Ann Rinaldi and The Coffin Quilt

1. Ann Rinaldi andThe Coffin Quilt By: Kennedy Boyce, Darlena Poling, and Brittany Keesling

2. The Coffin Quilt • “Fanny McCoy has lived with fear and anger ever since that day in 1878 when a dispute with the Hatfields over the ownership of a few pigs set her family on a path of hatred and revenge. From that day forward, the Hatfields and McCoys have operated not within the law but within mountain codes of their own making. In 1822, when Fanny’s sisterRoseanne runs off with young Johnse Hatfield, the hatred between the two clans explodes. As the killings, abductions, and heartbreak escalate bitterly and senselessly, Fanny, the sole voice of reason, realizes that she is powerless to stop the fighting and must learn to rise above the petty natures of her family and neighbors and to find her own way out of the hatred.” • Quoted from the back of the book.

3. What Really Is A Coffin Quilt? • “Coffin Quilts date from the days when people were rubbing up against death all the time, so it was treated a little more matter-of-factly than it is today. As with most other types of patchwork quilt, they appear to have originally been an American invention. • They were usually done in somber shades of grey or brown and consisted of a plain center (the graveyard) surrounded by either pieced blocks (star, nine-patch, etc.) or by appliques such as a picket fence. These quilts were sometimes also embroidered with vines, flowers, and other funerary symbols. • Now for the fun part: Appliques in the shape of toe-pincher coffins, each embroidered with the name of a family member, were loosely basted on the quilt’s border. When a relative died, the coffin bearing his/her name was removed and sewed permanently in the center or graveyard area, along with the date of death. • Yeah, that’d be a hoot, wouldn’t it? Going to visit Aunt Agatha and seeing the little coffin with your name on it, just waiting…. • Anyway, if you like to quilt (or would like to learn–it’s truly less daunting than you think), this would be a fun project. It’s nicely morbid, but can claim real historical roots if anyone complains. Depending upon your skill level you can choose a simple block (stick with squares or triangles that make up squares, like Churn Dash) or can go nuts with the appliques and make your own cemetery, complete with wrought-iron gates.” • http://www.shadowmanor.com/blog/index.php?s=coffins

5. Just a little history • The Hatfield and the McCoy feud involved two families of the West Virginia-Kentucky backcountry along the Tug Fork River, off Big Sandy River • The McCoys • lived on the Kentucky side of the Tug Fork (a tributary of the Big Sandy River) • fighting for the Union, McCoys were led by Randolph “Ole Ran’l” McCoy [1852-1914] • The Hatfields • lived on the West Virginia side • fighting for the Confederacy, Hatfields were led by William Anderson “Devil Anse” Hatfield [1839-1921] • ”Devil Anse” Hatfield’s timbering operation was a source of wealth for his family, but he employed many non-Hatfields, and even hired Albert McCoy, Lorenzo Dow McCoy, and Selkirk McCoy • -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- • both families were part of the first wave of pioneers to settle the Tug Valley • both were involved in the manufacture and sale of moonshine • both were involved in guerrilla activity during the American Civil War

6. How it Started • According to historian, Michel Sellers, it began when a Hatfield wanted to marry a McCoy, but the clans disagreed and strife resulted. “Most people believe that the Hatfield-McCoy feud began with the death of Asa Harmon McCoy (Randall McCoy’s brother) on January 7, year unknown.” The uncle of Devil Anse, Jim Vance, and his “Wildcats” despised Hans Hall McCoy because he joined the Union army. Harmon had been discharged from the army early because of a broken leg: several nights after he returned home, he was murdered in a nearby cave.

7. More… • The 1st recorded instance of violence in the feud occurred after 1873 dispute about the ownership of a hog: Floyd Hatfield had it and Randolph McCoy said it was his. But the truth, the dispute was over property lines and the ownership of land. The pig was only in the fight because one family believed that since the pig was on their land, that meant it was theirs: the other side objected. The matter was taken to the local Justice of Peace, and the McCoys lost because of the testimony of Bill Staton, a relative of both families. The individual presiding was Anderson “Preacher Anse” Hatfield. In June 1880, Staton was killed by two McCoy brothers, Sam and Paris, who were alter acquitted on the grounds of self defense. But the court decided later on it was not self defense; it was first degree murder.

8. And More… • The feud escalated after Roseanna McCoy began an affair with the Johnse Hatfield (Devil Anse’s son), leaving her family to live w/ the Hatfields in WV. Roseanna eventually returned to the McCoys, but when the couple tried to resume their relationship, Johnse Hatfield was kidnapped by the McCoys and was saved only when Roseanna made a desperate ride to alert Devil Anse Hatfield, who organized a rescue party. • Despite what was seen as a betrayal of her family on his behalf, Johnse abandoned the pregnant Roseanna, marrying her cousin, Nancy McCoy in 1881, instead.

9. The Childhood of Ann Rinaldi • Born in New York city • Date: August 27, 1934 • Parents: Michael and Marcella Feis • Marcella died soon after Ann’s birth so Ann lived w/ aunt & uncle in Brooklyn • Claims that living w/ teenage cousins was the only happy part of growing up • Father soon abruptly came and forced her to live w/ him a stepmother and her 4 siblings in New Jersey • Father was a newspaper editor • He did everything he could to discourage her wants to become a writer • He would not allow her to go to college, previous schooling also did not go well • She entered the business world and became a secretary • 1960 married Ron Rinaldi because he was “middle-class and sane”

10. Ann’s Writing Career • After having 2 kids Ann left the business world and became a writer • She wrote 4 novels but she thought they were horrible • 1969 she got a weekly column in the Somerset Messenger Gazette earning $7 a week • 1970 she switched to writing 2 columns a week for the Trentonian Daily • Within a few years she was writing features and soft news as well as columns • This was beneficial to learning the newspaper business • 1979 Ann finished a short story she had been working on for a long time • Term Paper (her short story) was published by the first publisher who read it • Promises Are For Keeping (the sequel) was published soon after

11. A Ride Into Morning A Break With Charity The Fifth Of March Finishing Becca The Secret of Sarah Revere An Acquaitaince With Darkness Cast Two Shadows The Coffin Quilt The Staircase Or Give Me Death An Unlikely Friendship Come Juneteenth Keep Smiling Through Hang a Thousand Trees With Ribbons An Unlikely Friendship Come Juneteenth The Ever-After Bird Juliet's Moon The Letter Writer Term Paper Promises Are for Keeping But In The Fall I’m Leaving Time Enough For Drums The Good Side of My Heart The Last Silk Dress Wolf by the Ears In My Father’s House The Second Bend in the River Mine Eyes Have Seen Amelia’s War Quilt Trilogy 1. A Stitch In Time 2. Broken Days 3. The Blue Door Dear America My Heart Is On The Ground: The Diary of Nannie Little Rose, a Sioux Girl The Journal of Jasper Jonathon Pierce, a Pilgrim Boy Books Written by: Ann Rinaldi

12. And More… • The escalation continued in 1882 when Ellison Hatfield, brother of “Devil Anse” Hatfield, was brutally murdered by three of Roseanna McCoy’s brothers, Tolbert, Pharmer, and Bud. Ellison was stabbed 26 times and finished off with a shot. The brothers themselves murdered in turn as the vendetta escalated. They were kidnapped and tied to pawpaw bushes where each was shot numerous times. Their bodies were described as “bullet-riddled”. • Between 1880 and 1891, the feud claimed more than a dozen members of the two families, becoming headline news around the country and compelling the governors of both KY and WV to call up their state militias to restore order after the disappearance of dozens of bounty hunters sent to calm the conflict.

13. And More… • Eight Hatfields were kidnapped and brought to KY to stand trial for the murder of Alifair McCoy. She had been shot after exiting a burning building that had been set on fire by a group of Hatfields. Because of issues of dues process and illegal extradition, the United States Supreme Court became involved. Eventually the eight men were tried in KY and all were found guilty. Seven received life imprisonment while the eighth was executed in a public hanging (even though this was prohibited by law), probably as a warning to end violence. Thousands of spectators attended the hanging in Pikeville, KY. The families finally agreed to stop the fighting in 1891 • ON June 14, 2003, descendants of the Hatfield and McCoy families signed a truce in Pikeville, though the conflict had ended a century earlier.

14. Just something Interesting • There had been some recent speculation in the press (Associated Press, April 6, 2007) that the feud may have been fueled in part by a rare tumor, pheochromocytoma (“pheo”), that sometimes leads to “hair-trigger rage and violent outbursts”. In the McCoy family, pheos are one of the consequences of a rare disease known as Von Hippel-Lindau disease (VHL), which is prevalent among McCoy descendants. The condition sometimes produces tumors of the adrenal gland (pheochromocytomas), leading to excess adrenaline production. According to the National Cancer Institute, most people interpret these surges as panic attacks or palpitations. Pheos occur also in the general population, and in families with any of five other genetic mutations.

15. ‘Nuf Fussin’ and Fightin’ • To sum up the whole power point, • Families Feud and Fight but in the end we realize we love each other. • Enough lovey dovey junk: The feud was a horrible time, mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters were killed over a few disagreements over marriage and pigs. • We both read the book and highly encourage you to read it too. • Beware it is emotional and intense, YOU WILL LOVE IT!!

17. Song: • Stay off the Hatfield Side • Always off the Hatfield Side • Stay off the Hatfield Side for life • If you cross the Tug • You will have bad Luck • So, Stay off the Hatfield Side for life