Appalachian Collection

Hatfield-McCoy Feud


 

 

Scope

Study of the Hatfield-McCoy feud results in information as interesting and complex as the feud itself. The pathfinder addresses theories on the cause of ill will between the Hatfield and McCoy families and the subsequent feud range from lingering Civil War hostilities, the alleged theft of a pig, an ill-fated love affair, and an election-day murder and its revenge. Other theories include jealousy between the families and the economic and social changes brewing on both sides of the Tug River in Logan County, West Virginia and Pike County, Kentucky. Some and perhaps all of the theories contain truth and can be backed up by research into the feud. In addition, a study of the Hatfield-McCoy feud uncovers more than pure history of the feud itself. Stereotyping of the Appalachian mountaineer based on the feud in storytelling, music, and film, live on long after guns, knives, and harsh words have been abandoned by the two families.

 

A good Introduction to a study of the Hatfield-Mccoy feud appears in:

Rice, Otis K. and Stephen W. Brown. West Virginia: A History. (2 nd ed.) Lexington: University of Kentucky, 1993.  344 pages. ASU APP COLL STACKS: F241 .R515 1993.

 

Books dealing with the Hatfield-McCoy feud are listed in the online card catalog under these Library of Congress Subject Headings :

Highly Relevant

Also Relevant

More General

 

Other books including material predominantly on the Hatfield-McCoy feud are usually shelved under these Library of Congress Call Numbers:

 

More information can be found in the Appalachian Collection Clippings File under the subject heading: Feuds

Some Frequently Cited or Relevant Books include the following:

Crawford, Theron Clark. An American Vendetta: A Story of Barbarism in the United States. New York: Belford, Clarke and Company, 1888. 185 pages. ASU APP COLL STACKS: HV6452 .K4 C8. ( First book published on the subject; promoted stereotypical ignorant hillbilly image. )

Hatfield, G. Elliott. The Hatfields. L. Roberts and H. P. Scalf, eds. Stanville, KY: Big Sandy Valley Historical Society, 1974. 207 pages. ASU APP COLL STACKS: HV6452 .W42 H373 1974.

Jones, Virgil Carrington. The Hatfields and the McCoys . Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press,
1948. 293 pages. ASU APP COLL STACKS: HV6452.K4 J6.

Rice, Otis K. The Hatfields and the McCoys. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1978. 141 pages.
ASU APP COLL STACKS: HV6452 .K42 H35 1978. ( This work is consistently referred to in other books and articles about the feud as the most reliable resource for research on the subject. )

Waller, Altina Laura. Feud: Hatfields, McCoys, and Social Change in Appalachia,1860-1900. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1988. 313 pages. ASU APP COLL STACKS: HV6452 .A128 W35 1988. ( Waller's is the most recent comprehensive study of the feud; she uses the overall economic condition of the mountaineers and the upcoming radical change in the area's industry to explain underlying reasons for the feud .)

 

Journals that contain articles relevant to the Hatfield-McCoy feud include:

Appalachian Journal . Boone, NC: Appalachian Consortium Press. ASU APP COLL STACKS: F216.2 .A66.

Goldenseal . Charleston, WV: State of West Virginia, Department of Commerce. ASU APP COLL STACKS: F241 .G64.

West Virginia History . Charleston, WV: State Department of Archives and History. ASU APP COLL STACKS: F236. W52.

 

Bibliographies that contain materials on the Hatfield-McCoy feud include:

Forbes, Harold M. West Virginia History: A Bibliography and Guide to Research. Morgantown, WV: West Virginia University Press, 1981. ASU APP COLL STACKS: Z1349.1 .F6 W6. [noncirculating]

Munn, Robert F. Index to West Virginiana. Charleston, WV: Education Foundation, 1960. ASU APP COLL STACKS: Z1349 .M8. [noncirculating]

Shetler, Charles. Guide to the study of West Virginia history. Morgantown, WV: West Virginia University Library, 1960. ASU APP COLL STACKS: Z1349.S45. [noncirculating]

 

Guides, Encyclopedias , and Dictionaries that contain material on the Hatfield-McCoy feud include:

West Virginia Women. Jim Comstock, ed. Richwood, W. Va.: Comstock, 1974. (Vol. 25, pp. 149-154). ASU APP COLL STACKS: F241 .W64. [noncirculating]

The West Virginia Heritage Encyclopedia: Supplemental Series. Jim Comstock, ed. Richwood, W. Va.: Comstock, 1974. ASU APP COLL STACKS: F241 .W64 1974. [noncirculating]

West Virginia, a guide to the Mountain State. Compiled by workers of the Writers' Program of the Work Projects Administration in the State of West Virginia. West Virginia Writer's Project. New York: Oxford University Press, 1941. ASU APP COLL STACKS: F241 .W85. [noncirculating, but available through interlibrary loan]

 

Other Indices...

should be used for an exhaustive search. Only a limited return can be expected for the time spent. Directions are generally given in the front of each issue.

America, History and Life. Contains v.1, 1964 to present.

The Matewan, West Virginia homepage contains a timeline, a bibliography, and other information on the feud.

Sociological Abstracts. ASU REFERENCE: HM1 .S67. Bound: vols. 1 - 44, 1953 - 1996 (1974 - 1996
in 1st FLOOR STORAGE).

_____. Online version.


Compiler: Jo Harris,   20 November 1998