Ann Rinaldi and The Coffin Quilt

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

HATFIELD                       Grrrrrrr

McCOY                          Lets form a
                               posse
FEUD           Make a gun      Bang Bang

HOG            Hand on nose    Snort Snort

ROSEANNA       Fan             Ooh la la

JOHNSE         Big muscles     Mountain man

BABY GIRL      Fists on eyes   Waaa Waaa
             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