If you are steeped in American folklore, you probably know about the feud that raged between the Hatfield and McCoy families. If not, it’s quite a story. 

It begins at around the time of the Civil War. The Hatfields were a wealthy family with a large timbering operation along the Tug Fork in West Virginia. The McCoys were farmers with land interests on the other side of the river in Kentucky. Tensions had simmered between the families for years but when the McCoys suspected that the Hatfields had stolen one of their pigs, they tipped into violence. Convinced the pig was his, Randolph McCoy took the matter to the local Justice of the Peace but lost. The key witness, a relative of both families, was later found dead, killed by two McCoy brothers. 

The feud escalated after Randolph’s daughter, Roseanna, became romantically involved with one of the Hatfields, leaving her family to live with them. It wasn’t the best foundation for a relationship. The McCoys tried to have him arrested on outs…