Hatfield McCoy History / Feud Timeline (Historic)
- January 7, 1865 Asa Harmon McCoy, brother of family patriarch Randolph McCoy, is killed in Pike County, KY by the Logan Wildcats, a West Virginia home guard unit.
- 1878 Randolph McCoy accuses Floyd Hatfield, a cousin of “Devil Anse” Hatfield of stealing his pigs.
- June 18, 1880 Bill Staton, a witness for the Hatfield’s in the “pig trial” is shot by Sam McCoy, a nephew of Randolph McCoy.
- 1880 Randolph McCoy’s daughter, Roseanna runs off with Johnse Hatfield, son of clan leader “Devil Anse” Hatfield.
- August 7, 1882 Ellison Hatfield, brother of “Devil Anse” Hatfield is mortally wounded in a brawl with three of Randolph McCoy’s sons.
- August 9, 1882 Tolbert, Pharmer and Randolph McCoy Jr. are tied to pawpaw bushes and executed by the Hatfield’s for the murder of Ellison Hatfield.
- December 1886 Jeff McCoy, nephew of Randolph, is shot by “Cap” Hatfield, son of “Devil Anse.”
- January 1, 1888 The Hatfield’s, led by Jim Vance and “Cap” Hatfield, attack the McCoy family cabin by night, killing Alifair and Calvin McCoy, beating Sarah McCoy nearly to death and burning the home to the ground.
- January 7, 1888 Jim Vance, the uncle of “Devil Anse” is killed by “Bad” Frank Phillips in a West Virginia raid.
- January 18, 1888 Deputy Bill Dempsey is wounded by Jim McCoy and killed by “Bad” Frank Phillips in a battle at Grapevine Creek.
- February 18, 1890 Ellison “Cotton Top” Mounts is hanged in Pikeville, KY for the killing of Alifair McCoy.
Hatfield McCoy History / Feud Timeline (Modern Era)
- 2000 Cousins Bo and Ron McCoy organize the “Hatfield McCoy Reunion Festival,” the first national reunion of the Hatfield and McCoy families in Pikeville, KY. With activities in Williamson and Matewan, WV, the historic “Reunion of the Millennium” draws more than 5,000 family members to the area. News of the event is carried nationally by the Associated Press, the New York Times, USA Today, Washington Times, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, People Magazine, the Today Show, CNN, PBS, CBS TV & Radio, and internationally by BBC, the Guardian, the Scotsman, ABC News (Australia) and CBC News (Canada). The reunion continues to be held annually each summer in Matewan, WV.
- 2003 Businessman Reo Hatfield partners with the McCoy cousins to sign the “Hatfield McCoy Truce” in Pikeville, KY, an effort to promote unity and demonstrate the power of forgiveness in the aftermath of 9-11. The event is broadcast live on CBS.
- 2008 The John Templeton Foundation, a global philanthropic organization supporting religious, philosophical, and scientific studies, names the Truce signing as one of the “Ten Great Moments in Forgiveness History.”
- 2013 The city of Pikeville and Pike County (KY) rebrands its reunion event as “Hatfield McCoy Heritage Days,” an annual event held in the Fall.
- 2014 The family’s partner with the University of Kentucky, National Geographic and the television show “Diggers” in a joint archaeological dig at the McCoy homestead. The dig produces the first artifacts ever recovered from a historical feud site.
- 2015 Judy Hatfield forms the “Hatfield McCoy Foundation,” a 501(c)3 non-profit organization intended to promote feud history, develop, and preserve feud-related historical sites and advocate the virtues of unity and forgiveness.
- 2015 In “Reunion: Hatfield’s and McCoy’s,” Ron McCoy chronicles the joint heritage of the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s and the interactions of the families in the historic and modern eras.
- 2016 Jack Hatfield authors “Eat’n with the Hatfield’s,” a collection of time-honored family recipes and stories passed down through generations of the clan.
- 2021 The Hatfield-McCoy Foundation, under the directorship of Jack Hatfield, relaunches with Reo and Judy Hatfield and Ron McCoy serving as members of the executive board. The Foundation has a new and broader mission to promote the heritage of the “Hatfield’s and McCoy’s” through a series of regional and national events while maintaining and developing feud-related sites in Appalachia.
