Sonya Hatfield gives credit to the recent surge of interest in genealogy
in getting people to open up about the feud and in allowing them to move
on. "People have the misconception that all Hatfields hated
all McCoys and all McCoys hated all Hatfields," she says.
"That is simply not true. Many friendships and even marriages
have taken place between the two families before, during, and after the
feud. The feud has not been kept alive in spirit."
While
family members from both sides are not proud of the feud, they are proud
of their kinsman for fighting for their families and their beliefs.
"The Hatfields and McCoys are forever joined together. It is
our common heritage," says Bo McCoy.
"We were not ruthless,
illiterate hillbillies
murdering each other over a pig."
Both Bo and Sonya hope that this reunion will
help people to remember the families for something other than the
feud. "We want the world to understand the feud and its
causes, says Sonya passionately. "We feel through the press
that the Hatfields and McCoys played a big role in the stereotyping of
Appalachia. We want to set the record straight. We were not
ruthless, illiterate hillbillies murdering each other over a pig. Like many American feuds this one can be linked directly to land and
power. Wars have been fought over the same things the feud was. We just
got a raw deal from the press when the feud took place. No, we don't
want people to forget the feud, we want them to understand it."
Bo hopes that everyone will walk away with a renewed sense of
family and history. "Then we can be proud of our efforts and
go home with a smile," he says.
Each family will be conducting their own family reunion activities in
addition to the combined reunion plans. The Hatfields will be holding their reunion in Matewan and
Williamson, West Virginia, June 4-11 and the McCoys reunion festivities
will be taking place in Pikeville, Kentucky, June 9-11, 2000. The
combined Hatfield-McCoy festival will run from 9:00 a.m. until 9:00pm on
June 10, 2000, and is open to anyone who wants to come and celebrate with
the families. As Bo McCoy jokingly says "We are not taking
blood samples at the door!"
For more information on the Reunion festivities, please visit:
The
McCoy Family Reunion Web Site
The
Hatfield Family Reunion Web Site
Matewan,
West Virginia
Pikeville,
Kentucky
For further information on the history of the feud:
A
Chronology of the Feud's Main Events
Historical
Photographs of the Hatfields and McCoys
For the family genealogies:
Hatfield
Family History
Hatfield
Family Origins
McCoy
Family Tree
Query of the Week
A cooperative effort between Kimberly Powell and GMW.
HATFIELD, Sid of Matewan, WV. 1920. Known for Matewan mining battle.
Area Sheriff. name of his wife & chn? MSc1059914@aol.com
MCCOY, Dennis E. b Dec 1848, KY d Oct 1915 St. Joseph, MO, m Sara
Quigley, 1 Mar. 1899 Gentry Co. MO. Sara d in child b 8 Dec 1905. m
Barbara Meedles Mar 1913. Buried beside Sara in Ernst Quigley Cemetary.
1 child, Francis M. fmccoy@pinn.net
Let me know what you thought of this
article or if you have requests for new ones.
List of All Previous Articles
Stay in touch with what's new in Genealogy
by subscribing to our newsletter, joining us in chat, or posting messages
and/or surname queries in the Genealogy forum.
Images courtesy of the Hatfield
and McCoy families
Remaining graphics © 2000 Kimberly Powell. All Rights Reserved.
