After we finished filming the audition, I started thinking about the most famous family feud in American History: The Hatfield's and McCoy's. So I decided to do a little research in order to find out what they were fighting over. What I discovered was a confusing series of disputes which originiated during the Civil War. There was even a forbidden love relationship that was reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet.
The McCoy family lived on the border of Kentucky. They sided with the North during the Civil War and were led by "Ole Ran'l" McCoy who instilled in his sons a fierce family loyalty and pride. The Hatfield family lived on the border of West Virginia. Even though their state sided with the North during the Civil War, they were Southern sympathizers. The Hatfield's were led by the equally proud "Devil Anse" Hatfield. Even though the two families were constantly at odds, they would often marry each other given the slim pickins of residents in the area.
The hostilities started when Ole Ran'l's Norther soldier brother was found dead in a cave. The murderer was never found, but most people suspected the Southern sympathiser, Devil Anse Hatfield. The most famous feud between the two families was over a pig, believe it or not. It began when Ole Ran'l McCoy visited his brother-in-law, Floyd Hatfield. Ole Ran'l saw a pig that looked familiar and accused his brother-in-law of stealing it. The fight went all the way to court. The judge, a Hatfield as well, decided in favor of Floyd Hatfield. That did not go over very well with Ole Ran'l McCoy.
In the midst of all this pig fighting, there was a blossoming love forming between the children of the leaders of each family. Roseanna McCoy had fallen madly in love with Johnse Hatfield. One night, while the two lovers were engaging in a private trist, Roseanna's three brothers broke in and abruptly ended their relations. They grabbed Johnse and claimed that they were taking him to jail. Roseanna knew that her brothers were probably going to kill Johnse before they get anywhere near the jail. So she quickly went to Johnse's father, Devil Anse Hatfield, and informed him what her brothers had done.
Devil Anse Hatfield was able to save his son in time, but Johnse was too scared to continue his relationship with Roseanna. He moved his attentions to Roseanna's cousin, which apparently was a more acceptable choice for the McCoy family. Roseanna's story is tragic enough to rival Shakespeare's Juliet. She was pregnant with Johnse's child, but soon miscarried. She went back to her father, Ole Ran'l McCoy, where she was treated as a traitor because she revealed her brothers' plan to the enemy. She died a few years later.
Roseanna's brothers later went on to stab and shoot Devil Anse Hatfield's brother. The Hatfield's took revenge by killing the brothers in front of their pleading mother. Over the next ten years, more beatings and killings occurred. When all was said and done, 13 people were killed in this most famous family feud.
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