881: Magnolia District
84 acres Beech Creek $5.25 per acre no building $441 total
144 acres Double Camp and Mates Creek $0.25 per acre no building $36 total
1882: Magnolia District
The Hatfield page is missing
1883: Magnolia District
The record is blank for this year.
1884-1885: Magnolia District
84 acres Beech Creek, Sandy River $5 per acre $50 building $420 total
144 acres Double Camp, Sandy River $1 per acre no building $144 total
1886: Magnolia District
84 acres Beech Creek, Sandy River $5 per acre $15 building $125 total
114 acres Double Camp, Sandy River $1 per acre $75 building $280 total
1887: Magnolia District
84 acres Beech Creek $5 per acre $50 building $420 total
144 acres Double Camp, Mates Creek $1 per acre no building $144 total
1888: Magnolia District
44 acres Beech Creek $5 per acre $50 building $220 total
144 acres Beech Creek $1 per acre no building $144 total
[Note: In this year, Wall Hatfield transferred 40 acres of the 84-acre tract to Doc Mahon.]
1889: Magnolia District
No property listed.
[In 1889, he transferred 89 acres on Beech Creek worth $1 per acre and total value of $89 to Ephraim Hatfield. Also, transferred with others 126 acres on Beech Creek worth $1 per acre and total value of $126 to J.D. Sergeant of Philadelphia.]
1890: Magnolia District
No property listed.
[Note: Wall Hatfield died on February 13, 1890 at Frankfort, KY.]
1891: Magnolia District
Jane Hatfield
84 acres, Beech Creek, $2 per acre, no building, $168 total
[Note: “Entered with 1 yr B tax.”]
1892-1893: Magnolia District
Jane Hatfield
84 acres, Beech Creek, $2.50 per acre, $40 building, $210 total
12 Friday Feb 2021
Posted in Big Sandy Valley, Guyandotte River, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Logan, Matewan
Tags
Appalachia, Big Island, Big Sandy River, E.K. Counts, Elias Hatfield, genealogy, George W. Duty, Hardee District, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, history, Logan County, Logan County Banner, Logan District, Magnolia District, Magnolia Township, Mates Creek, Mingo County, Oliver Perry, Warren Alderson, West Virginia
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 at the Logan County Clerk’s Office in Logan, WV:
Elias Hatfield
No property listed in 1865-1868.
1869-1870: Magnolia Township
100 acres Mates Creek $4.00 per acre no building $400 total from E.K. Counts
30 acres Mates Creek $10 per acre no building $300 total from E.K. Counts
50 acres Mates Creek $20 per acre no building $1000 total from E.K. Counts
1871: Magnolia Township
100 acres Mates Creek $3.00 per acre $50 building $300 total
30 acres Mates Creek $3.00 per acre no building $90 total
50 acres Mates Creek $3.00 per acre no building $150 total
1872: Magnolia Township
100 acres Mates Creek $3.00 per acre $50 building $300 total
30 acres Mates Creek $3.00 per acre no building $90 total
50 acres Mates Creek $3.00 per acre no building $150 total
50 acres Mates Creek $3.00 per acre no building $150 total
350 acres Mates Creek $0.25 per acre no building $87.50 total from W. Alderson (assessor)
1873: Magnolia District
100 acres Mates Creek $3.00 per acre no building $300 total
30 acres Mates Creek $3.00 per acre no building $40 total
50 acres Mates Creek $3 per acre no building $150 total
400 acres Two Tracts Mates Creek $1 per acre no building $400 total
50 acres Mates Creek $3 per acre no building $150 total
350 acres Mates Creek $0.25 per acre no building $87.50 total
1874: Magnolia District
100 acres Mates Creek $3.00 per acre $50 building $300 total
50 acres Mates Creek $3 per acre no building $150 total
30 acres Mates Creek $3.00 per acre no building $40 total
400 acres Two Tracts Mates Creek $1 per acre no building $400 total
50 acres Mates Creek $3 per acre no building $150 total
350 acres Mates Creek $0.25 per acre no building $87.50 total
1875-1876: Magnolia District
100 acres Mates Creek $3.00 per acre $50 building $300 total
50 acres Mates Creek $3 per acre no building $150 total
30 acres Mates Creek $3.00 per acre no building $40 total
400 acres Two Tracts Mates Creek $1 per acre no building $400 total
50 acres Mates Creek $3 per acre no building $150 total
[Note: In 1875, Elias transferred his 350-acre tract but records do not identify the recipient.]
1877: Magnolia District
Records are blank for this district.
1878: Magnolia District
100 acres Mates Creek $3 per acre $50 building $300 total
30 acres Mates Creek $3 per acre $90 building $90 total
400 acres 2 Tracts, Mates Creek $0.25 per acre no building $100 total
50 acres Mates Creek $2 per acre no building $100 total
[Note: Records for this year spelled his name as Allias Hatfield.]
1879: Magnolia District
Records are missing for this year
1880: Magnolia District
100 acres Mates Creek $3 per acre $50 building $300 total
30 acres Mates Creek $3 per acre $90 building $90 total
400 acres 2 Tracts, Mates Creek $0.25 per acre no building $100 total
50 acres Mates Creek $2 per acre no building $100 total
1881: Magnolia District
100 acres Mates Creek $3 per acre no building $300 total
30 acres Mates Creek $3 per acre no building $90 total
400 acres 2 Tracts, Mates Creek $0.25 per acre no building $100 total
50 acres Mates Creek $2 per acre no building $100 total
[Note: The 100-acre tract was noted with this: “yrs from G.W. Duty.” The 30 acre tract was noted as “change to Hardee Dist on Book 1882.”]
1882: Magnolia District
The Hatfield page is missing.
1883: Magnolia District
The record is blank for this district
1884: Magnolia District
100 acres Mates Creek $3 per acre $50 building $300 total
30 acres Mates Creek $4 per acre $30 building $120 total
400 acres 2 Tracts, Mates Creek $1 per acre no building $400 total
50 acres Mates Creek $3 per acre no building $150 total
1885: Magnolia District
100 acres Mates Creek $3 per acre $50 building $300 total
30 acres Mates Creek $4 per acre $30 building $120 total
400 acres 2 Tracts, Mates Creek $1 per acre no building $400 total
50 acres Mates Creek $3 per acre no building $150 total
749 acres Mates Creek $1 per acre no building $749
322 acres Mates Creek $1 per acre no building $322 total
[In 1885, he acquired the 749-acre tract from a commissioner. No indication is given about the source of the 322 acres.]
1886: Magnolia District
100 acres Mates Creek $3 per acre [blank]
30 acres Mates Creek $4 per acre [blank]
50 acres Mates Creek $3 per acre [blank]
1471 acres 4 Tracts Mates Creek $1 per acre [blank]
600 acres Sandy River $1.90 per acre no building $56 total
1887: Magnolia District
100 acres Mates Creek $3 per acre $50 building $300 total
30 acres Mates Creek $4 per acre $30 building $120 total
50 acres Mates Creek $3 per acre no building $150 total
1471 acres 4 Tracts, Mates Creek $1 per acre no building $1471 total
600 acres Sandy River $1.90 per acre $40 building $1140 total
1888: Magnolia District
600 acres Sandy River $1.90 per acre $40 building $1140 total
1889-1891: Magnolia District
600 acres Sandy River $1.90 per acre $40 building $1140 total
1889-1891: Logan District
30 acres Big Island $20 per acre no building $600 total
13 acres Big Island and Washed Part $1 per acre no building $13 total
[Note: The 30-acre tract was acquired from Oliver Perry. No indication of the source for the 13 acres. According to the 21 March 1889 issue of the Logan County Banner: “On the 18th inst., Elias Hatfield, purchased of Oliver Perry, the property known as the ‘Big Island’ near this place.”]
1892-1894: Magnolia District
400 acres Sandy River $5 per acre $50 building $2000 total
1892-1894: Logan District
25 acres Big Island Guyandotte River $20 per acre no building $500 total
18 acres Big Island Guyandotte River $1 per acre no building $18 total
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.
11 Thursday Feb 2021
Posted in Big Sandy Valley, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Matewan
Tags
Appalachia, Big Sandy River, Elias Hatfield, Ephraim Hatfield, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, history, John Smith, Logan County, Mates Creek, Mingo County, Mitchell Branch, Valentine Wall Hatfield, W.A. Dingess, West Virginia
05 Friday Feb 2021
Posted in Coal, Huntington, Logan, Williamson
Tags
Appalachia, Charleston, coal, Herald-Dispatch, history, Huntington, John L. Lewis, John Mitchell, Kanawha Field, labor, Logan, Logan County, Mingo County, New River Field, Ohio, Portsmouth, Samuel Gompers, United Mine Workers of America, West Virginia, Williamson
From the Logan Banner of Logan, WV, comes this editorial regarding a visit to the region by UMWA officials in 1925. The story is dated September 4, 1925.
A STATEMENT OF INDISPUTABLE FACTS
The Sunday issue of the Huntington Herald-Dispatch contained a most interesting editorial which told the unvarnished truth about the recent visit the officials of the United Mine Workers to the Logan and Williamson coal fields. The editorial follows.
Disappointed Visitors
Within the past three days officials of the United Mine Workers of America have visited Logan and Williamson and some of the mining operations near these prosperous West Virginia cities. Up to the hour of this writing the visitors have made no statement either as to the purpose of their visit or the impressions they have gained from the conditions encountered.
It may be taken for granted, however, that the gentlemen representing the United Mine Workers are not highly pleased. They did not find in the miners of the Logan and Williamson fields the “serfs” and downtrodden creatures professional agitators have described. They did not find beleaguered camps of concentrados crying out for release through the medium of membership in the U.M.W. They did not find gunmen and desperadoes awaiting them at the train to turn them back with broken heads and verbal abuses. The absence of these things were disappointing.
But for the purpose of the U.M.W. the things these visitors did find were even more disappointing. They found for example miners who earn more dollars per year than any others in the bituminous fields in the world. They found more miners living in better houses than are to be found in any of the mining camps of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana or Illinois. They found miners and their wives and children better fed, better clothed and with better living conditions surrounding them than any others in the United States.
They found in Logan and Williamson fields men who are content and who are unwilling to leave steady employment, good wages, and good homes with all the comforts of life, to take up a miserable existence in the tents of professional strikers there to subject their wives and children to unwanted hardships and deprivations.
In short, they were not welcomed as needed deliverers. The miners in these fields know that it is not the purpose of these gentlemen to bring about a betterment of the conditions under which they live, but to create a condition which will cause coal production to cease. Organization is a fine thing and should be encouraged when it is for the good of the organized. But the proposal of the United Mine Workers, as it affects these miners and the business and labor interests of this section in general, is sinister and destructive. The unionization at this time of any considerable part of the Williamson and Logan fields would mean a strike. A strike, if effective, would paralyze business in all of Logan county, and in Huntington the result would be almost disastrous. An effective strike in these fields would paralyze Huntington’s wholesale and jobbing business. It would close many of the factories and worst of all would almost immediately result in unemployment for hundreds of railway shop workers and scores of train crews all the way from Charleston to Portsmouth with the brunt of the blow falling upon Huntington.
The United Mine Workers is no longer the helpful, constructive organization it was twenty years ago. Its ranks have been decimated and its policies have been so radical and unreasonable in many cases as to bring it into disrepute with the public, including the legitimate labor organizations whose members are ruled by reason. In West Virginia dues paying members have dwindled to almost the vanishing point. In strikes, fomented in an effort to destroy West Virginia coal in the interest of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois mines and the mine workers in those states, West Virginia has cost the U.M.W. millions and the officials now face the impending anthracite strike with a sadly depleted treasury.
The desperate plight of Mr. Lewis, his organizers, and well paid cabinet naturally produces its own results. The strike in northern West Virginia has had no effect other than to keep some thousands of men out of employment and deprive thousands of women and children of the comforts the pay envelope would provide. The mining of coal in the Kanawha and New River fields the Miners Union has, to use a baseball term, “struck out.” Attempts to force upon the operators a wage scale which prohibited the mining and marketing of coal at a price less than a ruinous loss have resulted in strike after strike in those fields until the union is but a band of disorganized stragglers whose representatives, when they bolted the State Federation of Labor convention in this city two weeks ago, went away unwept and were not urged to return.
If the miners of this district had any prospect, even remote, of gaining anything by organization, no self-respecting man could afford to oppose or discourage the movement. But the weight is all on the other side. If they needed the union, public sentiment would see that they got it. We are living like that today. But since they do not need it, since the movement is directed against their welfare and against the thousands of legitimate unionists and all business and all industry in this great tri-state area, the organization effort, if it is being seriously contemplated–which we very greatly doubt–has no appeal either to the miners or to public sentiment.
The Logan and Williamson miners do not want to exchange the well filled pay envelope for the miserable weekly doe from the U.M.W. treasury. They do not want to trade their comfortable, well furnished and well lighted homes for leaky tents with tallow candles. They do not want to take their families from places and stations of comfort and respectability to sloth and degradation.
Organization means strike. Strike means starvation and, if the bloody history of Mingo’s experience with the United Mine Workers is to be repeated, bloodshed, terror, and bold assassination. Mr. Lewis, by a blind and unreasoning insistence upon the impossible Jacksonville agreement, has gotten himself into a dilemma of the most embarrassing kind. He is at end of his tether. The treasury is low. The organization is in a state of decay, with miners every day discovering they are better off without it than with it.
If, instead of uttering strike threats; if, instead of trying to enforce a wage scale which is a grotesque economic absurdity and rank impossibility; if, instead of leading the miners into hardship and strike, he would lead them in the ways of peace by consenting to wage adjustments in keeping with the state of the coal market, the organization might regain public confidence, recover its vitality, and reclaim its usefulness. And Mr. Lewis himself, instead of facing the imminent danger of becoming a discredited industrial adventurer, would be acclaimed a leader, as was John Mitchell, and as was Samuel Gompers.
02 Tuesday Feb 2021
Posted in Big Sandy Valley, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Matewan
Tags
Appalachia, Beech Creek, Big Sandy River, Double Camp Branch, Ephraim Hatfield, genealogy, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, history, Lewis Ferrell, Logan County, Magnolia District, Magnolia Township, Mates Creek, Meador Branch, Mingo County, Murphys Branch, Nancy Varney, Patterson Hatfield, Smith Hatfield, Straight Fork, Valentine Wall Hatfield, West Virginia
The following land information is derived from Land Book 1866-1872, Land Book 1873-1874, Land Book 1880-1886, and Land Book 1887-1892 at the Logan County Clerk’s Office in Logan, WV:
Ephraim Hatfield
1865-1867: Magnolia Township
70 acres Murphys Branch, Mate Creek $0.50 per acre no building $35 total
125 acres Meadors Branch, Mate Creek $0.50 per acre no building $62.50 total
115 acres Mate Creek $6.00 $200 building $690 total
45 acres Double Camp $2.00 no building $90 total
20 acres South Side, Mate Creek [added in 1871, five years back tax]
24 acres Straight Fork $3.00 per acre no building $72 total
84 acres Beech Creek $5.00 per acre no building $420 total
1868: Magnolia Township
The book contains no entries for Magnolia Township)
1869-1872: Magnolia Township
70 acres John Murpheys Branch, Mate Creek $0.52 per acre no building $36.75 total
[125-acre tract was gone by 1869, bestowed to Nancy Varney, who had 125 acres on “Meadow” Branch worth $0.52 1/2 in 1869]
115 acres Mate Creek $6.30 per acre $200 building $724.50 total
45 acres Double Camp $2.10 per acre no building $94.50 total
20 acres South Side, Mate Creek $0.52 1/2 per acre no building $10.50 total
24 acres Straight Fork $3.15 per acre no building $75.60 total
84 acres Beech Creek $5.25 per acre no building $441 total
1873: Magnolia District
70 acres John Murpheys Branch, Mate Creek $0.52 per acre no building $36.75 total
[Note: The above building was likely noted in error.]
113 acres Mate Creek $6.30 per acre $200 building $724.50 total
[Note: The 115-acre tract is likely noted as 113 acres in error.]
45 acres Double Camp $2.10 per acre no building $94.50 total
20 acres South Side, Mate Creek $0.52 1/2 per acre no building $10.50 total
24 acres Straight Fork $3.15 per acre no building $75.60 total
84 acres Beech Creek $5.25 per acre no building $441 total
1874: Magnolia District
115 acres Mates Creek $6.30 per acre $200 building $724.50 total
45 acres Double Camp $2.10 per acre no building $94.50 total
20 acres S Side Mate Creek $0.52 per acre 1/2 no building $10.50 total
24 acres Trough? Fork $0.15? per acre no building $75.60 total
[Note: He transferred the 84-acre tract to Valentine Hatfield]
1875: Magnolia District
115 acres Mates Creek $4.00 per acre $45 building $460 total
45 acres Double Camp of Mates Creek $0.25 per acre no building $11.25 total
20 acres Double Camp $0.25 per acre no building $5.00 total
24 acres Strat Fork $0.25 per acre no building $6.00 total
1876: Magnolia District
115 acres Mate Creek $0.25 per acre no building $11.25 total
45 acres Double Camp Mates Creek $0.25 per acre no building $5.00 total
20 acres Double Camp Mates Creek $0.25 per acre no building $6.00 total
24 acres Straight Fork $0.25 per acre no building $18.75 total
1877: Magnolia District
Records are missing for this year.
1878: Magnolia District
15 acres Mates Creek $4.00 per acre $25 building $60 total
20 acres Double Camp Branch Mate Creek $0.25 per acre no building $5.00 total
24 acres Strate Fork Mate Creek $0.25 per acre no building $6.00 total
368 acres Mates Creek $0.10 per acre no building $36.80 total
[Note: In 1878, Ephraim transferred one tract of 100 acres on Mate Creek worth four dollars per acre containing a $25 building with a total worth of $400 to Smith and Patterson Hatfield. He also transferred one tract of 50 acres on Nashes Buck? Hollow Double Camp worth twenty-five cents per acre with no building and total worth of $12.50 to Floyd Hatfield.]
1879: Magnolia District
Records are missing for this year.
1880: Magnolia District
15 acres Mates Creek $4.00 per acre $25 building $60 total
20 acres Double Camp Branch Mate Creek $0.25 per acre no building $5.00 total
24 acres Strate Fork Mate Creek $0.25 per acre no building $6.00 total
68 acres Mates Creek $0.10 per acre no building $36.80 total
[Note: In 1880, Ephraim transferred 300 acres from the 368-acre tract to Ellison Hatfield. Note also that he died before the 1880 census.]
1881: Magnolia District
15 acres Mates Creek $4.00 per acre $25 building $375.00? total
20 acres Double Camp Branch Mate Creek $0.25 per acre no building $99.00 total
24 acres Strate Fork Mate Creek $0.25 per acre no building $200.00
68 acres Mates Creek $0.25 per acre no building $109.00
[Note errors in total valuation for his property.]
1882: Magnolia District
The Hatfield page is missing from records.
1883: Magnolia District
Records are missing for this year.
1884: Magnolia District
15 acres Mates Creek $5.00 per acre $40 building $75 total
20 acres Double Camp Branch $1 per acre no building $20 total
68 acres Mates Creek $1 per acre no building $68 total
[Note: The 50-acre tract was listed under Ephraim, Sr. and was transferred from Floyd Hatfield. The 114-acre tract was transferred from a commissioner.]
1885: Magnolia District
15 acres Mates Creek $5 per acre $40 building $75 total
20 acres Double Camp Branch, Mates Creek $1 per acre no building $20 total
68 acres Mates Creek $1 per acre no building $68 total
1886-1888: Magnolia District
No property is listed for 1886, 1887, and 1888.
22 Tuesday Dec 2020
Tags
Appalachia, county clerk, Estella Dempsey, genealogy, Hiram Dempsey, history, Island Creek, Jack Dempsey, James A. Dempsey, John Chafin, John Dempsey, John Dempsey Jr., Joseph Dempsey, Lewis Dempsey, Logan County, Mahulda Dempsey, Mingo County, Mud Fork, West Virginia, William Anderson Dempsey
15 Tuesday Dec 2020
Tags
Appalachia, bowling, boxing, genealogy, history, Island Creek, Jack Dempsey, Logan, Logan Banner, Logan County, Main Street, Mingo County, Mud Fork, O.D. Avis, Sports, West Virginia
From the Logan Banner of Logan, WV, comes this story dated September 24, 1926, which provides some history for Jack Dempsey:
DEMPSEY OF LOGAN
It may be comforting to Jack Dempsey to learn that perhaps nowhere in America is there more genuine disappointment over his loss of the heavy weight championship than among his boyhood friends in Logan. Many of them believe and hope he will “stage a come-back.” However, there was no dearth of lusty cheering for the victor by the crowds that fairly swarmed over the business section of Logan last night.
As a boy Jack and O.D. Avis, sports editor of The Banner, used to set up pins in a bowling alley on the Main street corner now occupied by the Logan garage.
The Dempsey family at one time lived on Mud Fork and another period near the Logan-Mingo line. Many relatives live in the two counties; and they as well as his former friends have taken pride in his prowess and successes. They are still “for him,” though none the less impressed by the fighting ability and admirable traits of his conqueror.”
03 Thursday Dec 2020
Posted in Big Sandy Valley
Tags
Aly Hatfield, Anthony Lawson, Appalachia, Big Sandy River, genealogy, history, James Lawson, Logan County, Mingo County, Tug Fork, Virginia, West Virginia, William Collins
18 Wednesday Nov 2020
Posted in Battle of Blair Mountain, Boone County, Logan
Tags
Aracoma Hotel, Boone County, C.A. Brubeck, Chamber of Commerce, Herrin, history, Illinois, Kanawha County, Logan, Logan Banner, Logan County, Mingo County, Ohio, Pomeroy, United Mine Workers of America, West Virginia
From the Logan Banner of Logan, WV, comes this bit of history about a visit to Logan by United Mine Workers of America officials in 1925. The story is dated August 28, 1925.
Local Citizens Resent Visit of Union Officials
Chamber of Commerce Adopts Resolutions At Special Meeting, and Informs Visitors That They Are Unwelcome Guests
Just how thoroughly the citizens generally of this community are opposed to the activities and methods of the United Mine Workers of America was amply demonstrated this week when officials of the organization were frankly and almost bluntly told by committees waiting on them that their presence here was not desired and they were invited to make themselves conspicuous by their absence.
Two weeks ago eight officials prominent in the affairs of the organization paid a visit to this city and cloaked their activities with a secrecy which tended to excite suspicion. After a stay of a little over a day they departed for an unknown destination, leaving behind the information that they would return shortly. Tuesday four of them again made their appearance and immediately matters began to move with startling rapidity.
A special meeting of the Chamber of Commerce was hurriedly called. Before the visitors had been in the city a half hour members of the Chamber were being summoned by telephone and by messenger to assemble in special session. The response to the call was quite general for the business men of the community realized what the future promised where United Mine Workers methods prevailed. Pomeroy, Ohio and Herrin, Illinois, did not appeal to them as a possible future for Logan, so all other affairs were dropped and the meeting was promptly in session.
The subject of the visit was thoroughly discussed and it was unanimously decided that the best interests of the community demanded that unquestioned action should be taken. The experiences of other cities and communities where United Mine Workers methods prevailed were gone into thoroughly and in detail and the members went on record by unanimously adopting the following resolutions:
WHEREAS, it has come to the attention of the Chamber of Commerce of the City of Logan that certain officials of the United Mine Workers of America have made a recent visit to our city and are now back again, and
WHEREAS, we believe it is their desire and intention to stir up industrial strife in attempting to form an organization of the miners in this field, and,
WHEREAS, we have a peaceful, quiet community of good law-abiding citizens, and the miners in our section are now doing well and everything is peaceful and pleasant and that the relations between the coal operators and the miners is pleasant and agreeable, which is conducive to the peace and prosperity of our county; and
WHEREAS, the results and experiences in sections where efforts towards organization on the part of the United Mine Workers of America have been so destructive and disastrous to the industrial success of such communities such as Pomeroy, Ohio, Herrin, Ill., Northern West Virginia and Kanawha, Boone and Mingo Counties, which communities are still suffering from the effects of such attempted organization, and believing that the usual tactics would be pursued in this field if such organization is attempted.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that this body in meeting assembled, unanimously deplores the fact of any such attempted organization and go on record as being unqualifiedly opposed to say activities towards such attempted organization on the part of the United Mine Workers of America, or any of their agents, servants or employees.
AND, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be spread on the minutes of this meeting and also delivered to the press.
This resolution unanimously adopted this the twenty-fifth day of August, One Thousand Nine Hundred and Twenty Five.
Logan Chamber of Commerce.
H.A. DAVID, chairman
C.A. BRUBECK, secretary
***
It was decided that a committee be appointed to wait on the visitors and in plain language inform them that their presence here was not desired and inviting them to transfer their activities to some other territory remote from Logan.
Shortly after the meeting adjourned, a committee of some twenty-five or thirty members paid a visit to the Aracoma hotel, where the officials were making their headquarters, and conveyed to them the feelings and decisions of the business men of the community. When the officials entered the parlor, where the committee had gathered, the spokesman conveyed to the visitors the reason for their interview in substantially the following words:
Men: Those assembled represent the business interests of the community members of the Chamber of Commerce. We know that you are not here for any good purpose, either for the good of the business interests or the good of the citizens of Logan county or its interests. We know your history in the past. We know what you did to Boone county and we…
13 Friday Nov 2020
Posted in Big Harts Creek, Whirlwind
Tags
Appalachia, Buck Fork, farming, genealogy, George Hensley, Harts Creek, Hensley Chapel, history, Logan Banner, Logan County, Mingo County, Perris Hensley, Sampson Hall, Stonewall Hensley, West Virginia, Willie Tomblin
An unnamed correspondent from Whirlwind in Logan County, West Virginia, offered the following items, which the Logan Banner printed on August 7, 1925:
Born to Mr. and Mrs. Stonewall Hensley a fine boy.
Willie Tomblin was calling on friends on Buck Creek Sunday.
People are getting behind with crops and hay, owing to the we weather.
Revs. Perris and George Hensley preached at Hensley chapel Sunday.
Sampson Hall of Mingo attended church here Sunday.
08 Sunday Nov 2020
Posted in Williamson
Tags
Appalachia, architecture, history, Mingo County, Mingo County Courthouse, photos, West Virginia, Williamson
06 Friday Nov 2020
Posted in Huntington, Logan, Matewan
Tags
Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency, C.E. Lively, Charles Lester, crime, Ed Chambers, Huntington, Ira P. Hager, Logan Banner, Logan County, McDowell County, Mine Wars, Mingo County, Sid Hatfield, Stirrat, Welch, West Virginia, YMCA
From the Logan Banner of Logan, WV, in a story printed on January 30, 1925, comes this bit of history for C.E. Lively:
CENTRAL FIGURE OF FAMOUS CASES ARRESTED HERE
C.E. Lively, Prominent In Mingo and McDowell County Murder Cases, Arrested By Local Officers and Held for Federal Court
PLACED UNDER $10,000 BAIL
C.E. Lively, who has attained considerable notoriety in this section of West Virginia, was arraigned before U.S. Commissioner Ira P. Hager Tuesday on a charge of possession of liquor and held under bonds in the amount of $10,000 for appearance in the federal court in Huntington.
Officials had been aware that Lively was making headquarters in the Y.M.C.A. at Stirrat, posing under the name of Charles Lester and were very curious as to his activities. It was said, upon what appeared authentic authority, that he was making a number of inquiries of various citizens and those who were acquainted with his previous history were curious and apprehensive as to his objects.
Monday deputy marshals descended upon him in his room in the Y.M.C.A. at Stirratt and confiscated a bottle said to contain a quantity of corn liquor. The room was occupied by another man, who was working in the mines. It developed that this man had left the room early in the morning and had not returned. That when the maid gave attention to the room and made the beds, no liquor was in evidence, but about ten o’clock when the officers paid their visit, the liquor was found in the bed occupied by the other man, but Lively was the only occupant of the room and he was placed under arrest. The baggage in the room was thoroughly searched and a number of letters, alleged to be the property of Lively, were taken charge of by the officers.
Lively gave the name of Charles Lester when arrested, but admitted his identity as Lively when confronted by citizens who knew him well. At the hearing he closely examined the witnesses who appeared against him and objected strenuously to the heavy bail under which he was placed, claiming it was out of reason for the charge on which he had been arraigned.
Commissioner Hager questioned the prisoner closely and frankly informed him that suspicions had been around concerning him and his activities in this section, and officers admitted that a determined effort would be made to uncover the purpose of his activities and the interests back thereof.
Lively was connected with the famous Baldwin-Felts detective agency for a number of years and was decidedly active in this part of the state. He was considered the star witness in the famous murder trials in Mingo county some time ago, and was arrested in connection with the killing of Sid Hatfield and Chambers at the court house in Welch. He gained considerable notoriety as the result of his activities in these and cases, and suspicions seem to be aroused wherever he makes his appearance.
He told Commissioner Hager that the reason he had came to Logan county and was staying at Stirrat was a desire on his part to avoid trouble in that section of the state where he made his home and had acquired considerable of his notoriety.
16 Friday Oct 2020
Posted in Battle of Blair Mountain, Logan
Tags
Appalachia, Battle of Blair Mountain, crime, Don Chafin, H.A. White, Kanawha County, Logan, Logan County, Mine Wars, Mingo County, sheriff, United Mine Workers of America, West Virginia
From the Logan Banner of Logan, WV, comes this item dated September 2, 1921 about Kanawha County sheriff H.A. Walker and his role in the “armed march” on Logan County, WV, by UMWA miners:
IS KANAWHA PROUD OF HER SHERIFF?
We presume the citizens of Kanawha county are justly proud of their sheriff, H.A. Walker.
When Kanawha county citizens, all miners, last week decided that since Logan county was enjoying an unbroken peace of seventeen years, or from the time coal operations began, it would probably overlook the state pistol toting law and the United States treason laws and remain peacefully subservient thus allowing them to pass as quietly through Logan county as possible which might include pillaging a few homes and only a murder or two. Did Logan’s sheriff permit it? Let’s see.
This mob was allowed to gather in Kanawha county by their sheriff who visited their camp, saw armed sentinels and is said to have received authentic information of pillaging and looting and auto holdups in his county yet sends in the report of “everything orderly.” This then means that a person or several hundred persons may carry arms in Kanawha county so long as they are orderly even though he or they should hold up an auto or two “to see if the driver was carrying whiskey to the campers along the road.”
For shame, Kanawha. You permit a man to hold this high office who allows all of this in violation of his sacred oath, because he fears to disarm these men who came down through Boone leaving a trail of blood along the way, into Logan where families forsake their homes at two o’clock in the morning and drive to Logan city for protection; where every available man is pressed into service for fighting while his mother, wife, daughter and sister spend sleepless days and nights preparing food for him.
You should be pleased, Kanawha, that some of your citizens have produced this reign of terror, but it remained for Logan county’s sheriff to uphold the laws of the State of West Virginia and the laws of the United States and stop this mad rush of Kanawha county citizens into Mingo which would have ended in a manner which God alone knows.
There is no place in modern civilization for the Kanawha demonstration. It is wrong in principle, subservient to anarchy and flagrantly outrageous in the reputation it gives the state. It is the fault of Sheriff Walker that the name of West Virginia is once again disgraced as one of the United States, but thanks to Sheriff Don Chafin and Logan county citizens, the laws are upheld before the more serious encounters ensued.
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.
28 Sunday Jun 2020
Posted in Beech Creek, Big Sandy Valley
Doc and Sarah (Hatfield) Mayhon of Beech Creek, Mingo County, WV.
Writings from my travels and experiences. High and fine literature is wine, and mine is only water; but everybody likes water. Mark Twain
This site is dedicated to the collection, preservation, and promotion of history and culture in Appalachia.
Genealogy and History in North Carolina and Beyond
A site about one of the most beautiful, interesting, tallented, outrageous and colorful personalities of the 20th Century
Brandon Ray Kirk 