The Greene-Jones Feud

While I am on the topic of feuding I might as well reveal the rest of my family history by stating that along with being a Hatfield descendant, I am also a descendant of the Greene - Jones feud (1880's) which occurred in Upper East Tennessee (Hancock County) about the same time as the Hatfield-McCoy feud.  Like the Hatfield-McCoy feud, this feud lasted many years and stemmed from the same issues; end of the Civil War, many psychologically wounded soldiers returning back to their mountain homes only to confront those who had fought opposite them in battle, a young and poorly managed court system, and competition for land and resources. Also worthy of mention is the fact that East Tennessee chose to fight with the Union while the rest of Tennessee fought with the Confederates.  Throughout the war many families,  neighbors, and relatives fought for opposite sides. It was the making of a perfect storm.

The Greene-Jones war is largely tied to my Great, Great Uncle Link (Lincoln) Greene, a very odd man with a lot of distrust and grudges to settle. I only knew him through the family stories told about him. Uncle Link was ‘odd’ which meant he ‘acted funny’ in many business and social situations.  He was considered violent, mean, and quite strange.  One story describes him making his own coffin for later use and showing off how well he looked in it when visitors came by. Other ‘Uncle Link’ stories involved him asking relatives to chain him up during the full moon so he would not kill anyone. Another involved him dressing like Jesus and having a group of ‘disciples’. Still another focused on him refusing to talk to some of his children for 20 years. During the 1929 depression Uncle Link was the only person to get his money out of the Sneedville Bank because he got word that banks were failing and immediately arrived at the bank with shotgun in hand and demanded his money. It was handed over. 

Uncle Link was considered to be the "Devil Anse" of the Greeme-Jones Feud.  He was noted for stirring up trouble and getting even.  From the 1880's until the 1920's this war claimed a total of 70 lives and resulted in Hancock County  being placed under Marshal Law for a period of seven year.  While many of the events of the Greene-Jones war parallel the Hatfield-McCoy feud the one thing that distinguished these feuds from each other was that the New York Times did not report on the feud as it had in the Hatfield-McCoy feud, therefore, the Greene-Jones feud went relatively unnoticed by the rest of the world.

As an adolescent hearing these stories from our family historian, I hardly knew how to process the facts.  Also I did not know how to manage my last name of Hatfield when everyone mentioned that feud.  There was a long period of time when I hated saying my last name, and by the time I married I was more than glad to be rid of the name for good. As it turned out I ended up marrying one of the "Greene's" and learned from this same family historian that we were distant relatives.  It has taken me the better part of fifty years to try to understand who I am and how historical events and isolated geographical areas shape personal lives.  As my husband and I try to explain all of this to our now grown children, I sometimes feel that they are pretty bewildered by it all as well. One thing that no longer surprises me, however, is understanding that I probably chose psychology and psychotherapy as a career in order to learn how to solve problems without shooting my relatives. 

 www.patsyhatfieldlawson.com

The History Channel and The Famous Feud

It's FINALLY over!  The History Channel's Hatfield-McCoy Feud went on as long as the feud itself.  I was worn out before I got through the first episode; never mind the other two.  True to it's subject, this 'historical drama' nearly killed me.

Months before it aired a neighbor knocked on my door; all excited he told me about the upcoming feature and told me to put it on the calendar. I followed his advise.  Then about a month out I started seeing the previews daily. Next I was in New York City and saw it promoted on several Times Square billboards. Then after coming home I sent emails, text messages, tweets, Facebook announcements, and told everyone I knew to watch it.  I also bragged that I am a descendent of this famous feud and also a descendant of another less famous feud, the East Tennessee Greene-Jones feud.  I thought about how finally the world would get to understand all of the factors leading to the feud.  Finally everyone would understand, and I would be spared the brief summary conversations trying to explain the multiple issues of 50 years. After this Kevin Costner version of history, I've decided I'll never bring up the feud again.


In a nutshell, the History Channel botched this piece of history in a major way.  It turned into nothing more than 6 hours of violence, guns, and invented Hollywood drama. The story was so poorly told that after every episode the average person couldn't keep the characters, the connections, or the summary of events straight from one scene to the next. The first episode attempted to summarize the factors leading up to the feud, but without any factual statements or chronology the viewer had to put it together from short scenes portraying the events.  Knowing these facts already I could see where the film was going, but most people viewing the film did not know these basic facts. I did see one local entertainment writer in my area who cared enough to write about them and to help clarify the episode.  Everyone should have had these facts.  http://www.examiner.com/entertainment-in-nashville/jonathan-pinkerton?CID=examiner_alerts_index

If you were looking for a million ways to explore violence and it's aftermath, this would be your film. I suppose the acting was brilliant if you focused on violence; otherwise, I saw little acting that was focused away from violence. The bare chested characters looked like they they worked for Gold's Gym (particularly Johnse Hatfield), all had perfect teeth (no one had access to dental care in these mountains), the sex scenes were easily understood (far better than any other part), and the viewers were probably more confused about how all this happened than they were before the series aired. At the end I prayed for a summary statement explaining how the feud ended and how each character died.  Yes, it was there, but before you could read the tiny print about one character it switched to another one, then another one. These sentences appeared obligatory rather than helpful or thought provoking providing that you were a fast reader.

In short, please don't purchase a copy of this History Channel installment.  Prior to its airing, I looked forward to the offering and believed The History Channel presented accurate, factual history well. Maybe I'm the stupid person here, but this piece has raised many questions about how this and other history is portrayed, the accuracy of facts, and the quality of script writing used by The History Channel. Not all actors can direct films even if they are in their field of expertise.  I suggest Kevin Costner stick to acting and The History Channel present itself as fictionalized history.   


I would love to hear what each of you thought about the Hatfield-McCoy feature.