Article Discussion

My great-grandmother was Fannie Pearl Hatfield, and she used to tell us stories of going to Devil Anse’s house and of Uncle Dyke Garrett. So much rich and animated history.

This statement is categorically false: “And in 1817, preacher Abner Vance fled a Russell County murder charge, finding refuge in Tug Valley. Vance later returned to Virginia and was hanged there, but not before establishing a family line on Tug Fork.”

Abner Vance was NOT a preacher. He was referred to in all court documents as “Abner Vance, laborer.” Abner Vance was arrested a few days after the killing of Horton, and spent every day until his hanging in jail. Horton was killed on September 22, 1817, and Abner Vance made his first court appearance on October 16, 1817, brought to court, as stated in the court record, from the jail by the jailer. In each of his many court appearances thereafter, the record shows that Vance was brought to the courtroom from the jail by the jailer. Abner Vance never set foot in Tug Valley. The record is clear!