From Scotland’s Glencoe Massacre to the Lee-Peacock rivalry of the Old West, these historical family feuds led to violent bloodshed.
Since 1976, the television game show Family Feud has entertained viewers by pitting two families against one another in a trivia-based standoff for a cash prize. But for centuries before the debut of the show, family feuds were often far bloodier — with long-lasting repercussions.
Perhaps one of the most famous family feuds in history was the dispute between the houses of York and Lancaster that spawned a series of civil wars in 15th-century England. Known now as the Wars of the Roses, these bloody conflicts lasted more than 30 years and tested the alliances of the houses devoted to the English throne.
But while the Wars of the Roses may have been one of the largest family feuds in scale, it was far from the only famous one in history. From the infamous rivalry between the Pazzi and Medici families to the Black Donnelly massacre that saw an entire town turn against one family, these are history’s bloodiest family feuds.
The Feud Between The Hatfields And The McCoys
Family Feuds
Wikimedia CommonsMembers of the Hatfield clan.
Just 13 days after Asa Harmon McCoy returned to his Kentucky home in December 1864, he was murdered. The culprits were a group of pro-Confederate guerrillas led by a man named Jim Vance, who despised McCoy for fighting in the Union Army during the Civil War.
To make matters worse, Vance was the cousin of a man known as “Devil” Anse Hatfield, head of the prominent Hatfields from neighboring West Virginia. Unbeknownst to Vance, the murder would mark the inciting incident of a decades-long feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys.
The situation was further complicated because the families were, despite how much they might have disliked it, connected in several ways. A man named Bill Stanton was, technically at least, related to both families, so when he was called in as a witness when the McCoys accused the Hatfields of stealing one of their hogs, his testimony was seen as neutral.
Unfortunately, the judge proceeding over that case happened to be Justice of the Peace Anderson Hatfield, who ultimately ruled in favor of his family. Two years later, two McCoy sons wound up killing Stanton for the perceived slight against them. In the end, though, they argued that they had killed him in self-defense and managed to be acquitted of the murder.
Then, the saga took another turn reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet. Roseanna McCoy, Randolph McCoy’s daughter, and Johnse Hatfield, the son of “Devil” Anse Hatfield, had fallen in love and run away together. The McCoys saw this as a betrayal and disowned Roseanna — but in time, she came back to the family, as Johnse was a known womanizer who had constant affairs with other women.
Johnse eventually tried to win Roseanna back, only for the McCoys to take him hostage, leading the Hatfields to organize a rescue party, ambush the McCoys, and free Johnse. In the end, Johnse Hatfield wound up leaving Roseanna, who was pregnant, for her cousin Nancy.
The whole thing came to a head on New Year’s Eve 1888 when Cap Hatfield and Jim Vance gathered a party of Hatfield men and set fire to the McCoy family cabin in the middle of the night. When the McCoys fled from their home, the Hatfields opened fire, ultimately killing two of Randolph’s children.
The Governor of Kentucky eventually stepped in and dispatched Sheriff Frank Phillips to protect the McCoys. Working together, they devised a plan to kill Jim Vance, then captured a number of other Hatfields, who were ultimately sentenced to lengthy prison sentences, effectively marking an end to the feud.
The Genpei War That Pitted The Taira And Minamoto Clans Against Each Other
Genpei War
Wikimedia CommonsA scene from the Genpei War.
For decades during Heian-period Japan, the Taira and Minamoto clans had clashed over which family would control the imperial throne — a matter complicated by the fact that each had a legitimate claim to it.
According to the World History Encyclopedia, because Japanese emperors had many, many children — sometimes as many as 50 — a process known as “dynastic shedding” began sometime around the 9th century C.E. This process removed individuals from the dynastic lineage due to the size of the royal family and the costs it took to maintain.
From this process, two families emerged: the Minamoto and the Taira. Both clans held a strong military presence in Japan, and with each having some rightful inheritance to the throne, a bitter rivalry formed between them.
This rivalry broke out into armed conflict in 1156 after the death of the retired Emperor Toba left the throne vacant. Known as the Hogen Disturbance, this conflict pitted the supporters of retired emperor Sutoku, supported by Tameyoshi, head of the Minamoto clan, and supporters of then-emperor Go-Shirakawa, who was supported by Tameyoshi’s eldest son and the Taira.
The rebellion from Sutoku’s supporters was quickly crushed by Go-Shirakawa’s forces, largely thanks to support from military commander Taira no Kiyomori. The incident ended with the execution of Tameyoshi.
Just three years later, however, the clans would clash once again. This incident, known as the Heiji Disturbance, saw Minamoto no Yoshitomo seize the throne in 1159 while his rival was away. Once again, Taira no Kiyomori restored order, killing Yoshimoto. The Taira clan had once again emerged victorious — and proven themselves as the most powerful family in Japan.
But in 1180, Kiyomori made a fatal decision when he put his two-year-old grandson Antoku on the throne in Kyoto. This audacious act was the straw that broke the camel’s back for the Minamoto clan, and once again, they revolted.
This culminated in the Genpei War, with several conflicts across Japan seeing Taira authority overthrown. The Taira court eventually sent an army of 70,000 to meet Minamoto no Yoritomo’s rebel army near Mt. Fuji — a rebel army of roughly 200,000 men who had grown tired of Taira rule.
For the next nine years, the forces of the Taira clan would battle against the forces of Minamoto and their allies, ending with Taira’s defeat at the Battle of Dan-no-ura. Then, in 1189, Minamoto no Yoritomo completed his nationwide domination of Japan at the decisive Battle of Ōshū.
The MacDonald-Campbell Feud And The Glencoe Massacre
After The Massacre Of Glencoe
Public DomainAfter the Massacre of Glencoe by artist Peter Graham.
Although the Campbells and the MacDonalds each had histories linked to Robert the Bruce and the fight for Scottish independence, the two clans never saw eye to eye.
It was the MacDonalds who had supported the deposed Stuart King James VII of Scotland and II of England after he was overthrown by William III in the “Glorious Revolution” of 1688. When James fled to France, his supporters at home became known as the Jacobites.
The Campbells, meanwhile, were among the clans who swore an oath of allegiance to the newly ascended William III and his queen, Mary II.
In 1689, the Jacobites rose up against the new Scottish government, but the rebellion was quickly suppressed by May 1690. However, there was still much unrest among the Scottish clans, so the Scottish government made a proposal. According to the National Trust for Scotland, the government initially promised money and land to any Jacobite clans who signed an oath of allegiance to William.
But the oath came with a deadline of Jan. 1, 1692. Any clan that signed the oath prior to that date would be spared — and those who refused were to be punished as traitors.
The MacDonalds, however, felt bound by their oath to James, and they were not ones to break an oath. Then, in mid-December 1691, James consented to William’s request, allowing the Jacobite clans to sign William’s oath without feeling they had betrayed James. Unfortunately, news traveled rather slowly in the late 17th century.
It was December 28 when word of James’ consent reached the MacDonalds — just three days before their deadline. The leader of the Glencoe MacDonalds, Maclain, quickly set out for Fort William, only to find that no one there could take his oath. He was told to go to Inveraray, 60 miles away, and he did not make it in time to meet the deadline.
Maclain was eventually allowed to take the oath on January 6, but it was too late. The decision had been made to make an example of the Glencoe MacDonalds — and the Campbells would carry out the act.
In late January 1692, Archibald Campbell, the 10th Earl of Argyll, sent two companies to Glencoe, totaling around 120 men and led by Captain Robert Campbell of Glenlyon. For nearly two weeks, the Campbells were treated amicably by the MacDonalds and given room and board.
Then, on the evening of Feb. 12, 1692, Captain Robert Campbell received the order:
“You are hereby ordered to fall upon the Rebells, the McDonalds of Glenco, and putt all to the sword under Seventy.”
While many of the MacDonalds escaped the sudden attack, the chief, 33 men, two women, and two children were slaughtered in an event that came to be known as the Glencoe Massacre.
The Pazzi Conspiracy: A Failed Murder Plot To Overthrow The Medici Family
Bernardo Baroncelli Hanging
Public DomainA sketch by Leonardo da Vinci of Bernardo Baroncelli hanging.
The House of Medici was a dynastic Italian family who rose to power in early 15th-century Florence under the influence of Cosimo de’ Medici. The family would eventually produce numerous powerful and influential figures, including four popes of the Catholic Church and two queens of France. But even those in the Medici family who did not hold impressive titles still had immense power.
The Medici family prospered for nearly 300 years in Italy, but there were, of course, those who resented the house and their power.
Those resentful of the Medicis included another Florentine noble family: the Pazzis. This bitter rivalry ultimately culminated in an event known as the Pazzi Conspiracy, which saw members of the Pazzi family attempt to assassinate leaders of the Medici family.
The conspirators, led by the Pazzi family, had a fairly straightforward plan. Their goal was to assassinate Lorenzo de’ Medici, the ruler of Florence, and his brother Giuliano, therefore knocking the Medicis from their throne.
The Pazzi family had also been competing with the Medicis for years. They, too, had made their fortune through banking and had managed to wrestle control of the Papacy’s finances from the Medicis by the time of the conspiracy. Still, though, the Medicis wielded near-absolute authority in Florence, and the prospect was a point of worry for the Pazzis and other Florentine families.
So, on April 26, 1478, during Easter Sunday Mass, the conspirators put their plan into action. The first man to stab Giuliano was Bernardo Baroncelli, who was quickly followed by Francesco de’ Pazzi. In total, Giuliano was stabbed 19 times before Francesco finished him off.
Two other conspirators, meanwhile, had lunged for Lorenzo — but the would-be assassin’s dagger missed its mark and only scraped Lorenzo’s neck. Lorenzo swiftly grabbed a short sword from someone standing nearby and was able to defend himself until he could flee.
In the end, members of the Pazzi Conspiracy had hoped to steal away the Medicis’ power in Florence, but the assassination of Giuliano and the attempted assassination of Lorenzo only strengthened support for the Medicis. After all, most of Lorenzo’s enemies were now incarcerated for their participation in the conspiracy, and the people sympathized with him for having narrowly escaped death, losing his relative in the process.
The Black Donnelly Massacre, One Of Canada’s Greatest Unsolved Murders
Donnelly Family Gravestone
Wikimedia CommonsThe Donnelly family gravestone.
The “Black” Donnellys were a group of Irish Catholic immigrants who settled in Canada’s Biddulph township in the 1840s. The family patriarch James had moved there in 1842 and was later joined by his wife, Johanna, who was pregnant with their firstborn son.
In 1845, they moved to an area known as the Roman Line due to the high concentration of Irish Catholic immigrants who settled there. They made an arrangement with absentee landlord John Grace to clear and work the land in exchange for a residence. Over the next decade, their family grew in size, with James and Johanna welcoming seven sons and a daughter.
However, according to the Donnelly Museum, all was not well with the family. The first of many incidents occurred in 1857 when James killed a man named Patrick Farrell over a land dispute. Around this time, John Grace decided to sell his land — land he had never set foot on and which Donnelly had worked for over a decade. Donnelly argued that the land should be his despite Farrell’s purchase of it.
The families eventually went to court, agreeing to split the land evenly. But a fight later broke out between James and Farrell, ending in Farrell’s death and sending James into hiding for nearly a year — until winter came and he decided to turn himself in. The court found him guilty of murder and sentenced him to be hanged.
But Johanna made an appeal for clemency and garnered a fair amount of support. In the end, James’ sentence was shortened to just seven years in prison. Unfortunately, the family had little income during this time, and Johanna eventually donated land to build a school.
Her sons attended this school, and she had a contract to clean it and cater events held there. Meanwhile, the Donnelly boys grew up and became hardworking young men with a penchant for strong drinks. They decided to set up a stagecoach business that directly competed with another run by the neighboring Flanagan family.
But the stagecoach business was not lucrative in the end for either company, and the rivalry sparked a series of fires throughout the town, often ones that targeted stables with horses, coaches, harnesses, and feed in them.
Then, Father John Connolly arrived in Biddulph and set up the Biddulph Peace Society to restore some sense of order. Still, not everyone in town agreed with Connolly’s plan. Some of the more radical members left and created their own group, the Vigilance Committee.
The members of the Vigilance Committee decided they had had enough of the Donnellys. One night, after a few rounds of booze, members of the Vigilance Committee made their way to the Donnelly farm in the early morning hours of Feb. 4, 1880 — and murdered them.
It marked a dark period in the history of Biddulph Township, one made even darker because no one was ever convicted for the Black Donnelly Massacre.
The Wars Of The Roses
The Wars Of The Roses
Public DomainThe Wars of the Roses were a series of conflicts spanning several decades for control of the English throne.
The Wars of the Roses pitted two English Houses against one another for the throne. The conflict was mainly between House Lancaster and House York, each of whom claimed the throne through descent from the sons of Edward III.
The name was attributed to this series of civil wars due to the emblems each house wore: the white rose by the Yorks and the red rose by the Lancastrians.
The conflict arose following the death of Henry VI, a king who had displayed little interest in politics and was largely considered to be a weak ruler. Henry’s lack of leadership essentially launched his realm into anarchy, and groups of frustrated citizens revolted against the king and his taxes.
Led by a man named Jack Cade, the frustrated townsfolk marched to London and presented the king with a list of demands known as the “Complaint of the Poor Commons of Kent.” One of these demands would ultimately set the stage for the 30 years of conflict that followed.
One of Cade’s demands was to recall Richard, Duke of York, from Ireland to England. Richard of York, coincidentally, was a great-grandson of King Edward III and, therefore, had a competing claim to the English throne.
Though the revolt was crushed, Henry believed the whole thing had been an elaborate ploy set in motion by none other than Richard of York himself to seize the throne. Despite the lack of any real evidence, this belief sparked the Wars of the Roses.
Then, on May 22, 1455, Richard of York and the Earl of Warwick, Richard Neville, marched against Henry at St. Albans. Negotiations failed, and a brief, vicious battle ensued, leaving Henry wounded and the Duke of Somerset, Edmund Beaufort, dead.
For the next three decades, the Houses of York and Lancaster would compete for the throne through a series of bloody battles, ultimately ending with the ascension of the Lancastrian Henry Tudor to the English throne, establishing a long legacy of Tudors to come.
The Lee-Peacock Feud That Refused To Let The Civil War End
Reconstruction Scene
Public DomainA scene from Reconstruction, a period which Confederate southerners widely despised.
Although the Civil War officially ended on April 9, 1865, certain individuals in Texas seemingly didn’t get the memo. Specifically, two families in the four-corners area of the Texas counties of Fannin, Grayson, Collin, and Hunt refused to accept that the war had concluded — and kept fighting for four bloody years.
This fierce rivalry came to be known as the Lee-Peacock feud and saw the families of Bob Lee and Lewis Peacock engage in a series of battles from 1867 to 1871.
According to Legends of America, when the Civil War broke out, Bob Lee was quick to enlist with the Confederate Army, despite being married with three children. He wound up serving with the Ninth Texas Cavalry along with some other young men in the area: John, William, Francis, and Jim Maddox, and several of the Boren boys.
But near the end of the war, Lee received news that troubled him. An organization called the Union League had cropped up, and they were working to protect Black Americans and Union sympathizers. Even more troubling for Lee was that this league was being run by a man named Lewis Peacock at Pilot Grove, just seven miles from his own home.
Of course, Union sympathizers weren’t treated with kind regard in the Confederate states, and so by the time Lee and the others returned home, tensions were already high. Many people had begun to look to Bob Lee as a natural leader for the “Civil War” that was still being fought in Texas after the introduction of Reconstruction ideals.
Naturally, Peacock came to view Lee as a problem as well. Should Lee rally people behind him, it could prove to be a detriment to the Union League or even Reconstruction as a whole.
Peacock began targeting Lee, first by “arresting” him for crimes he had allegedly committed during the war. Peacock’s group then took Lee’s watch and a $20 gold coin and forced him to sign a promissory note for $2,000. The Lees refused to pay, though, and the court ruled that they didn’t have to.
Things escalated quickly from there, and soon enough, it was essentially an all-out war between Peacock’s and Lee’s sympathizers. Within just one year, the conflict had become so fierce that Peacock requested help from the federal government, and a $1,000 reward was put in place for Bob Lee’s capture.
Lee was ultimately shot down by U.S. Cavalry on May 24, 1869, but that didn’t put an end to the fighting. It was Lewis Peacock’s death on June 13, 1871, that finally ended the feud. In total, it is estimated that around 50 people died as a result of the rivalry.
The 47 Rōnin Incident
47 Ronin Incident
Public DomainA ukiyo-e style print depicting the 47 rōnin incident.
In April 1701, imperial envoys from Kyoto arrived in Edo (modern-day Tokyo), the capital of the shogunate. Three daimyo — feudal lords who served as vassals of the shogun — were selected to receive Emperor Higashiyama’s envoys as part of their service to the shogun. One of the daimyo in charge of the reception was the young lord of the Akō Domain, Asano Naganori.
In preparation for the envoys’ arrival, Asano and the other daimyo were to be given instructions in etiquette by one of the shogun’s retainers, Kira Yoshinaka.
It was customary at the time to offer a gift — or, really, a bribe — to a man like Kira in such circumstances, and so the other daimyo did just that. Asano’s gift, however, was not considered sufficient, and Kira tormented him during his instruction.
On April 21, Asano’s rage reached a boiling point, and he lunged at Kira with his dirk in the audience hall of the shogun’s palace. Kira sustained only minor wounds, but the breach of etiquette sent shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi into a rage — and he ordered Asano to commit seppuku, or “self-disembowelment.”
Five days later, Asano’s retainers in Akō heard of the terrible news and held a meeting to determine what should be done. Without a lord, the shogun would confiscate their domain, and the men had unwittingly become rōnin, samurai without a master.
A number of options were considered, including fighting back or committing seppuku at the castle gate, but one among them urged caution: Ōishi Yoshio. Ōishi’s words were heeded, and the castle was surrendered on May 26.
A year went by, and Ōishi seemed to have retired. He spent most of his time in Kyoto’s leisure quarters and had convinced Kira’s spies that he did not entertain any notions of revenge. But they were wrong.
On Jan. 30, 1703, Ōishi and 46 other rōnin gathered in Edo, forced their way into Kira’s mansion and murdered him. That same night, they delivered Ōishi’s head to Asano’s grave, a final offering for their fallen lord.
The shogun quickly learned of the incident and, although he was sympathetic to Ōishi’s cause, he ordered all 47 rōnin to commit seppuku.
The Black Dinner That Inspired The Red Wedding In ‘Game Of Thrones’
James II Of Scotland
Wikimedia CommonsJames II of Scotland, of Stewart descent.
During the Late Middle Ages, the Douglas clan of Scotland stood strong as the single most prominent family in the lowlands. As such, rival families widely regarded them as a threat, and there were even fears that they could exert influence over the crown.
After the assassination of James I, care of the young heir to the throne, James II, was given to Archibald Douglas, the Fifth Earl of Douglas, who headed the Scottish government until his death in 1439.
Following his death, power was split between William Crichton, First Lord Crichton and Lord Chancellor of Scotland; Sir Alexander Livingston of Callendar; and James Douglas, Earl of Avondale. A year later, the three conspired to break the power of the mighty Douglas clan and invited William Douglas, Sixth Earl of Douglas, and his brother to dine with young James II at Edinburgh Castle.
This event came to be known as the Black Dinner. While eating with the young kin, legend says the head of a black bull was placed before William — a symbol of death.
William and his brother were then dragged to Castle Hill and put on trial for fake charges, claiming that they had protested against the king. They were named as traitors and beheaded.
When James II finally ascended to his throne, however, he found that much of his court had still been dominated by the Douglas clan, and he clashed heads with them often.
So in 1452, King James II invited William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas, to Stirling Castle, whereupon he accused the Earl of conspiring to rival royal authority, drew his dagger, and stabbed William Douglas 26 times, which quickly sparked a civil war between the Stewart-controlled crown and the Douglas clan.
In the end, the Parliament of Scotland declared the Douglas lands forfeit and annexed them from the crown.