Blood in West Virginia: Brumfield v. McCoy
In the small town of Hart in Lincoln County, West Virginia, acres of oak, poplar, walnut, and ash transformed modest farmers into businessmen out for wealth and blood. It was on this stage that an old feud between local clan patriarchs flared anew and the Brumfields delivered a decisive blow to their enemies, setting a bloody precedent for vigilantism and murder that would define the community for more than a half century, even after the feud itself had ended. Enterprising and clever, merchant Al Brumfield worked hard to capitalize on the regional timber boom and provide for his family. However, Brumfield's hard-edged business attitude, as well as his father's long-time quarrel with a neighbor, had garnered him numerous enemies. In September of 1889, someone ambushed and attempted to murder Brumfield and his wife. The Brumfields and their allies stopped at nothing to find the men responsible. Two local men, Milt Haley and Green McCoy, surfaced as the prime suspects. A Brumfield-led gang captured Haley and McCoy and brutally murdered them. The violence was just beginning. In this powerful true story, larger-than-life characters are caught up in vicious acts stoked by personal grievances and economic and social change. Passionate Appalachian historian Brandon Kirk seamlessly weaves oral histories, historical documents, and personal records to present the narrative from each of the main participants' point of view. In this fast-paced, gripping tale, the reader is left to determine who the real villains were. A descendant of feudists from Lincoln County, West Virginia, Brandon Kirk is an avid scholar of Appalachian history. An assistant professor of American history at Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College, Kirk shares his vast knowledge of his ancestors through lectures in the classroom and at historical venues. Through his twenty years of research, he has collected oral histories, music field recordings, photographs, and documents pertaining to his region of Appalachia. He has served as a contributor for the PBS miniseries West Virginia and as a consultant for the History Channel miniseries Hatfields and McCoys. Kirk's diverse career has included working as a university library assistant in special collections; writing for the Lincoln (WV) Journal and Lincoln (WV) Independent; collaborating on writing, musical, and movie projects with the late John Hartford; writing for the Logan (WV) Banner; and teaching advanced placement history classes in Lincoln and Logan County Schools. By governor's appointment, he serves on the West Virginia Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission. Kirk received his training in social studies education, history, and Appalachian studies at Marshall University. When traveling through the American South, he visits old homes, museums, battlefields, cemeteries, antique stores, and music festivals. From his home in West Virginia, Kirk studies and preserves the history and culture of the Guyandotte Valley.