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. 

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