Hatfield–McCoy feud
Between 1880 and 1891, the feud claimed more than a dozen members of the two families. On one occasion, the governors of West Virginia and Kentucky even threatened to have their militias invade each other's states. In response, Kentucky Governor S. B. Buckner sent his Adjutant General Sam Hill to Pike County to investigate the situation. More than a dozen people died and at least 10 people were wounded. A few days after the New Year's Massacre, a posse led by Pike county deputy sheriff Frank Philipps rode out to track down Devil Anse's group across the border into West Virginia. The posse's first victim was Jim Vance, who was killed in the woods after he refused to be arrested. Philipps then made other successive raids on Hatfield homes and supporters and captured three before cornering the rest in Grapevine Creek on 19 January. Unfortunately for Philipps, Devil Anse and other Hatfields were waiting for them with an armed group of their own. A battle ensued between the two parties, and the Hatfields were eventually apprehended. Two Hatfield supporters were killed, and a deputy, Bill Dempsey, was executed by Frank Philipps after they surrendered. Wall Hatfield and eight others were arrested and brought to Kentucky to stand trial for the murder of Alifair McCoy (sometimes spelled Allaphare, Randolph's young daughter), killed during the New Year's Massacre.
Family feuds in the United States
The Lincoln County Feud occurred in the Harts Creek community of Lincoln and Logan counties, West Virginia, between 1878 and 1890. Initially a personal vendetta between prominent residents Paris Brumfield and Canaan Adkins, the feud culminated in a bitter war between local timber barons and businessmen, including Allen Brumfield, John W. Runyon, and Benjamin Adams. The feud resulted in at least four deaths, numerous injuries and scuffles between factions, nationwide press coverage, and the extermination/out-migration of several key participants. It has been memorialized in at least one ballad and play, as well as through music recorded by John Hartford. Feud descendant and author Brandon Ray Kirk has written a history of the feud titled "Blood in West Virginia: Brumfield v. McCoy", which draws primarily upon twenty years of research including oral histories with other feud descendants, newspaper accounts, and courthouse documents.