Much of the distorted view the public has of the Hatfields is a result of this photo. The photo was ‘staged’ by a photographer, for his own purposes.
Not many people know that in the 56 years that Anse Hatfield lived after the end of the Civil War, there is real evidence of him being involved in violence against another person ONE time only. That was when he lynched the three McCoys who had killed his brother, in 1882. Except for his proclivity to cook mash, he steered clear of the law for the remaining 39 years of his life.
At a time when the public thinks that Anse Hatfield was an outlaw on the run in the 1890’s, he was actually living the life of a businessman and farmer. Of course he always had a still in the hills.
This clipping, from the Logan Banner of April 13, 1893, was sent to me a few years ago by Brandon Kirk, who is the ONLY member of academia who does REAL research on our history. It is a much more realistic representation of Anse Hagfield in the 1890’s than is the staged photograph that made him famous.
I would bet that an 1893 menu from the Oakland House in Logan would fetch a pretty penny on eBay! “The best food that the market affords!”
I believe that Anse went along with the reporters who interviewed him, and the photographers who photographed him for a very good reason: He lived for 39 years with three murder warrants on him in Kentucky, and there were bounty hunters galore who would have liked to collect those rewards. I think Anse went out of his way to let them think that he was the kind of man they didn’t want to fool with–which, of course he was!
I also find it hard to believe that none of those hungry bounty hunters ever gave it a try by going to Island Creek. I am convinced that there are some dry bones in the hills of Island Creek of bounty hunters who went looking for Anse Hatfield and found him! But we’ll never know for sure.
Anse Hatfield is generally known to have been illiterate, but I am not sure of that. I was told by several of the old people on Blackberry when I was young that a lot of the men in Anse’s time could actually read quite well and write a little, but they signed their names with an “X” for the purpose of giving them an “out” in court. They could always claim that they did not really know what they were signing. Of course I can’t prove that, but I know that Anse was sly enough to run such a scam
There are two ways to know a historical figure: those who knew him personally, especially his relatives, knew him as only they can. OTOH, those who study the record know them in another way. I knew people who knew Anse, some of them nearly 50 years old when Anse died. There is not a lot of difference between the man who is in the records and the man they knew.
The man who is known ONLY from the feud tales is far different man, and he is NOT real!
There are a lot descendants who have knowledge that came to them from their parents and grandparents. The Anse Hatfield of the records is known only to a few, who have spent the long hours necessary to do that research. I know only three of that latter group: Brandon Kirk, Eric Simon and myself. There may be others, but I don’t know them.
I wrote in my first book that Devil Anse’s public reputation as a “Bad man” was largely earned for him by his sons, who killed at least 7 men after the “feud.”
Wall Hatfield, when he was in jail in Pikeville, is quoted by a reporter as saying: “My Brother Anse has some bad boys.” T.C. Crawford wrote that Elias told him the same thing. It is true, and I am working on a book about the post-feud exploits of the sons. Far more exciting than the feud tales!