Mounts, Octava "Octavia"

1871 - 1955  (84 years)

• Name	Mounts, Octava "Octavia"  [1]
  	20250531GHLn- Valentine “Wall” Hatfield Photo added by G-Man Valentine “Wall” Hatfield Birth 1834 Logan County, West Virginia, USA Death 13 Feb 1890 (aged 55-56) Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky, USA Burial Penitentiary Grounds Cemetery Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky, USA Memorial ID160808938 · Photos 6 Flowers 35 Added by G-Man Added by G-Man Older brother and partner in the timber business of William Anderson "Devil Anse" Hatfield. He was a justice of the peace in Logan County. Wall and eight others were arrested and brought to Kentucky to stand trial for the murder of Alifair McCoy, killed during the Hatfield-McCoy feud in the New Year's Massacre of 1888, and the murder of Tolbert, Pharmer, and Bud McCoy who were executed following the death of Ellison Hatfield who was stabbed by the McCoys at an election in 1882. Because of issues of due process and illegal extradition, the United States Supreme Court became involved (Mahon v. Justice, 127 U.S. 700 (1888)), and ruled 7-2 in favor of Kentucky, holding that, even if a fugitive is returned from the asylum state illegally, instead of through lawful extradition procedure, no federal law prevents him from being tried. Eventually, the men were tried in Kentucky and all were found guilty. Seven received life imprisonment, while the eighth, Ellison "Cottontop" Mounts, was executed by hanging. Wall petitioned his brothers to assist in his emancipation from jail but none came for fear of being captured and brought to trial. He died in prison of unknown causes and was buried in the prison cemetery. ? The picture used in this memorial is Valentine Hatfield. He was the brother of "Devil" Anderson Hatfield. You can find this picture in many Hatfield/McCoy Feud books. This man died in 1890 in a Frankfort, KY prison. He was born 1834 in Logan Co, VA & was convicted in the murders of the 3 sons of Randolph McCoy. Family Members Parents Ephraim Prater "Big Eaf" Hatfield 1812-1881 Nancy A. Vance Hatfield 1813-1895 Spouse Jane Maynard Hatfield 1835-1903 (m. 1853) Siblings Martha Matilda Hatfield Varney 1831-1910 Elizabeth Hatfield Record 1835-1917 William Anderson "Devil Anse" Hatfield 1839-1921 Ellison Hatfield 1841-1882 Elias "Good Lias" Hatfield 1846-1908 Emma Hatfield Smith 1849-1929 Bridget "Biddie" Hatfield Mitchell 1850-1924 Smith Hatfield 1853-1937 Patterson Hatfield 1853-1902 Children Ephraim Davis "Eaf" Hatfield 1856-1945 Nancy Hatfield Steele 1857-1957 Sarah Ann Hatfield Mahon 1860-1943 Vicey Hatfield Mahon 1861-1948 Rebecca Hatfield Mounts 1864-1960 Sampson "Sampy" Hatfield 1867-1955 Ellison Lawrence "Larry" Hatfield 1870-1947 Octava "Octavia" Hatfield Mounts 1871-1955 Laura Hatfield Kennedy 1872-1962 Allen Hatfield 1877-1975 Columbia Hatfield Mounts Daniels Stewart Rutherford 1878-1965 Julia "Julie" Hatfield Murphy 1883-1916 Flowers • 35 Left by pcs48 on 28 Mar 2025 Left by Grave Seeker on 19 Sep 2024
  Birth	1871  [1]
  Gender	Female
  Death	29 Oct 1955  [1]
  Burial	Aft 29 Oct 1955	Freeburn, Pike, Kentucky, USA   [1]
  Person ID	I104865	WETZEL-SPRING

  
  

  Father	Hatfield, Valentine JoP,   b. 7 May 1834, Logan County, West Virginia, USA d. 13 Feb 1890, Frankfort, Franklin, Kentucky, USA (Age 55 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Maynard, Nancy 'Jane',   b. Abt Feb 1835, Pike County, Kentucky, USA d. 1903, Franklin County, Kentucky, USA (Age 67 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Marriage	29 Aug 1853	Blackberry Creek, Blackberry, Pike, Kentucky, USA   [2, 3]
  	20241202GHLn- Valentine Hatfield in the Kentucky, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1783-1965 Name Valentine Hatfield Gender Male Age 19 Birth abt 1834 Marriage 29 Aug 1853 Pike, Kentucky, USA Spouse Jane Mainard Film 001943483 Name Jane Mainard Gender Female Age 16 Birth abt 1837 Spouse Valentine Hatfield Film 001943483 Wall was 19, Nancy was 16.
  Issue, jt	Allen was born October 11, 1877. He was the youngest child of the pioneer couple, Wall Valentine Hatfield and Jane Maynard Hatfield, who settled on Beech Creek in 1861  [4]
  	20230521GHLn- Allen Hatfield of Beech Creek, WV (1970s) Tuesday 11 Sep 2018 Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Matewan, Tazewell County? 4 Comments TagsAllen Hatfield, Appalachia, Beech Creek, Beni Kedem, Charleston, Charlie Simpkins, Cincinnati, civil war, Clyde Kiser, Deanna Hatfield, Devil Anse Hatfield, Devon Church of Christ, Doc Mayhorn, Eliza Murphy, Ellison Hatfield, feuds, Frankfort, genealogy, Goldie Hatfield, Gordon Smith, Grapevine Fork, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, history, Hugh C. Boyd Lodge No. 119, Jane Hatfield, Jane Maynard, Joseph Chester Hatfield, Joseph Murphy, Kentucky, Kentucky Colonels, Lawrence Hatfield, Logan County, Major Hatfield, Martha Bell Murphy, Maryland, Mingo County, Norfolk and Western Railroad, North Tazewell, Ohio, Pike County, Plyant Mayhorn, preacher, Raymond Hatfield, Right Hand Fork, Rockville, Thacker, Valentine Wall Hatfield, Virginia, West Virginia, Williamson, Williamson Memorial Hospital, Willis Hatfield My name is Deanna Hatfield and tonight I would like to share with you a West Virginian, Allen Hatfield, who the community of Beech Creek honored and loved. Allen was born October 11, 1877. He was the youngest child of the pioneer couple, Wall Valentine Hatfield and Jane Maynard Hatfield, who settled on Beech Creek in 1861, the year that the Civil War broke out in this country. His parents had settled at the mouth of Grapevine Fork of Beech Creek. They had occupied a log cabin near the present site of Lawrence Hatfield’s home. He was the nephew of Captain Devil Anse Hatfield, clan leader in the famed Hatfield-McCoy Feud, and a first cousin of Willis Hatfield, the only surviving child of that family. Almost until the day of his death, Allen carried a sadness in his heart over the death of his father in the days of the famous feud. His father, a peaceable man, was not an active member of the fighting group of the Hatfields during the trouble between his family and the McCoys but was named in warrants along with two of his sons-in-law, Doc and Plyant Mayhorn. Allen Hatfield, but ten years old at the time, remembered that his father Wall, thinking that he had nothing to fear in the courts of Kentucky, wrote the prosecuting attorney of Pike County that he and his sons-in-laws wished to surrender in Pikeville and stand trial for crimes for which they were accused. Allen Hatfield recalled the incident from his boyhood, including the feud. His father did go to Pikeville to voluntarily stand trial and clear his name but he was convicted by a prejudiced jury, the son remembered, and was sentenced to life imprisonment at the Kentucky State Prison in Frankfort. After sentencing, he lived about one year and his burial place is still unknown today. The two Mayhorns served several years and were later pardoned. One of his fondest memories was that of his mother Jane who took over the management of the home and did a good job of raising a large family after her husband was taken from her. She did chores around the homestead. A great and interesting conversationalist in his adult years, he liked to tell of how he and his friends made bows and arrows-arrows consisting of straight pieces of wood with a horseshoe nails attached as the spike. He became an excellent marksman with the bow and arrow and later with his first rifle as he helped to provide squirrels and other wild game for the family table. The early years of Hatfield’s life were marked by sadness as a result of the loss of his family in the feud. But his hours spent in the great outdoors hunting and fishing provided a therapy that led to his development to splendid manhood. He was several years old when the Norfolk and Western Railroad Company built an extension from Virginia to southern West Virginia and Mingo County, which still was Logan County at that time. In 1899, Hatfield was married to Martha Bell Murphy, daughter of Joseph and Eliza (Steele) Murphy. She had just turned fourteen when he proposed and her family thought she was too young to wed. The young couple sort of eloped the night of April 8, 1899, to Allen’s home where they were married by Allen’s brother, Ellison, a country preacher and a granny doctor, as he later recalled. Late that summer, he amassed enough lumber to build their first home-a one-room abode that was erected next to the hillside just north of the present homestead. Allen Hatfield made most of his furniture and his wife tended a garden and dug ginseng to help the family fortune. During the ensuing years, the Hatfields had eleven children, two of whom preceded them in death. Lawrence Hatfield, who married Dollie Kiser, is now retired and lives with Dollie on Beech Creek at the mouth of Grapevine Fork. Estel Hatfield, who married Virginia Varney, lived with his dad and still lives in the old homeplace. Estel is an agent for the Norfolk and Western Railroad Company. Major Hatfield, who married Mildred Friend, is employed as an agent also for the Norfolk and Western Railroad Company in North Tazewell, Virginia. Rosa Hatfield, married Wayne Simpkins, lives on Beech Creek on Right Hand Fork. Goldie Hatfield married Gordon Smith, and they make their home below Grapevine Fork on Beech Creek. Mamie Hatfield married Charlie Simpkins and makes her home in Rockville, Maryland. Glendeen Hatfield married Douglas Berlin, and they make their home in Louisiana. Etta June Hatfield, never married and lives in Cincinnati, Ohio. Erma Hatfield married Forest Baisden, and she lives in Williamson, West Virginia. Milda Hatfield, deceased, was a retired school teacher and was never married. Joseph Chester Hatfield, died at six months old. In 1914, Allen bought from his brother Smith a grocery store at the old homeplace and moved the merchandise to a small building at his home. He built a large home later and it was there that most of the children were born. He expanded his business to a larger store building, which still stands, and then he erected the present homeplace. During his early merchandising days, Hatfield was compelled to haul his goods from the railway station at Devon by team and wagon for the roads had not been built and most of the rough team tracks was through the creeks. It was a problem in the wintertime to get through the streams as they were filled with ice. After the county built a road up Beech Creek, he retired his team and wagon and switched to a gasoline-powered vehicle to haul and deliver his goods. He learned carpentry in the early years of his marriage and continued this art until 1964 when he retired. Hatfield was a 57-year member of the Hugh C. Boyd Lodge No. 119 AF & AM at Matewan and received his 50-year service award from the Grand Lodge of West Virginia in 1970. The lodge, when he became a master mason, was known as Thacker No. 119. It was located at Thacker, West Virginia. It later was moved to Matewan. He also belonged to the Beni Kedem Temple of Charleston, being a 50-year member of the Shriners. He also received the honorary commission of a Kentucky Colonel on April 10, 1972. He had been a member of the Devon Church of Christ since 1916 and sponsored the building of the present church that stands near his home on Beech Creek. In his years of selling groceries, Hatfield said he never lost but 50 dollars in bad debts. He was proud of his heritage, a leader in his community, and in his active life a crack shot with a rifle, pistol, and shotgun. His hunting and fishing kept the table supplied with food. He won beef, hogs, turkeys, and chickens in the old-time rifle matches that were so popular in the Beech Creek area years ago. He and the former Martha B. Murphy were married 71 years before her death on May 25, 1970. His life might have been used as the subject by the poet who wrote, “Let me live by the side of the road and be a friend to man.” Allen Hatfield had spent a lifetime doing just that, living beside a little country road on Beech Creek and being a friend to mankind. On March 2, 1975, Allen was taken to the Williamson Memorial Hospital for ailments associated with his advanced age. He then was released and re-entered the hospital on April 18 in critical condition. On Friday, May 2, 1975, the community of Beech Creek lost one of the dearest old-timers that was ever known. Allen Hatfield, 97, prominently-known Mingo pioneer citizen, retired merchant of Beech Creek, died at 3 a.m. in the Williamson Memorial Hospital of a lingering illness. Funeral services were scheduled at the Chambers Funeral Home Chapel with his beloved ministers Clyde Kiser and Raymond Hatfield officiating. Burial took place in the family cemetery behind the homeplace on Beech Creek. His grandsons and great-grandsons were his pallbearers. Allen would have wanted it this way. Simple. NOTE: Some of the names may be transcribed incorrectly. Share this: EmailFacebookLinkedInPinterestTumblrTwitter Paw Paw Incident: Joseph Hatfield Deposition (1889) June 4, 2018 In "Culture of Honor" Paw Paw Incident: James M. McCoy Deposition (1889) December 6, 2018 In "Hatfield-McCoy Feud" Paw Paw Incident: Doc Mayhorn Deposition (1889) September 7, 2018 In "Hatfield-McCoy Feud"
  Family ID	F32639	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map

  Burial - Aft 29 Oct 1955 - Freeburn, Pike, Kentucky, USA  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Sources

  [S1115] Ancestry.com, U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012;). Record for Valentine Hatfield (64) facts 20250531GHLn- 20250531GHLn- Valentine “Wall” Hatfield Photo added by G-Man Valentine “Wall” Hatfield Birth 1834 Logan County, West Virginia, USA Death 13 Feb 1890 (aged 55-56) Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky, USA Burial Penitentiary Grounds Cemetery Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky, USA Memorial ID160808938 · Photos 6 Flowers 35 Added by G-Man Added by G-Man Older brother and partner in the timber business of William Anderson "Devil Anse" Hatfield. He was a justice of the peace in Logan County. Wall and eight others were arrested and brought to Kentucky to stand trial for the murder of Alifair McCoy, killed during the Hatfield-McCoy feud in the New Year's Massacre of 1888, and the murder of Tolbert, Pharmer, and Bud McCoy who were executed following the death of Ellison Hatfield who was stabbed by the McCoys at an election in 1882. Because of issues of due process and illegal extradition, the United States Supreme Court became involved (Mahon v. Justice, 127 U.S. 700 (1888)), and ruled 7-2 in favor of Kentucky, holding that, even if a fugitive is returned from the asylum state illegally, instead of through lawful extradition procedure, no federal law prevents him from being tried. Eventually, the men were tried in Kentucky and all were found guilty. Seven received life imprisonment, while the eighth, Ellison "Cottontop" Mounts, was executed by hanging. Wall petitioned his brothers to assist in his emancipation from jail but none came for fear of being captured and brought to trial. He died in prison of unknown causes and was buried in the prison cemetery. ? The picture used in this memorial is Valentine Hatfield. He was the brother of "Devil" Anderson Hatfield. You can find this picture in many Hatfield/McCoy Feud books. This man died in 1890 in a Frankfort, KY prison. He was born 1834 in Logan Co, VA & was convicted in the murders of the 3 sons of Randolph McCoy. Family Members Parents Ephraim Prater "Big Eaf" Hatfield 1812-1881 Nancy A. Vance Hatfield 1813-1895 Spouse Jane Maynard Hatfield 1835-1903 (m. 1853) Siblings Martha Matilda Hatfield Varney 1831-1910 Elizabeth Hatfield Record 1835-1917 William Anderson "Devil Anse" Hatfield 1839-1921 Ellison Hatfield 1841-1882 Elias "Good Lias" Hatfield 1846-1908 Emma Hatfield Smith 1849-1929 Bridget "Biddie" Hatfield Mitchell 1850-1924 Smith Hatfield 1853-1937 Patterson Hatfield 1853-1902 Children Ephraim Davis "Eaf" Hatfield 1856-1945 Nancy Hatfield Steele 1857-1957 Sarah Ann Hatfield Mahon 1860-1943 Vicey Hatfield Mahon 1861-1948 Rebecca Hatfield Mounts 1864-1960 Sampson "Sampy" Hatfield 1867-1955 Ellison Lawrence "Larry" Hatfield 1870-1947 Octava "Octavia" Hatfield Mounts 1871-1955 Laura Hatfield Kennedy 1872-1962 Allen Hatfield 1877-1975 Columbia Hatfield Mounts Daniels Stewart Rutherford 1878-1965 Julia "Julie" Hatfield Murphy 1883-1916 Flowers • 35 Left by pcs48 on 28 Mar 2025 Left by Grave Seeker on 19 Sep 2024 Valentine Wall HATFIELD 20250531GHLn- Valentine “Wall” Hatfield Photo added by G-Man Valentine “Wall” Hatfield Birth 1834 Logan County, West Virginia, USA Death 13 Feb 1890 (aged 55-56) Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky, USA Burial Penitentiary Grounds Cemetery Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky, USA Memorial ID160808938 · Photos 6 Flowers 35 Added by… [S733] Public Member Trees, a new rotation 20130407, Database online. Record for Nancy Jane Maynard Valentine Hatfield Info Valentine "Uncle Wall" Hatfield, the elder brother of "Devil Anse" was overshadowed by Devil Anse's ambitions but was one of the eight convicted to end the feud. He died in prison of unknown causes. He had petitioned his brothers to assist in his emancipation from jail, but none came for fear of being captured and brought to trial. He was buried in the prison cemetery which has since been paved over. bobbiejenkins04added this on 7 Jun 2012 mcmillen1961originally submitted this to McMillions (McMillens) - Virginia To Illinois on 17 Jul 2009 ________________ A memory of meeting Mary Hatfield early 1941-1943 , Williamson WV The link between the famous Hatfield family of West Virginia and the Blankenship line within our family occurred when Mary Hatfield, daughter of Valentine and niece of Devil Anse, married Richard Blankenship in January 1893. My mother's family used to vacation often to Williamson WV and her older brother Sherman remembers meeting Mary Hatfield. He recalls an old woman seated in a rocker, smoking a corn-cob pipe and spitting chewing tobacco in the general direction of several spitoons around the small house. This discription of the lady fits well with others I have found. bobbiejenkins04added this on 26 Jan 2013 pekovichoriginally submitted this to Pekovich on 21 Dec 2007 _________________________________ Mary Hatfield Info Mary filed for divorce after Richard killed a man and went to prison. Mary took the name Hatfield and renamed her children with the Hatfield last name. bobbiejenkins04added this on 15 Mar 2010 mcmillen1961originally submitted this to McMillions (McMillens) - Virginia To Illinois on 25 Aug 2009 Hatfield, Coleman Hatfield Letter 1966 re Hatfield Steele ancestry Coleman Hatfield Letter 1966 This story is a PDF document. To read this story, you will need to download it to your computer. bobbiejenkins04added this on 18 Jun 2012 pekovichoriginally submitted this to Pekovich on 13 May 2010 A letter written by Coleman A. Hatfield in 1966. Describes a bit of the history of the Hatfield family back… Maynard Hatfield, Nancy Jane unknown date Jane Maynard bobbiejenkins04added this on 27 May 2012 fipladyoriginally submitted this to Webb-Spinners & Ingram-Wycoff on 14 Jun 2010 Hatfield, Valentine Wall, b1834 64a980f2-5d2a-4330-9884-3293834c56a6 20250526GHLn- pasted from front Media Details: Hatfield Valentine photo 001 bobbiejenkins04added this on 27 May 2012 onetinmtoriginally submitted this to Mitchell Family Tree on 7 Aug 2011 Unknown date of photo of Valentine "Wall" Hatfield Hatfield, Valentine Wall, sketch c3127555-2faf-440a-8220-4dc680e1fb65 LEAD Technologies Inc. V1.01 Valentine Wall Hatfield Sketch bobbiejenkins04added this on 11 Mar 2010 mcmillen1961originally submitted this to McMillions (McMillens) - Virginia To Illinois on 6 Oct 2009 This drawing appeared in the Louisville Courier-Journal on Feb 17 1888. Valentine was the older brother of Devil Anse Hatfield, a… death certificate, Hatfield Carter, Mary d1943 3a22eda5-142b-4125-948b-7e1947d37587 Mary Hatfield Carter bobbiejenkins04added this on 18 Jun 2012 robertfitch2originally submitted this to Bob's Family of West Virginia on 28 May 2012 Hatfield, Valentine Wall, Hearthstone photo in Williamson Daily News 19950525 82af2719-c2db-4e2f-80b5-241805779c0a 20230827GHLn- Pasted from front Media Details, edited: bobbiejenkins04added this on 7 Jun 2012 onetinmtoriginally submitted this to Mitchell Family Tree on 8 Aug 2011 Hearthstone from Valentine Hatfield home ca. 1995, at the mouth oof Grapevine Fork of Beech Creek, Mingo County, West Virginia, USA This photo of Valentine Hatfield's grandson,… Maynard Hatfield, Nancy Jane Jane Maynard bobbiejenkins04added this on 27 May 2012 fipladyoriginally submitted this to Webb-Spinners & Ingram-Wycoff on 14 Jun 2010 Hatfield Steele, Nancy Jane w d-i-l Bettie Chafin Steele 06c88c00-bad4-4e09-9ee8-18d013bfa950 20230604GHLn- Pasted from front Media Details to empty Notes, edited: Nancy Hatfield steele bobbiejenkins04added this on 18 Jun 2012 chrisann59originally submitted this to Scattered Leaves of Our Family on 6 Jun 2012 Nancy Hatfield Steele & daughter-in-law Bettie Chafin Steele. Nancy was niece of Devil Ance. [S1551] Ancestry.com, Kentucky, County Marriages, 1783-1965, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Lehi, UT, USA; Date: 2016;). Record for Valentine Hatfield (8) facts 20241202GHLn- 20241202GHLn- Valentine Hatfield in the Kentucky, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1783-1965 Name Valentine Hatfield Gender Male Age 19 Birth abt 1834 Marriage 29 Aug 1853 Pike, Kentucky, USA Spouse Jane Mainard Film 001943483 Name Jane Mainard Gender Female Age 16 Birth abt 1837 Spouse Valentine Hatfield Film 001943483 KY Co Marriage Record 18530829 Valentine Hatfield_NJane.jpg 20241202GHLn- Valentine Hatfield in the Kentucky, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1783-1965 Name Valentine Hatfield Gender Male Age 19 Birth abt 1834 Marriage 29 Aug 1853 Pike, Kentucky, USA Spouse Jane Mainard Film 001943483 Name Jane Mainard Gender Female Age 16 Birth abt 1837 Spouse Valentine Hatfield Film 001943483 [S2786] Brandon Ray Kirk, Hatfield McCoy Feud, BrandonRayKirk. Allen Hatfield (1) fact 20230522GHLn- 20230521GHLn- Allen Hatfield of Beech Creek, WV (1970s) Tuesday 11 Sep 2018 Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Matewan, Tazewell County? 4 Comments TagsAllen Hatfield, Appalachia, Beech Creek, Beni Kedem, Charleston, Charlie Simpkins, Cincinnati, civil war, Clyde Kiser, Deanna Hatfield, Devil Anse Hatfield, Devon Church of Christ, Doc Mayhorn, Eliza Murphy, Ellison Hatfield, feuds, Frankfort, genealogy, Goldie Hatfield, Gordon Smith, Grapevine Fork, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, history, Hugh C. Boyd Lodge No. 119, Jane Hatfield, Jane Maynard, Joseph Chester Hatfield, Joseph Murphy, Kentucky, Kentucky Colonels, Lawrence Hatfield, Logan County, Major Hatfield, Martha Bell Murphy, Maryland, Mingo County, Norfolk and Western Railroad, North Tazewell, Ohio, Pike County, Plyant Mayhorn, preacher, Raymond Hatfield, Right Hand Fork, Rockville, Thacker, Valentine Wall Hatfield, Virginia, West Virginia, Williamson, Williamson Memorial Hospital, Willis Hatfield My name is Deanna Hatfield and tonight I would like to share with you a West Virginian, Allen Hatfield, who the community of Beech Creek honored and loved. Allen was born October 11, 1877. He was the youngest child of the pioneer couple, Wall Valentine Hatfield and Jane Maynard Hatfield, who settled on Beech Creek in 1861, the year that the Civil War broke out in this country. His parents had settled at the mouth of Grapevine Fork of Beech Creek. They had occupied a log cabin near the present site of Lawrence Hatfield’s home. He was the nephew of Captain Devil Anse Hatfield, clan leader in the famed Hatfield-McCoy Feud, and a first cousin of Willis Hatfield, the only surviving child of that family. Almost until the day of his death, Allen carried a sadness in his heart over the death of his father in the days of the famous feud. His father, a peaceable man, was not an active member of the fighting group of the Hatfields during the trouble between his family and the McCoys but was named in warrants along with two of his sons-in-law, Doc and Plyant Mayhorn. Allen Hatfield, but ten years old at the time, remembered that his father Wall, thinking that he had nothing to fear in the courts of Kentucky, wrote the prosecuting attorney of Pike County that he and his sons-in-laws wished to surrender in Pikeville and stand trial for crimes for which they were accused. Allen Hatfield recalled the incident from his boyhood, including the feud. His father did go to Pikeville to voluntarily stand trial and clear his name but he was convicted by a prejudiced jury, the son remembered, and was sentenced to life imprisonment at the Kentucky State Prison in Frankfort. After sentencing, he lived about one year and his burial place is still unknown today. The two Mayhorns served several years and were later pardoned. One of his fondest memories was that of his mother Jane who took over the management of the home and did a good job of raising a large family after her husband was taken from her. She did chores around the homestead. A great and interesting conversationalist in his adult years, he liked to tell of how he and his friends made bows and arrows-arrows consisting of straight pieces of wood with a horseshoe nails attached as the spike. He became an excellent marksman with the bow and arrow and later with his first rifle as he helped to provide squirrels and other wild game for the family table. The early years of Hatfield’s life were marked by sadness as a result of the loss of his family in the feud. But his hours spent in the great outdoors hunting and fishing provided a therapy that led to his development to splendid manhood. He was several years old when the Norfolk and Western Railroad Company built an extension from Virginia to southern West Virginia and Mingo County, which still was Logan County at that time. In 1899, Hatfield was married to Martha Bell Murphy, daughter of Joseph and Eliza (Steele) Murphy. She had just turned fourteen when he proposed and her family thought she was too young to wed. The young couple sort of eloped the night of April 8, 1899, to Allen’s home where they were married by Allen’s brother, Ellison, a country preacher and a granny doctor, as he later recalled. Late that summer, he amassed enough lumber to build their first home-a one-room abode that was erected next to the hillside just north of the present homestead. Allen Hatfield made most of his furniture and his wife tended a garden and dug ginseng to help the family fortune. During the ensuing years, the Hatfields had eleven children, two of whom preceded them in death. Lawrence Hatfield, who married Dollie Kiser, is now retired and lives with Dollie on Beech Creek at the mouth of Grapevine Fork. Estel Hatfield, who married Virginia Varney, lived with his dad and still lives in the old homeplace. Estel is an agent for the Norfolk and Western Railroad Company. Major Hatfield, who married Mildred Friend, is employed as an agent also for the Norfolk and Western Railroad Company in North Tazewell, Virginia. Rosa Hatfield, married Wayne Simpkins, lives on Beech Creek on Right Hand Fork. Goldie Hatfield married Gordon Smith, and they make their home below Grapevine Fork on Beech Creek. Mamie Hatfield married Charlie Simpkins and makes her home in Rockville, Maryland. Glendeen Hatfield married Douglas Berlin, and they make their home in Louisiana. Etta June Hatfield, never married and lives in Cincinnati, Ohio. Erma Hatfield married Forest Baisden, and she lives in Williamson, West Virginia. Milda Hatfield, deceased, was a retired school teacher and was never married. Joseph Chester Hatfield, died at six months old. In 1914, Allen bought from his brother Smith a grocery store at the old homeplace and moved the merchandise to a small building at his home. He built a large home later and it was there that most of the children were born. He expanded his business to a larger store building, which still stands, and then he erected the present homeplace. During his early merchandising days, Hatfield was compelled to haul his goods from the railway station at Devon by team and wagon for the roads had not been built and most of the rough team tracks was through the creeks. It was a problem in the wintertime to get through the streams as they were filled with ice. After the county built a road up Beech Creek, he retired his team and wagon and switched to a gasoline-powered vehicle to haul and deliver his goods. He learned carpentry in the early years of his marriage and continued this art until 1964 when he retired. Hatfield was a 57-year member of the Hugh C. Boyd Lodge No. 119 AF & AM at Matewan and received his 50-year service award from the Grand Lodge of West Virginia in 1970. The lodge, when he became a master mason, was known as Thacker No. 119. It was located at Thacker, West Virginia. It later was moved to Matewan. He also belonged to the Beni Kedem Temple of Charleston, being a 50-year member of the Shriners. He also received the honorary commission of a Kentucky Colonel on April 10, 1972. He had been a member of the Devon Church of Christ since 1916 and sponsored the building of the present church that stands near his home on Beech Creek. In his years of selling groceries, Hatfield said he never lost but 50 dollars in bad debts. He was proud of his heritage, a leader in his community, and in his active life a crack shot with a rifle, pistol, and shotgun. His hunting and fishing kept the table supplied with food. He won beef, hogs, turkeys, and chickens in the old-time rifle matches that were so popular in the Beech Creek area years ago. He and the former Martha B. Murphy were married 71 years before her death on May 25, 1970. His life might have been used as the subject by the poet who wrote, “Let me live by the side of the road and be a friend to man.” Allen Hatfield had spent a lifetime doing just that, living beside a little country road on Beech Creek and being a friend to mankind. On March 2, 1975, Allen was taken to the Williamson Memorial Hospital for ailments associated with his advanced age. He then was released and re-entered the hospital on April 18 in critical condition. On Friday, May 2, 1975, the community of Beech Creek lost one of the dearest old-timers that was ever known. Allen Hatfield, 97, prominently-known Mingo pioneer citizen, retired merchant of Beech Creek, died at 3 a.m. in the Williamson Memorial Hospital of a lingering illness. Funeral services were scheduled at the Chambers Funeral Home Chapel with his beloved ministers Clyde Kiser and Raymond Hatfield officiating. Burial took place in the family cemetery behind the homeplace on Beech Creek. His grandsons and great-grandsons were his pallbearers. Allen would have wanted it this way. Simple. NOTE: Some of the names may be transcribed incorrectly. Share this: EmailFacebookLinkedInPinterestTumblrTwitter Paw Paw Incident: Joseph Hatfield Deposition (1889) June 4, 2018 In "Culture of Honor" Paw Paw Incident: James M. McCoy Deposition (1889) December 6, 2018 In "Hatfield-McCoy Feud" Paw Paw Incident: Doc Mayhorn Deposition (1889) September 7, 2018 In "Hatfield-McCoy Feud"

  
  

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TNG ID: I104865