No feud in history is as infamous as the Hatfield’s vs. McCoy’s. What is believed to have started as a fight over a stolen hog, became a bloody war between two families. It’s no surprise then, that the Hatfield cemetery is haunted.
In the 1800’s the Hatfields lived in Logan County, West Virginia, and on the opposite side of a border stream, the Tug Fork, lived the McCoy’s, in Pike County, Kentucky. During the Civil War, the McCoys were on the side of the Union, while the Hatfields were Confederates. This alone could be enough to start a rivalry.
The Hatfields were headed by William Anderson “Devil Anse” Hatfield, who had fathered 13 children. Devil Anse looked like the stereotypical backwoods mountain dweller, and was quite successful as a timber merchant. He even employed several McCoys.
The McCoys were headed by Randolph “Rand’l” McCoy, who had also fathered 13 children (though some sources claim it was 16). Rand’l was not as successful as Devil Anse, though he did own land and livestock. In 1878, Rand’l McCoy found that one of his hogs had gone missing. He immediately blamed the Hatfields for stealing it.
This however, wasn’t the first strike against the McCoys. In 1865, Asa Harmon McCoy, Rand’l’s brother, was murdered by the Logan Wildcats, a local militia group that had several Hatfields as members – including Devil Anse. Asa Harmon had served in the Union Army, and was considered by many to be a traitor. Some would call this event the start of the feud, but most historians would disagree, instead referring to this incident as a standalone event. Perhaps this is because the actions were carried out by a militia, and not the Hatfields alone.
While tensions ran high, there wasn’t any actual violence until 1882, when Ellison Hatfield was shot and killed in a fight with the McCoys. Obviously the Hatfields couldn’t allow the McCoys to get away with murder, so in revenge, they kidnapped Tolbert, Phamer, and Randolph Jr. McCoy and executed all three of them.
Fast forward to 1878, when Rand’l McCoy accused Floyd Hatfield of stealing one of his hogs. Floyd’s trial took place in McCoy territory, but was presided over by a cousin of Devil Anse, and relied on testimony by Bill Stanton, a McCoy relative who also happened to be married to a Hatfield. Bill testified in Floyd’s favor, infuriating the McCoys – so it was no surprised when, 2 years later, Bill was violently killed in a fight with Sam and Paris McCoy.
Sam McCoy stood trial for the murder of Bill Stanton, but was acquitted for self defense.
A couple of years later, in 1880, a different sort of betrayal took place. Johnse Hatfield, the son of Devil Anse, met Roseanna McCoy, Rand’l’s daughter. The two hit it off, and disappeared together for several hours. Fearing her father’s reaction, Roseanna chose to stay with the Hatfields, hoping to stop any retaliation efforts.
Months later, Roseanna was pregnant, and Johnse was not ready to settle down. He abandoned her and moved on, marrying her cousin, Nancy McCoy in 1881.
Romantic relationships aside, the Hatfields still hated the McCoys, and vice versa. During a local election day in August 1882, Three of Rand’l’s sons ended up in a violent dispute with two of Devil Anse’s brothers. The fight escalated, and one of the McCoy boys stabbed Ellison Hatfield multiple times before shooting him in the back. The McCoys were apprehended, but the Hatfields interceded, taking the men off to Hatfield territory. When they got word that Ellison was indeed dead, they bound the McCoys to some pawpaw bushes before loading up their guns and firing more than 50 shots, killing all three men.
Their revenge didn’t go unanswered, but this time it was the law that stepped in. 20 Hatfields, including Devil Anse and his sons, were indicted, yet they managed to elude arrest, getting their charges dismissed. But the McCoys refused to lie down quietly, and enlisted the help of Perry Cline, an attorney that was married to Martha McCoy (who had been made a widow when the Hatfields killed Asa Harmon McCoy in 1865).
Perry Cline, it turns out, had his own vendetta against the Hatfields. Several years earlier, Perry lost a lawsuit against Devil Anse over the deed for thousands of acres of land. He was able to use his connections and influence to get the charges against the Hatfields reinstated, and even announced rewards for the arrest of the Hatfields, including Devil Anse.
With a bounty on their heads, the Hatfields made a plan to attack Rand’l McCoy and his family. On New Year’s Day, 1888, Cap Hatfield and Jim Vance led a group of Hatfield men in an ambush on the McCoy home. Rand’l escaped into the woods, but his son Calvin, and daughter, Alifair were killed. The Hatfields beat his wife severely, leaving her alive, but with a crushed skull. This attack became known as the New Year’s Massacre.
A few days later, a bounty hunter named Frank Philips managed to track down Jim Vance and Cap Hatfield, and killing Jim in the process. He collected nine members of the Hatfield family and hauled them off to jail. The case spent years in courts, eventually making its way all the way up to the US Supreme Court where it was decided that the Hatfields in custody could be tried.
The trial began in 1889, and eight of the Hatfields and their supporters were ultimately sentenced to life in prison. Ellison Mounts, believed to be the son of Ellison Hatfield, was sentenced to death. Many believed Ellison was nothing more than a scapegoat, as he was mentally challenged, and had confessed his guilt.
Despite being illegal, on February 18, 1890, thousands of spectators gathered to see Ellison Mounts hang. “They made me do it! The Hatfields made me do it!” he shouted just before the noose snapped his neck.
The feud between the Hatfields and McCoys slowly faded, with both families moving on, and focusing on their own families.
Today, the Hatfield Cemetery sits near Sarah Ann, West Virginia, just 15 miles south of Logan on Route 44. The cemetery sits atop a hill, reached by either of two footpaths. At the top, is a life-sized statue of Devil Anse Hatfield, himself, surrounded by the plots of his children.
Devil Anse was blessed with 9 boys, and it is believed that at night, the fog will roll in, and he will round up all his sons and go marching down to the water near the roadside. He and his sons are often spotted standing guard at the foot of the hill by the small bridge that crosses under the cemetery sign.
Probably helping keep their spirits alive are all the flags that are planted around the cemetery, including several Confederate flags.
Very few stories have been shared about individual experiences, so if you head down to Hatfield Cemetery, be sure to let us know how it goes.
Speaking of cemeteries, have you ever heard of a caretaker who continues to work long after their death? Check out this story about Catman’s grave.