Hatfields and McCoys Appear Before Kentucky Judge in Land Feud

Lubbock, TX, Avalanche-Journal ^ | 01-23-03 | AP

[Theodore R.]

Hatfield and McCoys appear before judge in land feud Associated Press

PIKEVILLE, Ky. (AP) — More than a century after the last shots were fired in America¹s most storied feud, the Hatfields and McCoys went before a judge Wednesday to try to resolve a dispute over access to a graveyard.

Relatives have an unquestionable right to visit the graves,¹¹ said Della Justice, an attorney representing McCoy descendants who sued Hatfield descendants for the right to visit the small cemetery on an Appalachian hillside in eastern Kentucky.

The graveyard holds the remains of six McCoys, including three who were tied to pawpaw trees and executed by the Hatfields in 1882.

McCoy descendants claim they have not been able to visit the cemetery in more than three years because it is on land owned by a Hatfield heir and the driveway leading to the graves has been marked ŒŒNo Trespassing.¹¹

Circuit Judge Charles E. Lowe Jr. did not immediately issue a ruling.

The feud between the McCoys of Kentucky and the Hatfields of West Virginia is believed to have begun in the 1870s. By 1888, at least 12 people had died as a result of the shooting war.

The violence ended by 1900 and the two families have held joint reunions.

over a stolen pig and escalated over timber rights

The cemetery case has generating widespread publicity that some hope will draw tourists to the area, though the families are focusing on the dispute.

This is not about publicity,¹¹ said Ron McCoy of Durham, N.C., one of the plaintiffs. ŒŒI would have to be a marketing genius to get the kind of international press we¹re getting here.¹¹

McCoy said the cemetery is too important historically to remain closed to the public. He and a cousin, Bo McCoy of Waycross, Ga., filed the suit against the Vances.

John Vance, a Hatfield descendant, had posted the ŒŒno trespassing¹¹ signs. The judge granted an injunction earlier this year giving temporary access until the court could decide the issue.

Ron and Bo McCoy, organizers of the annual Hatfield-McCoy Reunion Festival in Pikeville, want the cemetery to be part of a tour that would highlight points of interest related to the feud. Economic development officials in Pikeville hope the feud sites and cemeteries will draw tourists to the mountain communities.

Larry Webster, an attorney for the Vances, said the cemetery has not had a burial in 114 years. He contends the McCoys lost the right to visit the cemetery when they abandoned it, and he accused the family of trying to capitalize on its tourist potential.

ŒŒThese people are trying to charge people admission to visit my client¹s property,¹¹ he said. ŒŒIt¹s mountain land, as steep as a mule¹s face.¹¹

The McCoy family has made the simple gravesites easier for tourists to spot. A marble monument now stands at the cemetery inscribed with the names of the slain McCoys.

[Theodore R.]

Some disputes just never dies, even when the issue is access to a cemetery!

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[Allan]

bump

[Cinnamon Girl]

I'd be interested in visiting the area, just because I like the Appalachians, but not if they plan to set up souvenir shops and do daily shoot out re-enactments.

[RonF]

If they're denying access to relatives, that's not right, although it may be legal. But denying the relatives the ability to commercialize the graves and make money off them makes it seem that they respect the dead more than their own relatives do.