02-07-2025
'Devil Anse' Hatfield inducted into the West Virginia Hall of Fame, with his great grandson in attendance
PIPESTEM, WV (WVNS) – A legendary figure in the history of the Mountain State was just inducted into the West Virginia Hall of Fame at Pipestem Resort State Park.
Walk-off home run adds another to the win column to Ridge Runners' perfect start at home
'Devil Anse' Hatfield is now among the famous West Virginians whose lives are showcased in their hall.
One of Devil Anse's descendants, William Keith Hatfield, traveled to Pipestem to honor his great grandfather. He was thrilled that his great grandfather received such an honor.
Some have described the Hatfields as the Kennedy's of West Virginia – with family members becoming senators, governors, congressmen, lawmen, judges, and more.
William Keith learned a lot about his great grandfather through the eyes and stories of his grandmother.
'She had a lot of stories to tell about Devil, and she called him 'Uncle Anse'. We did not call him devil. He is Uncle Anse. [She went] horseback riding with him, he got her a doll for Christmas, all kinds of stories about him. He was a kind, tender, gentle man. Once his life changed when he trusted Christ, it was an amazing thing. Everyone knew that he was a Christian. In fact, Life magazine went to see my grandfather just to see what the old feud it was up to in his latter days. They said he was rich, which he was. He sold off his land. He had lots of lots of money. He had a big house. [He was] the envy of everybody in that area. He was rich, he was respectable. There are some real fine pictures of him back at that time. They said he was religious and he was religious. He began to carry a Bible everywhere. When I think about him, I think of [him] as a kindly Christian gentleman, especially towards the end of his life. Even before that, his grandson, Cap Hatfield, wrote about him and he said, 'How does the Cap Hatfield branch of the family remember him? They said that he was a good hunter, but he was also loving of his family and true to protecting his family,' and he was,' said Hatfield.
William Keith is dedicated to passing along the family history, as well as his great grandfather's legacy, alongside the McCoy family. They have reconciled and now the two formerly feuding families do events together.
Geno Smith reunites with Pete Carroll in Las Vegas
William Keith is the president of the Hatfields and McCoys Historical Society. The two families get along very well now. William Keith even joked there is more feuding that takes place in the Hatfields family nowadays, more than between the two families.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
