COMING UP TONIGHT
ON KENTUCKY LIFE
A TASTE OF KENTUCKY'S
BOURBON HISTORY
WITH A FIFTH GENERATION
DISTILLER IN MARION COUNTY
WE'LL PAY TRIBUTE TO
THE LATE MINNIE BLACK
THE "GOURD LADY" FROM
EAST BERNSTADT, KENTUCKY
AND REVISIT ONE OF THE
MOST NOTORIOUS EVENTS
IN THE HISTORY OF KENTUCKY
THE FAMED HATFIELD-McCOY FEUD
GOOD EVENING AND WELCOME
TO KENTUCKY LIFE
I'M BYRON CRAWFORD, YOUR HOST
WELL, IF YOU HAVE A TASTE
FOR THINGS TRULY KENTUCKY
THEN YOU'VE COME
TO THE RIGHT PLACE
WITH US TONIGHT, YOU'LL
TRAVEL BACK IN TIME
TO WHEN A LEGEND WAS BORN
THE FAMED FEUD BETWEEN THE
HATFIELDS AND THE McCOYS
IT'S A LEGACY
THAT FOREVER CHANGED THE WAY
MOUNTAIN PEOPLE ARE VIEWED
BUT AS YOU'LL SEE
IT'S A STORY THAT ENDURES
BOTH AS ROMANTIC MYTH
AND DOCUMENTED FACT
FIRST WE'RE GOING TO SAMPLE A
LEGEND OF A DIFFERENT KIND
THE FINE QUALITIES OF
KENTUCKY BOURBON WHISKEY
MAKE IT A SOUGHT AFTER PRODUCT
BY CONNOISSEURS
FROM NEAR AND FAR
THE SAMUELS' FAMILY HAS BEEN
IN THE WHISKEY BUSINESS
FOR FIVE GENERATIONS
AND SINCE 1953, IT'S
TURNED OUT MAKER'S MARK
AT THE QUAINT DISTILLERY
IN MARION COUNTY AT LORETTO
IN THIS PROFILE, WE LEARN
A LITTLE FAMILY HISTORY
ALONG WITH THE STORY OF THE RISE
OF THE KENTUCKY BOURBON INDUSTRY
KENTUCKY IS FAMOUS FOR
ITS BLUEGRASS FIELDS
AND THOROUGHBRED HORSES
AT ONE TIME, MOST PEOPLE
WOULD HAVE MENTIONED
KENTUCKY BOURBON WHISKEY
IN THE SAME BREATH
BUT TIMES HAVE CHANGED
AMERICANS STILL DRINK
BUT THEY DRINK ONLY HALF
AS MUCH BOURBON TODAY
AS THEY DID 20 YEARS AGO
STILL, ALL IS NOT BLEAK
IN BOURBON COUNTRY
WAREHOUSES FULL OF AGING BOURBON
STILL DOT THE COUNTRYSIDE
AND A GROWING EXPORT TRADE TO
EUROPE, ASIA AND AUSTRALIA
HAS STIMULATED NEW OPTIMISM
AS THE REST OF THE
WORLD DISCOVERS
THIS UNIQUELY
AMERICAN SPIRIT
WHEN EASTERNERS FIRST STARTED
SETTLING HERE, IN 1774
KENTUCKY WAS PART OF VIRGINIA
PROBABLY THE FIRST WHISKEY
WAS MADE WITHIN A YEAR OR
TWO OF THE FIRST SETTLEMENT
IN 1780, THE VIRGINIA
LEGISLATURE
DIVIDED KENTUCKY
INTO THREE COUNTIES
BY 1786, THERE WERE SEVEN
INCLUDING BOURBON COUNTY
NAMED FOR THE
FRENCH ROYAL FAMILY
IN GRATITUDE FOR IT'S HELP
DURING THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR
THE MOST IMPORTANT SETTLEMENT
IN BOURBON COUNTY
WAS LIMESTONE
WHICH LATER BECAME MAYSVILLE
FOR MANY YEARS, THIS WAS
THE REGION'S MAIN PORT
ON THE OHIO RIVER
FROM WHICH WHISKEY AND OTHER
GOODS WERE FLOATED DOWNRIVER
TO NEW ORLEANS FOR SALE
ANY WHISKEY SHIPPED FROM
THE PORT OF LIMESTONE
WAS LIABLE TO BE CONSIDERED
A PRODUCT OF BOURBON COUNTY
REGARDLESS OF WHERE IT WAS MADE
EVEN AFTER LIMESTONE BECAME
PART OF MASON COUNTY
AND LATER WHEN OTHER
COUNTIES WERE FORMED
MANY STILL CALLED THE
REGION, "OLD BOURBON"
AS THE DEMAND FOR "OLD
BOURBON" WHISKEY GREW
OTHER DISTILLERS HERE
AND IN ADJACENT STATES
BEGAN TO USE THE NAME
PIONEER DISTILLERS
WERE MAINLY FARMERS
THEY DISTILLED THEIR OWN GRAIN
AND MAYBE SOME FOR
THEIR NEIGHBORS
MAKING WHISKEY IN A
STILL LIKE THIS ONE
WAS AS COMMON AS MAKING
SAUSAGE OR BAKING BREAD
THIS INDUSTRY EVOLVED SLOWLY
AND IT'S PRETTY HARD TO
PUT YOUR FINGER ON WHEN
IT STARTED
OR REALLY WHEN IT STARTED
TO LOOK LIKE AN INDUSTRY
AND MUCH LESS LIKE A
DIVISION OF AGRICULTURE
UH, I GUESS REALLY, IT
WAS THE EARLY 1840s
WHEN WISE KENTUCKY FARMERS
WHO KNEW HOW TO MAKE WHISKEY
DECIDED THAT THEY NEEDED
TO FLIP THE PROCESS AROUND
AND INSTEAD OF HAVING
FARMERS WITH EXCESS
GRAIN DRIVE THE PROCESS
HAVE CUSTOMERS LOOKING
FOR GOOD RED WHISKEY
DRIVE THE PROCESS
AND HAVE THE FARMERS
THE AGRICULTURAL
DIMENSION RESPOND TO IT
SO IT WAS MY GREAT
GREAT GRANDFATHER
WHICH WOULD MAKE ME THE FIFTH
IN THE LINE OF "COMMERCIAL"
DISTILLERS
BUT IN FACT IT WAS MY GREAT
GREAT GRANDFATHER'S GRANDFATHER
ROBERT SAMUELS
WHO MUSTERED OUT OF THE
UH, PENNSYLVANIA MILITIA
IN THE SPRING OF 1780
AS A DISTILLER FOR
WASHINGTON'S ARMY
AND CAME TO KENTUCKY
UH, WITH A LAND GRANT
WITH A CORN WRIT
WHICH WAS THE FIRST FORM OF
HOMESTEADING IN THE COUNTRY
AND SET UP UH, A SMALL FARM
AND PROVIDED DISTILLING SERVICES
FOR NEIGHBORING FARMERS
WHO GREW TOO MUCH GRAIN TO
FEED IT ALL TO THE CATTLE
SO THAT WAS, THAT WAS THE
BEGINNING OF THE INDUSTRY
I THINK, AS A COTTAGE INDUSTRY
BUT IT WAS REALLY UH,
IN THE EARLY 1840s
THAT YOU STARTED TO SEE THE
COMMERCIAL DISTILLERIES DEVELOP
THEN YOU COME TO THE
OLD T.W. SAMUELS PLANT
THE SAMUELS FAMILY BUILT
THEIR FIRST DISTILLERY
ON OR NEAR THIS SITE IN 1844
THE DISTILLERY CLOSED YEARS AGO
AND THE WAREHOUSES WERE SOLD TO
HEAVEN HILL AND MAKER'S MARK
AND THAT'S WHERE THE SAMUELS
FAMILY MAKES WHISKEY TODAY
AT MAKER'S MARK IN MARION COUNTY
BUT THE DEEDSVILLE PLANT
AND ITS OWNER BILL SAMUELS'
GREAT GREAT GRANDFATHER
ARE REMEMBERED FOR
THEIR UNIQUE ROLE
IN THE HISTORY OF THE
AMERICAN CIVIL WAR
HE WAS A LARGE MAN
HE WAS ABOUT SIX SIX
UH, IN, IN THOSE DAYS
WAS QUITE LARGE
UH, HE HAD AN... HE HAD AN OLDER
BROTHER, DR. REUBEN SAMUELS
WHO MARRIED JESSE AND
FRANK JAMES' MOTHER
AND RAISED THEM
DID A WONDERFUL JOB
AND UH, AS A RESULT
ENDED UP IN SOMEWHAT OF
A CARETAKER... ROLE
WITH QUANTRELL'S ARMY
AS THEY CAME TO KENTUCKY
TO AVOID THE DEMISE OF THE
LATTER PERIOD OF THE WAR
THEY CAME DIRECTLY
TO NELSON COUNTY
WHERE MY GREAT GREAT
GRANDFATHER WAS HIGH SHERIFF
SO UH, THEY GOT WHAT
THEY WERE LOOKING FOR
A PARDON WAS WORKED
OUT IN JULY 25th
AND IT ENDED UP BEING
THE FINAL SURRENDER
OF AN ARMED CONFEDERATE BAND
OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR
AND IT HAPPENED RIGHT
AT A DISTILLERY
OUR OLD FAMILY DISTILLERY
IN NELSON COUNTY, KENTUCKY
DID NOT HAPPEN AT
APPOMATTOX COURTHOUSE
AS GENERAL LEE THOUGHT
BUT IT WAS BACK HERE
SOME 90 DAYS LATER
THIS PLACE WAS FOUNDED
AS A DISTILLERY FARM
BY THE BURKES FAMILY
WHO WERE UH, WERE FROM SCOTLAND
THEY CAME OVER ABOUT 1800
A LAND GRANT UH, FROM VIRGINIA
AND UH, THEY STARTED MAKING
WHISKEY IN A SPORADIC WAY
AS MANY OF US DID
THIS, THIS WAS UH, FAIRLY
TYPICAL DISTILLERY
200 BUSHEL SIZE
WHICH IS WHAT WE OPERATE TODAY
SO UH, IN A, IN A SENSE YOU'RE
ABLE TO SEE THE DISTILLERY
AS IT WOULD HAVE LOOKED
IN THE 1870s, 1880s
BECAUSE THE PHYSICAL INTEGRITY
OF THE PLACE IS INTACT
OR WE USE IT TO OPERATE
IT AT THE SAME CAPACITY
IT WAS DESIGNED TO BE
OPERATED 120 YEARS AGO
UH, BUT THE BURKES FAMILY,
THEY STARTED AND THEY STOPPED
THEY WERE FIRST SUCCESSFUL
AND THEN NEXT GENERATION
WASN'T SO SUCCESSFUL
AND THEN THERE WAS
A CHOLERA EPIDEMIC
THEN WE HAD UH, PROHIBITION
AND THAT, THAT KNOCKED
US ALL A LOOP
DAD BOUGHT IT IN
1953 AND STARTED
STARTED THE MOVE TOWARD
MAKING HIS STYLE OF WHISKEY
AND IT'S IDEALLY SUITED
IT FOR THAT GREAT WATER
SMALL SIZE
ISOLATED
UH, AND WHEN IT LOOKED LIKE
THE COMPANY WAS GOING
TO WORK AS A COMPANY
STARTED THE UH, THE RESTORATION
OF THE OLD 19th CENTURY PLANT
WHICH IS, WHICH HAS BEEN A
LOT OF FUN AND GOOD THERAPY
I THINK MAKING A GREAT WHISKEY
MAKING A DISTINCTIVE WHISKEY
IS NOT ANY DIFFERENT THAN
THAN, THAN UH, THAN DOING
ANYTHING ELSE THAT'S DISTINCTIVE
NUMBER ONE YOU HAVE... YOU HAVE
TO HAVE THE SELF-CONFIDENCE TO
TO FREE ALL THE
TRADITION BOUND BURDENS
AND YOU NEED TO WANT
TO DO IT REAL BAD
AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT REALLY
DISTINGUISHED MY FATHER
UH, FINANCIALLY HE DIDN'T
NEED TO DO ANY OF THIS STUFF
IT WAS, IT WAS AN
INCREDIBLE BURDEN
AND IT WAS AN AWESOME RISK
AND, AND IT WORKED
AND I REALLY DO BELIEVE THAT
BEFORE MY FATHER WENT OFF
TO THAT GREAT DISTILLERY
IN THE SKY
HE WANTED TO BE ABLE
TO GO WITH HIS HEAD UP
AND THAT MEANT CREATE
A BETTER WHISKEY
THAN ANYBODY IN THE
FAMILY HAD EVER DONE
SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER
AND I THINK HE'S DONE IT
BOURBON WHISKEY WAS RECOGNIZED
AS A DISTINCTLY AMERICAN PRODUCT
BY THE UNITED STATES
CONGRESS IN 1964
TO BE CALLED "BOURBON WHISKEY"
IT MUST BE MADE FROM A
MASH CONTAINING 51 % CORN
AND LESSER AMOUNTS OF
WHEAT, RYE AND BARLEY
ALONG WITH SOME YEAST
AND LIMESTONE WATER
BILL SAMUELS, SR.
ARRIVED AT HIS SPECIAL MIX
OF GRAINS BY BAKING BREAD
SEEMS HE DIDN'T WANT
TO WAIT SIX YEARS
FOR THE BOURBON TO AGE
SO HE TRIED OUT DIFFERENT
COMBINATIONS IN THE KITCHEN
RATHER THAN THE DISTILLERY
NOW KENTUCKY LIFE PAYS
TRIBUTE TO A SPECIAL LADY
FROM EAST BERNSTADT, KENTUCKY
WHO WAS KNOWN FAR AND
WIDE AS "THE GOURD LADY"
FROM THE GOURDS WHICH
CHANGED WITH EVERY SEASON
MINNIE BLACK SUMMONED UP
CREATURES, MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
EVEN PEOPLE
INCLUDING A NUMBER
OF SELF PORTRAITS
A VETERAN OF THE TONIGHT SHOW
AND DAVID LETTERMAN
AS WELL AS KET
HERE NOW, IS THE
LATE MINNIE BLACK
I'VE BEEN CARVING GOURDS
AROUND 25 YEARS OR MAYBE MORE
I DON'T KNOW
I BEGAN TO... I
RAISED THE GOURDS
AND I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT
I WAS RAISING THEM FOR
AND I... 'CAUSE I JUST
LOVED TO WATCH THEM GROW
AND UH, MY GRANDCHILDREN LIKED
TO PLAY WITH THEM, YOU KNOW
AND THEY'D PLAY WITH THEM
AND THEN I BEGAN TO SEE
STRANGE THINGS IN GOURDS
THEY... THEY MADE SO MANY
DIFFERENT SHAPES AND SIZES
AND UH, THE VARIETIES UNTIL
IT REMINDS YOU OF SOME...
KIND OF A CREATURE,
MAYBE OR A BIRD
AND SO THAT WAY I GOT STARTED
I MADE THIS ONE FIRST
AND THAT DON'T... IT
LOOKS SOMETHING LIKE ME
IT RESEMBLES ME A LITTLE BIT
ALTHOUGH I THOUGHT I
LOOKED BETTER THAN THAT
AND I DIDN'T USE... THE
HAIR THAT I HAD CUT OFF
THE CURL... THE END...
MY HAIR YOU KNOW
I'D SAVE IT
AND I'D PUT THE LIGHTER
GRAY ON THE FIRST ONE
AND THEN DOWN THAT WAY YOU
NOTICE THEY'RE STILL DARKER
WELL, NOW... THEN I
MADE THIS ONE NEXT
AND THEN THAT ONE
SO I'LL TELL YOU
AND SHOW YOU HOW
THIS, THESE ARE MOLDED
ON A LITTLE GOURD
SEE THIS IS A LITTLE GOURD
AND I DID THIS WITH
A LITTLE TROWEL
IT'S JUST LIKE UH, A PAINTER'S
YOU KNOW, PALETTE LIKE
AND I, AND WHERE I
MOLDED THE NOSE
I'D TAKE MY FINGER, YOU KNOW
AND I... NOW THAT'S HARD TO DO
I HAVE A BOOK ON UH,
PREHISTORIC ANIMALS
AND THIS IS ONE
IT'S CALLED A "STEGOSAURUS"
SEE, I LIKE THIS DUDE
BECAUSE I DID TRY
PRETTY, PRETTY HARD
TO MAKE HIM EXACTLY
LIKE THE PICTURE
THIS IS ALL GOURD
YOU SEE NOW, LISTEN
HERE'S A GOURD
THIS ONE AND THIS ONE
THIS ONE HERE IS FROM
HERE DOWN TO...
YOU SEE, THERE'S WHERE
IT GREW ON THE VINE
WELL, THIS IS PIECES OF GOURDS
THEY'RE CHEWED OUT
WITH A LITTLE UTILITY KNIFE
AND HERE'S WHERE I USED MY
SCULPTURE MOLD, YOU SEE
I DUG OUT A LITTLE RIDGE IN
THERE AND STUCK THEM...
AND PUT THE SCULPTURE
MOLD ON EACH SIDE
AND THAT HARDENED
AND SEE HERE, I PUT...
WHERE YOU PUT THE EYES
I MADE HIS... AND EVEN HIT'S
GOT EYELASHES, YOU SEE
AND SOME I HAVE TEETH IN
BUT THIS ONE DON'T HAVE TEETH
AND THEN I USE UH, THE, THE
GOURD SEED FOR TOENAILS
I MADE ALL THESE
INSTRUMENTS MYSELF
I RAISED THE GOURDS
IN THE GARDEN
AND THEN MADE THEM
INTO THE INSTRUMENT
NOW THIS IS THE
INSTRUMENT I MOSTLY PLAY
IN OUR ENTERTAINMENTS
IT'S CALLED THE "TRIPLE DRUM"
NOW THIS IS MY LITTLE VIOLIN
OR SOME CALL IT A FIDDLE
COURSE THE OLD, THAT'S CALLED
THE OLD TIME WAY, YOU KNOW
FIDDLE
AND UH, THIS BOW
THE BOW IS MADE FROM HOR- THE,
THE HAIR OUT OF A HORSE'S TAIL
AND UH, COURSE YOU SEE HERE
I JUST MADE THIS UP TO
MAKE IT FUNNY LOOKING
(Playing violin)
IT'S NOT IN VERY GOOD TUNE
AND YOU KNOW WHEN I STARTED
RAISING GOURDS IS...
THEY'S SOME PEOPLE RAISES
THEM REAL LARGE
THEY CALL THE "NIGERIAN GIANT"
WELL, I WAS WANTING TO RAISE
ONE OF THOSE GOURDS SO BAD
THE IDEA CAME TO ME
TO DRAW MY PICTURE HERE
WITH THE GOURD, SEE
AND THIS IS WOODBURNING
THAT UH, OUTLINE IS WOODBURNING
AND THERE'S THE YEAR THAT
I, THAT I MADE THIS, SEE
AND HERE IS WHAT I SAID, THIS
LITTLE VERSE THAT I SAID
I SAID, "LET IT BE SAID
"AS I LIE IN MY CASKET
"SHE RAISED A GOURD
LARGE AS A BUSHEL BASKET"
AND HERE THEN, IS
THE YEAR I WAS BORN
AND THE DATE
AND ON THIS SIDE
I'M LEAVING THIS
FOR SOMEBODY ELSE TO DO
MINNIE WAS IN HER EARLY 90s
WHEN SHE MADE HER NETWORK
TELEVISION APPEARANCES
AND YOU CAN STILL
VIEW HER WORK TODAY
IN EAST BERNSTADT IN LAUREL
COUNTY AT MINNIE'S GOURD MUSEUM
A FORMER COUNTRY STORE
MORE THAN A HUNDRED YEARS AGO
EVENTS TOOK PLACE IN PIKE COUNTY
AND MINGO COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA
THAT WOULD LIVE FOREVER
IN THE PUBLIC IMAGINATION
TWO LOCAL FAMILIES BECAME
EMBROILED IN A FEUD
THAT ONCE TAKEN UP BY THE MEDIA
TOOK ON A LIFE OF ITS OWN
THAT WENT FAR BEYOND
THE ACTUAL EVENTS
THAT HAPPENED AT THE
CLOSE OF THE 19th CENTURY
THE NAMES ARE AS COLORFUL
AS THE EVENTS TRAGIC
WILLIAM ANDERSON
"DEVIL ANSE" HATFIELD
AND RANDOLPH "OLD RANNELL" McCOY
SOON TOURISTS EAGER TO
CONNECT WITH THE PAST
WILL BE ABLE TO LEARN ABOUT
THE FAMED HATFIELD-McCOY FEUD
WITH THE HELP OF A TOUR
DESIGNED BY OFFICIALS
IN PIKE AND MINGO COUNTIES
IT'S A CHAPTER IN THE HISTORY
OF THE STATE AND THE NATION
THAT CONTINUES TO FASCINATE US
THOUGH MANY BEAR THE
SCARS OF ITS LEGACY
IN THE LAST HALF OF
THE 19th CENTURY
THE TUG FORK OF THE
BIG SANDY RIVER
WHICH INCLUDED PARTS OF
KENTUCKY AND WEST VIRGINIA
LAY UNTOUCHED
HERE PEOPLE LIVED MUCH
LIKE THEIR ANCESTORS
HAD FOR GENERATIONS
THE ECONOMY AND DAILY
LIVES OF THESE PEOPLE
WERE ISOLATED FROM THE
FORCES OF MARKET CAPITALISM
THAT HAD BEEN TRANSFORMING
THE REST OF THE NATION
SINCE THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
THIS WAS AND STILL IS THE HOME
OF THE HATFIELDS AND THE McCOYS
THEY WERE SUBSISTENCE FARMERS
WHO HAD LIVED PEACEFULLY
TOGETHER FOR MORE THAN 100 YEARS
BUT THEIR NAMES LIVE
IN AMERICAN FOLKLORE
UNDER THE STEREOTYPE OF
WARRING, LAWLESS MOUNTAINEERS
BASICALLY THE HARM THAT
WAS DONE, MOST OF ALL
WAS THE FACT THAT
WE WERE LABELED
UH, AND I MIGHT
EVEN SAY THAT UH
THAT THE GENERAL CONSENSUS WAS
THAT PEOPLE FROM
EASTERN KENTUCKY
WERE WORTHLESS AND
UH, NO-GOOD PEOPLE
UH, WOULDN'T WORK, LAZY
AND THAT KIND OF THING
THAT, THAT WAS THE
STEREOTYPE THAT HAS HARMED
NOT ONLY EASTERN KENTUCKY
IT HAS HARMED THE ENTIRE STATE
THE FEUD DIED OUT AROUND 1897
BUT LIVED ON IN CHEAP
NOVELS AND SILENT FILMS
BY ONE COUNT, MORE THAN
300 NICKELODEON FEATURES
ABOUT MOONSHINING AND FEUDING
WERE MADE BETWEEN 1910 AND 1916
THE STORY OF THE HATFIELD-McCOY
FEUD REMAINS ENDURINGLY POPULAR
IT'S PEPPERED WITH
ROMANCE, DANGER AND DEATH
ALL ELEMENTS FASCINATING ENOUGH
TO DRAW FEUD ENTHUSIASTS
TO PIKE COUNTY, KENTUCKY
AND MINGO COUNTY,
WEST VIRGINIA EVERY YEAR
IN RESPONSE, THE LEGEND
HAS INSPIRED OFFICIALS
OF BOTH STATES
TO CREATE A GUIDED TOUR
FOR THE CURIOUS WHO SEEK OUT THE
SITES WHERE BLOOD WAS SPILLED
DURING THE YEARS OF THE
FAMED HATFIELD-McCOY FEUD
Johnson:
DEVIL ANSE HATFIELD WAS ONE OF
THE MAIN CHARACTERS, OF COURSE
AND UH, RANDOLPH McCOY
THEY WERE THE TWO WHO
MORE ROMANTICIZED
THAN ANYONE ELSE AS THE
PERPETUATORS OF UH, THE UH, FEUD
AND OF COURSE ROSEANNA
AND JOHNSE
WERE UH, WERE VERY
FAVORITE UH, CHARACTERS
UH, THERE WAS ELLISON HATFIELD
OF COURSE ASA HARMON McCOY WAS
UH, WAS THE FIRST ONE KILLED
UH, FATALITY IN THAT
UH, AND UH, FRANK PHILLIPS
WAS UH, IN CHARGE OF
THE SOME OF THE POSSES
LEGALLY AND NON-LEGALLY
AS IT TURNED OUT
IN THE PUBLIC IMAGINATION
THE FEUD LASTED
HUNDREDS OF YEARS
HUNDREDS WERE KILLED
UNTRUE
BY MOST SCHOLARLY ACCOUNTS
IT LASTED BUT 12 YEARS
AND ONLY 12 PEOPLE DIED
AS A DIRECT RESULT
IT ALL STARTED, IT'S SAID
WITH THE DEATH OF HARMON McCOY
AT THE CLOSE OF THE CIVIL WAR
HE FOUGHT FOR THE UNION
AND MOST HATFIELDS
AND McCOYS ALIKE
SYMPATHIZED WITH THE REBELS
DETAILS OF HIS DEATH VARY
BUT APPARENTLY HE WAS FOUND DEAD
FOLLOWING WORDS WITH
THE LOCAL REBEL LEAD
13 YEARS LATER, A DISPUTE
AROSE OVER OWNERSHIP OF PIGS
BETWEEN RANNELL McCOY
AND FLOYD HATFIELD
A COUSIN OF HATFIELD
PATRIARCH, DEVIL ANSE
CONTRARY TO HOTHEADED
HILLBILLY STEREOTYPES
THE MATTER WAS DECIDED IN COURT
NOT WITH A RIFLE
BUT TESTIMONY IN THE TRIAL
DECIDED IN FAVOR
OF THE HATFIELDS
LEFT SOME McCOYS SEETHING
BILL STATEN WHO TESTIFIED FOR
THE HATFIELDS WOUND UP DEAD
AND HIS KILLERS ACQUITTED
ON GROUNDS OF SELF DEFENSE
THE HOG TRIAL MADE A SENSATION
AND UH, THAT ACCENTUATED THE
FLAVOR OF THE, OF THE FEUD
UH, SHORTLY AFTER THAT CAME
UH, BILL STATEN'S MURDER
UH, AND THEN AFTER THAT ROSEANNA
RAN AWAY WITH JOHNSE HATFIELD
ROMANCE ENTERS THE PICTURE
WHEN THE GOOD LOOKING SON
OF DEVIL ANSE HATFIELD
AND THE DEMURE DAUGHTER
OF RANNELL McCOY
FELL HEAD OVER HEELS IN
LOVE ON ELECTION DAY 1880
DEVIL ANSE WOULDN'T CONSENT
TO A MARRIAGE TO A McCOY
ANOTHER ELECTION DAY
BROUGHT MORE TROUBLE
DETAILS VARY
BUT WHEN THE SUN SET THAT DAY
ELLISON HATFIELD,
BROTHER OF DEVIL ANSE
HAD BEEN STABBED AND
SHOT AND LAY NEAR DEATH
HIS ACCUSED ASSAILANTS
WERE ARRESTED
ON THEIR WAY TO
JAIL IN PIKEVILLE
A POSSE LED BY
DEVIL ANSE HATFIELD
CAPTURED THE MEN
AND TOOK THEM TO A REMOTE
CABIN IN WEST VIRGINIA
HATFIELD TERRITORY
DEVIL ANSE'S SENTENCE
IF HIS BROTHER LIVED,
THE McCOYS WOULD LIVE
BUT ELLISON HATFIELD DID
NOT SURVIVE HIS INJURIES
AND WHAT FOLLOWED
WAS THE MOST FAMOUS AND
BLOODY ACTION OF THE FEUD
ANSE AND ABOUT 20 OTHERS
TOOK THE McCOY BOYS BACK
ACROSS THE RIVER TO KENTUCKY
TIED THEM TO SOME PAWPAW BUSHES
AND SHOT THEM IN COLD BLOOD.
INDICTMENTS WERE ISSUED
BUT NO ONE WAS ARRESTED
FIVE YEARS WENT BY
OLD RANNELL McCOY
DIDN'T TAKE UP ARMS
BUT SOUGHT JUSTICE
THROUGH LEGAL CHANNELS
HE REPEATEDLY PETITIONED
FOR THE KILLERS ARRESTS
THEN PERRY CLINE A DISTANT McCOY
RELATIVE AND PIKEVILLE LAWYER
PERSUADED THE GOVERNOR OF
KENTUCKY TO OFFER REWARDS
FOR DEVIL ANSE AND THE
OTHERS IN WEST VIRGINIA
CLINE HAD HIS OWN AX TO GRIND
YEARS BEFORE, HE HAD LOST
A DISPUTE WITH DEVIL ANSE
OVER A VALUABLE PIECE
OF PROPERTY
PERRY CLINE DECIDED THAT HE WAS
GOING TO GO TO THE GOVERNOR
AND ASK THE GOVERNOR IF HE WOULD
UH, ESCALATE THE WHOLE UH THING
IN ORDER TO QUIET IT
TO BRING IT ALL OUT AND, AND
TO TELL IT TO THE PAPERS
TO UH, GET EVERYBODY
EXCITED ABOUT IT
SO THAT WE COULD GET SOME ACTION
GET SOME UH, APPROPRIATE
MILITIA ACTION
AND FINALLY THEN TO
COME IN AND QUIET IT
THE STATE OF KENTUCKY BEGAN
EXTRADITION PROCEEDINGS
AND INDEED THE FEUD HEATED UP
PRIVATE DETECTIVES LIKE FRANK
PHILLIPS WENT INTO THE MOUNTAINS
DEVIL ANSE'S UNCLE WAS
KILLED IN WEST VIRGINIA
IN RETALIATION, THE
STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA
OFFERED REWARDS FOR
THE McCOY INVADERS
BUT THE HATFIELDS HAD
PLANNED THEIR OWN REVENGE
OLD RANNELL McCOY'S HOME
WAS BURNED TO THE GROUND
HIS WIFE WAS BEATEN
NEARLY TO DEATH
AND HIS DAUGHTER ALAFARE
SLAIN BRUTALLY IN THE SNOW
THIS CREATED A
NATIONAL SENSATION
RUMORS FLEW THAT WHOLE
COMMUNITIES WERE HARMED
BOTH STATES ANNOUNCED
PLANS TO SEND IN TROOPS
BUT WHEN EMISSARIES
RETURNED WITH THE NEWS
THAT ONLY A FEW FAMILIES
WERE INVOLVED
AND THE VALLEY WAS QUIET
THE PLANS WERE DROPPED
THE VIOLENCE MAY HAVE ENDED
BUT NEWSPAPER COVERAGE AND LEGAL
BATTLES HAD JUST HEATED UP
WEST VIRGINIA CLAIMED
KENTUCKY HAD IGNORED PROPER
EXTRADITION PROCEEDINGS
THE CASE CONTINUED
FOR SEVERAL MONTHS
AND WENT ALL THE WAY TO
THE U.S. SUPREME COURT
WEST VIRGINIA LOST
AND MURDER TRIALS ENSUED
IN SEPTEMBER 1889 EIGHT
HATFIELD SUPPORTERS WERE
SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON
ELLISON MOUNTS CONVICTED
OF THE MURDER OF OLD RANNELL
McCOY'S DAUGHTER ALAFARE
WAS HANGED IN FEBRUARY 1890
WOULD DEVIL ANSE RIDE INTO
PIKEVILLE THIRSTY FOR REVENGE?
DESPITE RUMORS THERE WERE
NO FURTHER INCIDENTS
AFTER 12 YEARS AND 12 DEATHS
THE FEUD WAS FINALLY OVER
Johnson:
WE CAN'T LOOK AT ONE
ASPECT OF THE FEUD
WITHOUT LOOKING AT THE
OTHER ASPECT OF THE FEUD
THERE'S, THERE IS THE
LEGEND SIDE OF THE FEUD
WHICH IS A BEAUTIFUL STORY
AND CAN ENCOMPASS A
WONDERFUL LOVE STORY
UH, BUT THERE'S ALSO THE
LEGAL SIDE OF THE FEUD
AND UH, AND THAT'S KIND
OF A NICE STORY TOO
MAYBE NOT AS BEAUTIFUL BUT,
BUT IT'S UH, IT'S LOGICAL
THE PRESS PLAYED UP THE TRAGIC
ROMANCE OF ROSEANNA McCOY
AND JOHNSE HATFIELD
AS A ROMEO AND JULIET AFFAIR
ROSEANNA'S LIFE WAS A SAD ONE
AS SHE REFUSED JOHNSE'S REPEATED
REQUEST FOR HER HAND IN MARRIAGE
SHE LEFT HER HOME AND WENT
TO LIVE WITH AN AUNT
BUT SHE'S SAID TO HAVE
REMAINED TRUE TO HER LOVE
WHEN SHE HEARD THAT
HER BROTHERS, McCOYS
PLANNED TO AMBUSH JOHNSE
ARREST HIM FOR MOONSHINING
AND TAKE HIM TO JAIL
SHE RACED TO THE HATFIELD
HOME ON HORSEBACK
BY THE LIGHT OF THE
MOON TO WARN HIM
ROSEANNA BORE JOHNSE A
CHILD, SARAH ELIZABETH
THE LIFE OF THE INFANT
WAS CLAIMED, HOWEVER
WITHIN A FEW MONTHS OF BIRTH
DURING AN OUTBREAK OF MEASLES
HISTORIANS TODAY ARE EXAMINING
THE CAUSES OF THE FEUD
WHAT WAS HAPPENING
IN THE MOUNTAINS
HISTORIAN ALTINA WALLER
SPENT TEN YEARS WITH THE
HATFIELDS AND McCOYS
POURING OVER OLD COURT DOCUMENTS
AND HER BOOK FEUD IS CONSIDERED
THE REAL STORY BY MANY
CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF
THE FEUD WASN'T SIMPLY AN
ESCALATION OF NORMAL BEHAVIOR
PEOPLE WERE SHOCKED
AND FRIGHTENED
MANY DIDN'T KNOW THEY
LIVED IN A PLACE
WHERE SUCH THINGS COULD HAPPEN
PRIMARILY THEY DID
BRING IT TO AN END
AND THEY HAVE INTERMARRIED MANY,
MANY TIMES SINCE THAT TIME
UH, THE POLITICAL STRUGGLES
ACTUALLY DID NOT, UH
INTERFERE WITH THE PROCESSES OF
OF THE PEOPLE WHO
WERE OUT IN THE COUNTY
UH, THEY WENT TO COURT
AND THEY GOT THINGS DONE
AND THEY WENT HOME AND WENT TO
BED THE SAME WAY THEY DID BEFORE
UH, AND THEIR NEIGHBORS WERE AS
FRIENDLY AS THEY WERE BEFORE
SO IT, IT DIDN'T
TAKE LONG REALLY
FOR IT TO ACTUALLY QUIET
UH, AND IN THIS DAY
YOU, YOU JUST REALLY DON'T HEAR
TOO MUCH ABOUT IT AT ALL
ALTHOUGH MANY PEOPLE OF THE
EASTERN KENTUCKY, VIRGINIA
AND WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINS
BLAME THE FEUD AND ITS
SENSATIONAL COVERAGE
FOR NEGATIVE STEREOTYPES
MANY ALSO RECOGNIZE ITS
VALUE IN PROMOTING TOURISM
TO ONE OF THE MOST
BEAUTIFUL PLACES ON EARTH
AND WHILE LEGEND MAY NEVER BE
FULLY SEPARATED FROM FACT
THIS UNIQUE PIECE
OF AMERICAN HISTORY
CAN SERVE AS A GATEWAY
TO THE MOUNTAINS
AND THE FASCINATING EVENTS
THAT TOOK PLACE LONG AGO
Johnson:
I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT TO
DOCUMENT UH, ALL OF THESE THINGS
BECAUSE WE ARE ACCUSED OF SO
MANY DIFFERENT THINGS FROM THIS
UH, IF IT INDEED HAD A LOT TO
DO WITH UH, ROSEANNA AND JOHNSE
THAT NEEDS TO BE DOCUMENTED
IT NEEDS TO BE FIRM AND SURE
BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO BUILD A
TOURISM INDUSTRY ON THAT PACKAGE
AND WE'RE TRYING NOW TO DO THAT
THOUGH THE FEUD IS
MOST OFTEN CITED
AS THE SOURCE FOR
"HILLBILLY" STEREOTYPES
WHICH EMERGED IN BOOKS AND
MOVIES ABOUT THE REGION
OTHERS CREDIT TENNESSEE
WRITER MARY MURFREE
IN HER SHORT STORIES
PUBLISHED IN THE 1880s
SHE ESTABLISHED FICTIONAL
STOCK CHARACTERS
SUCH AS THE "DAISY MAE"
MOUNTAIN GIRL
THE "GRANNY" FIGURE AND
THE DOMINEERING PATRIARCH
WELL, OUR JOURNEY TONIGHT HAS
TAKEN US INTO KENTUCKY'S PAST
FROM THE FIRST SETTLERS WHO
TURNED THEIR CORN INTO WHISKEY
AND BEGAN A TRADITION
THAT CONTINUES TO DEFINE WHAT
IT MEANS TO BE A KENTUCKIAN
TRUE INDIVIDUALS LIKE MINNIE
BLACK WHO LIVED HER 97 YEARS
TO THE TUNE OF HER OWN DRUMMER
CREATING NEW OBJECTS
FROM NATURE'S OWN ART
THAT SHE GREW IN HER BACKYARD
AND THE TRAGIC DEATHS
AMONG TWO PROUD FAMILIES
THE HATFIELDS AND McCOYS
THEIR STORY CAPTIVATES US
BECAUSE OF ITS VIOLENCE
BUT FOR ILL OR FOR GOOD
THEIR HISTORY IS A PART OF
THE HISTORY OF ALL OF US
WHO CALL OURSELVES KENTUCKIANS
THAT'S OUR SHOW FOR THIS EVENING
YOU'LL WANT TO MAKE A NOTE
TO JOIN ME NEXT WEEK
WHEN WE VISIT A PAGE IN THE
KENTUCKY LIFE SONGBOOK
WE'LL MEET CRAIG PIERPONT
OF EDMONTON
WHO BLENDS HIS LOVE OF
MUSIC AND WOODWORKING
INTO THE PROFESSION OF
MAKING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
WE'LL CATCH A RISING STAR
GREG TURE, WHO HAS TAKEN
THE WORLD OF OPERA BY STORM
MEET A LOUISVILLE
BAND, UNION TREE
WHO IS MAKING A LEAP OF FAITH
IN THE RECORDING INDUSTRY
AND SAMPLE KENTUCKY'S
TRADITIONAL FOLK MUSIC
AT THE KENTUCKY STATE FAIR
I HOPE TO SEE YOU THEN
GOOD NIGHT
IF YOU'D LIKE MORE INFORMATION
ON ANY OF OUR STORIES TONIGHT
OR WANT TO HEAR MORE
ABOUT NEXT WEEK'S SHOW
CALL OUR VIEWER LINK LINE AT:
[TDD: 1-800-395-5388]
OR WRITE TO US AT:
[Closed captioning
by the KET Caption Center]
[was made possible by a grant]
[from the Honorable Order
of Kentucky Colonels]
[and in part by a grant from
The Lexington Lions Club]
[and a gift from the
Lloyd E. Rigler-Lawrence E.
Deutsch Foundation]