Roseanna McCoy was involved in a tragic love affair with Johnse Hatfield which exacerbated the infamous Hatfield-McCoy feud. She died at a young age, reportedly from a broken heart.
Roseanna McCoy was born into the McCoy family of Kentucky, one of the two families involved in the notorious Hatfield-McCoy feud. The feud, which lasted from 1863 to 1891, was a series of violent clashes between the two families along the Tug Fork of the Big Sandy River, which separates West Virginia from Kentucky.
The love affair between Roseanna McCoy and Johnse Hatfield, a member of the rival Hatfield family from West Virginia, began around 1880. Their relationship was seen as a betrayal by both families and added fuel to the already fiery dispute. Despite their attempt to bridge the gap between the families, their relationship faced immense challenges. Roseanna became pregnant with Johnse’s child, but the baby, who was named Sarah Elizabeth McCoy, died in infancy.
The stress of the feud, the loss of her child, and Johnse’s eventual marriage to another woman, Nancy McCoy (Roseanna’s cousin), are believed to have taken a heavy toll on Roseanna’s health and emotional well-being. She never married and her health deteriorated over the years. Roseanna McCoy died on October 9, 1889, at the age of 29. While the exact cause of her death is not well-documented, it is often romantically attributed to a broken heart due to the cumulative tragedies of her life. Her story remains a poignant chapter in the history of the Hatfield-McCoy feud.
