Feud Interest Leads to Spike in Family History Research

There has been a recent surge of interest in the feuding Hatfield and McCoy clans since the airing of the History Channel’s mini-series Hatfields and McCoys. It seems that everywhere you look you can find something related to the folks from West Virginia and Kentucky. And why wouldn’t people be interested? The feud has all the elements of a great story. Love-hate relationships make for great stories. The fact that this particular story is based on a true story makes it even more appealing.

The bad blood generated by the Civil War affected many families, not just the Hatfields and McCoys, and I’m sure there were many feuds and many stories of real star-crossed lovers other than just those of the Hatfields and McCoys. One event after another just kept reigniting the animosity between Devil Anse Hatfield and Old Rand’l McCoy. If you want a true story of star-crossed lovers, then you need to read about Johnsie Hatfield and Roseanne McCoy. Their story is much better than that of Romeo and Juliet, which I don’t consider a love story at all. Romeo and Juliet knew each other, married, and committed suicide in the span of a week. Nothing star-crossed or lovey-dovey about that. Johnsie and Roseanne, however, were involved for years and had a child together. After losing Johnsie to her cousin Nancy and her daughter’s death, everything became too much for Roseanne, and the speculation indicates she died of a broken heart. Now that’s some star-crossed, true-love drama for you.

I have a minor in history because I love history, and since this feud took place in Kentucky, I find it even more interesting. Even with as much as I know about American history, I would love to know more; and as much as I know about Kentucky history, I would like to know more, particularly about the area where I live, Breathitt County, and the area where my husband was raised, Pike County.

The Lexington Herald-Leader has a story today addressing the issue of whether you might be related to either the Hatfields or the McCoys. It’s a great story, and it points out a lot of interesting information about doing genealogical research. Family history is something I value as well, and I’ve dabbled a little bit in trying to learn my own family’s history. It is a time-consuming task, though, and unfortunately unless my husband wins the lottery, I doubt I’ll ever have the time to do justice to the research.

One of the things the story points out is that if you are from Pike County, there’s a good possibility you are related to a Hatfield or McCoy, so I’m left wondering if my husband might possibly have a Hatfield or McCoy relative. I think it’d be kind of cool if he did, but I don’t think he really cares one way or the other.

I’m obviously not immune and am kind of caught up in the Hatfield-McCoy mania myself, not just because it’s an interesting story. The resurgence of interest in this particular facet of history has led me to identify some things I need to do. For one, I need to go back through my own family history and see if there are some holes or gaps that I could easily fill in. For another, it’d be interesting to try to do a little research into my husband’s family tree. After all, it’d be cool to have an actual link to the Hatfield-McCoy feud, other than that it happened in Kentucky. And finally, even though it all happened right here in Kentucky, I haven’t visited the sites. Since my husband is from Pike County, we’re going to have to arrange a trip through the areas where the feud occurred.

History is a wonderful thing. I truly believe in the statement that if you don’t know where you come from, how can you know where you are going. If the Hatfield-McCoy mania can increase others’ interest in history, then that’s a great thing. If it doesn’t inspire you to get to know a little more about history in general, then perhaps it will inspire you to know a little more about your own family history. It does take some work, but it’s interesting, and you really do need to know where you come from.

Here’s the link to the story in the Herald-Leader if you’d like to find out more about how to learn if you are related to a Hatfield or a McCoy.

http://www.kentucky.com/2012/06/10/2219175/could-you-be-related-to-a-feuding.html

And if you happen to discover that you are related to one of the Hatfields or McCoys and would like to become a famous TV reality star, you can check out this link. Producers are looking for descendents of the feuding clans in hopes of creating a reality show based on their history. If this does happen, I just hope that it can be done in a classy manner (I’m assuming that is possible, even for reality TV), and that it doesn’t just attempt to further perpetuate eastern Kentucky or western West Virginia stereotypes.

http://www.kentucky.com/2012/06/09/2218660/hatfield-mccoy-kin-sought-for.html

Share a Movie with Your Valentine

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, so today I’m going to take a look at my favorite love stories. These are ranked in no particular order, other than the way they come to me as I’m writing.

1. Noah & Allie – The Notebook – The love story of Noah and Allie is impressive because it’s based on Noah spending day after day after day at the nursing home, reading their love story to Allie, who now has Alzheimer’s Disease. Most days, Allie doesn’t remember who Noah is, but that doesn’t stop him; he’s there every day to read to her, because to him, it’s worth it for that one time that she will remember. For those of you who have only watched the movie, I suggest you read the book. The movie wasn’t bad, but the book is a whole lot better. Especially the ending.

2. Scarlett & Rhett – Gone with the Wind and Scarlett – Again, if you’ve only watched the movie, you’re missing a huge part of the story. You cannot truly appreciate Scarlett’s selfishness if you haven’t read the books. Both rogues (yes, I just called Scarlett O’Hara a rogue), these two star-crossed lovers deserve each other, and much to everyone’s surprise, by the end of the saga, they have actually learned something and realize they really do love each other.

3. Elizabeth & Mr. Darcy – Pride and Prejudice – It takes some time but Elizabeth finally overcomes her prejudices against Mr. Darcy. It’s really no surprise that he overcomes his pride before she overcomes her prejudices, though. You know those strong, female characters. They can be a bit stubborn. In the end, though, it all works out, and Elizabeth is pleased to find that she really can marry for love and not money. It doesn’t hurt any, though, that the man she loves has money.

4. Baby & Johnny – Dirty Dancing – Patrick Swayze is my all-time favorite actor; it’s easy to see how socialite Baby fell for wrong-side-of-the-tracks Johnny. Unlike the others on the list, there’s nothing to indicate that Baby and Johnny stayed together forever, but I’d like to think they found their way back to each other. I certainly believe that neither of them was the same after their summer at the Catskills.

5. Sally & Harry – When Harry Met Sally – Based on the title of this movie, the movie could have ended about five minutes into it, when Harry met Sally, but it goes deeper than that. Harry and Sally met when they had a common goal, a destination to reach and carpooling was the logical thing to do. Of course, their paths continue to cross, and they eventually become friends who cross the line. It takes some time, but they realize they were meant to be together.

So if you’re in need of a feel-good love story this Valentine’s Day, check out one of the ones above, and you won’t be disappointed. Do notice, however, that I purposely left Romeo and Juliet off the list. It’s not Shakespeare’s best play, and it’s not the greatest love story in the world. They are a couple of teenage kids who met, fell in love, married, and committed suicide in about the span of a week. It’s Shakespeare so there are some good lines in the play, but it’s not the place to look for a great love story.