Book Launch Announcement

 

REUNION Book Chronicles the Reconciliation of the Hatfields and McCoys

 -- And one man’s journey to discover his family heritage in the shadow of

America’s most famous feud --

 

Durham, N.C. and New York – May 6, 2015 – At the Global Family Reunion June 6, 2015, in New York, author Ron McCoy will celebrate the release of his new book, REUNION. The road to discovery of the past is more often a collection of seemingly unrelated, random events, than it is of a single grand epiphany. The story of the Hatfield-McCoy feud is a cautionary parable, now firmly woven into the fabric of Americana. The tale of two strong-willed families of rustic nobility locked in the throes of mortal combat is the stuff of legend. So too is the story of their REUNION.

 

“Beyond the limited catalog of my personal experiences, I felt a keen desire to know more about my family’s heritage. At the point I began my exploration, I knew nothing about the feud or my relationship to it,” said McCoy. “I had no idea where the journey would take me. The discovery of my family’s heritage began simply as a need to make a connection with my past, whatever it might be.”

 

Although most people understand the connotations of the phrase “Hatfields and McCoys,” few truly know anything about feud history or the families themselves. No book can be written on the subject of the Hatfields and McCoys without first acknowledging the fact that, outside the realm of modern American folklore, the feud really happened.

 

Today there is an assumption that the “Hatfields and McCoys” are still quarreling in some capacity or have maintained some unresolved grudge between them. This book documents the momentous REUNION of the families beginning with the Reunion of the Millennium in 2000, through the signing of the official TRUCE in 2003 and the lives of those Hatfields and McCoys that still gather once a year to remember their past and celebrate their families.

 

 “What compelled me and so many others to begin the journey towards reconciliation was an instinctive need to connect with family,” said McCoy. It was a life-changing epiphany. It was my reconciliation with the story of my family’s rich heritage, the story my grandfather heard from his grandmother, a story he wanted me to remember and to tell to my children. The story introduced me to generations of family members whose choices, decisions and actions, both good and bad, had directly affected and shaped the lives of generations to come including my own.”

 

Attendees of the Global Family Reunion event will receive a 10% discount of the regular book price and a percentage of the proceeds will be donated to Alzheimer’s research.

 

About the Author:

Ron McCoy is the great-great-great-grandson of Randolph McCoy, patriarch of the McCoy family at the time of the feud. He organized the first national reunion of the Hatfields and McCoys, was co-writer of the truce and helped introduce a multitude to their ancestry. McCoy’s odyssey of discovering his family heritage was the catalyst that lead to the internationally recognized Hatfield-McCoy Reunion.  He and his wife, Bobbi, live in Durham, NC and are blessed with a wonderful family.

 

About the Global Family Reunion: The Global Family Reunion will be a family reunion meets a genealogy conference meets a World’s Fair meets music festival. There will be stories from celebrities and scientists about every aspect of family. There will be music, comedy, games, exhibits, food and booths. And the world’s largest family photo.

 

WHEN: June 6, 2015 11am-8pm WHERE: The New York Hall of Science, on the grounds of the historic World’s Fair.  www.globalfamilyreunion.com

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Ron in the News:

Hatfield and McCoy Heritage Days entertains visitors

HARDY, Ky. - The 2017 Hatfield and McCoy Heritage Days event this past weekend offered a variety of interesting events for Pike County, Kentucky's visitors to explore and enjoy. With Hatfield and McCoy descendants in town for many of the events, visitors and community members alike shared a host of activities. 

The event concluded Sunday with a special church service at the McCoy Well in Hardy, Kentucky. The event opened with music by Jason Goble, Troy Burchett and Jessie Rachelle, with opening words from property owner and Hatfield descendants Bob Scott and Reo Hatfield, along with McCoy descendant Ron McCoy. Pastor William Keith Hatfield, also a feuding Hatfield descendant, brought a message of forgiveness, and explained how words can change the world.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

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Hatfields and McCoys at the Tennessee Bar Association

Kingsport, TN – The Tennessee Bar Association’s 2017 Annual Convention featured a very special group of keynote speakers, the Hatfields and the McCoys. William Keith Hatfield, great grandson of “Devil Anse” Hatfield, and Ron McCoy, third-great grandson of Randolph McCoy, were scheduled to speak at the convention, detailing their experiences with their families’ storied history. Their presentations focused on the escalation of the feud, the role law played in the feud, as well as the feud’s resolution, and where the two families are today.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

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Pike County Tourism CVB builds partnership with Hatfield McCoy Dinner Show of Pigeon Forge 

(May 2016)

Pike County Tourism’s executive Director Tony K. Tackett, along with tourism commission board member Bob Scott spearheaded a mutually beneficial partnership with the popular Hatfield McCoy Dinner Show of Pigeon Forge, TN. This partnership involves the cross promotion of both the dinner show and Pike County’s Hatfield McCoy Historic Feud Driving Tour.

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“The focus of our Hatfield-McCoy events in Pikeville/Pike County has always been on family,” said Ron McCoy, descendent of Randolph McCoy, one of the two patriarchs of the Hatfield McCoy feud. “Fee-Hedrick Entertainment in Pigeon Forge takes the same approach, producing quality, fun and family-friendly programs at all of their venues.” 

... (READ FULL PRESS RELEASE)

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