Hatfield, William Anderson (09 September 1839–06 January 1921), feudist, landowner, and logger, was born on Mate Creek in the hills of the Tug Valley in present-day West Virginia, the son of Ephraim ‘‘Big Eaf’’ Hatfield, a farmer and landowner, and Nancy Vance. Illiterate and uneducated, Hatfield spent his childhood hunting and farming on his father’s property, some of the best land in the Tug Valley. His wilderness prowess earned Hatfield the nickname Devil Anse, his mother claiming that he was not afraid of even the devil. (Other legendary accounts claim his nickname was not acquired until late in the feud.) Before enlisting in the Confederate army as a private in 1861, he married Levicy Chafin. Together they produced thirteen children, all living to maturity....
