Roseanna McCoy

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Roseanna McCoy was the daughter of Sarah & Old Randall McCoy. She fell in love with Devil Anse's son, Johnse Hatfield and had his illegitimate child, a daughter she named Sarah Elizabeth McCoy, who died in infancy. Roseanna died in 1889.

Roseanna McCoy met Johnson "Johnse" Hatfield on election day 1880, in Pike Co., KY; in those times election days were huge events where the whole community turned out, not just for politics but for socialization. Roseanna was smitten with the handsome Johnse, but was ordered by her father to stay away from him, due to the longstanding feud between the Hatfields and McCoys that went all the way back to the mid-1860's. Young love apparently won out, as she snuck to be with him that day, and was left behind by her family at the end of the day. Not knowing what else to do, and being flattered by the professions of love from Johnse, she went home with him where she stayed for some time with Johnse and his entire family. Both her father and Johnse's father refused to allow them to marry, even after Roseanna became pregnant. Soon Johnse was unfaithful to Roseanna and she returned home to Kentucky at the urging of her family. Her father would not accept her even after she delivered her baby, Sarah Elizabeth. Although her mother tried to smooth things over, "Devil Anse" never forgave his daughter and refused to even speak to her, unrelenting even after the arrival of his granddaughter. Her mother arranged for Roseanna to go live with her Aunt Betty (Lavisa's sister) in nearby Stringville, (Pike Co., KY). She cared for her child there with her Aunt's help, but Sarah died at the age of 8 months. Roseanna was consumed by grief and a guilty conscience, as she felt her actions and love for Johnse Hatfield had led to many tragedies within her family, and the death of many innocent people. Roseanna died at the age of 30, soon after Sarah's death.