The Hatfields and McCoys
ORIGINAL AVAILABLE
My husband named this piece, and he’s proud of it…and he should be, because people seem to love it. It started out as a drawing with no plan and no name. I was merely trying to figure out how to paint rocks, with several new “rock-containing” pieces in mind. Once I had a big pile of rocks, the faces just started jumping out at me. They had to be looking at something, so of course next came the trees, looking back, obviously. It sat around for days with such titles as “Whatchou lookin’ at?”, and “Do you ever feel like someone’s always watching you?”, none of which seemed inspirational. For those of you who’ve never heard of the Hatfields or the McCoys, read on….
In the Tug Valley in Kentucky in the 1860’s William Anderson Hatfield’s family were better timber harvesters than anyone, and they liked to brag about it. Randolph McCoy’s family was especially irritated by this because their own timber harvesting attempts were disastrous. Dislike between the families escalated in 1878 when Randolph McCoy accused Floyd Hatfield of stealing his hog. Hogs were valuable and it was a big deal. The subsequent judge and jury trial divided the two families and escalated into one of the greatest feuds in history, as Hatfield and McCoy’s mistrust had them constantly watching for the other to trip up.
When Hatfield’s son, Johnse, impregnated but did not marry McCoy’s daughter Roseanna, the furious McCoy killed Hatfield’s brother. Hatfield retaliated by murdering 3 of McCoy’s sons. The hatred continued for many years, and was the cause of 12 family deaths using the judicial “ eye for an eye”. Their family feud has remained in history as a symbol of the backwardness and violence many people associate with Appalacian Mountain culture, all because one man knew how to cut down trees better than the other, and he had a hankering for his neighbor’s hog.
The Hatfields and McCoys
ORIGINAL AVAILABLE
My husband named this piece, and he’s proud of it…and he should be, because people seem to love it. It started out as a drawing with no plan and no name. I was merely trying to figure out how to paint rocks, with several new “rock-containing” pieces in mind. Once I had a big pile of rocks, the faces just started jumping out at me. They had to be looking at something, so of course next came the trees, looking back, obviously. It sat around for days with such titles as “Whatchou lookin’ at?”, and “Do you ever feel like someone’s always watching you?”, none of which seemed inspirational. For those of you who’ve never heard of the Hatfields or the McCoys, read on….
In the Tug Valley in Kentucky in the 1860’s William Anderson Hatfield’s family were better timber harvesters than anyone, and they liked to brag about it. Randolph McCoy’s family was especially irritated by this because their own timber harvesting attempts were disastrous. Dislike between the families escalated in 1878 when Randolph McCoy accused Floyd Hatfield of stealing his hog. Hogs were valuable and it was a big deal. The subsequent judge and jury trial divided the two families and escalated into one of the greatest feuds in history, as Hatfield and McCoy’s mistrust had them constantly watching for the other to trip up.
When Hatfield’s son, Johnse, impregnated but did not marry McCoy’s daughter Roseanna, the furious McCoy killed Hatfield’s brother. Hatfield retaliated by murdering 3 of McCoy’s sons. The hatred continued for many years, and was the cause of 12 family deaths using the judicial “ eye for an eye”. Their family feud has remained in history as a symbol of the backwardness and violence many people associate with Appalacian Mountain culture, all because one man knew how to cut down trees better than the other, and he had a hankering for his neighbor’s hog.