CLINE FAMILY ASSOCIATION

BLOG UPDATES

April, 2018 - New updates regarding the identities of Peter Cline's parents, Johann Michael Klein ("Michael Klein") and Maria Barbara Ruhl ("Barbara Klein"); new subpage dedicated to Michael and Barbara Klein; and a new subpage regarding the Klein family, which is Pennsilfaanisch Deitsch (Pennsylvania Dutch) (currently under construction).

August 1, 2015 - New updates from Clines can be found on the following subpages: Scotty Cline, the son of Ezra Cline, who provides corrections and additional info on the Clines & Bluegrass Music subpage; additional research from Deborah Autry regarding Perry Cline and James Vance on the Hatfield McCoy Feud subpage; and Matt Cline, a descendant of the Pickaway County, Ohio Clines, on the Other Unrelated Cline Families page.

March 11, 2014 - For the latest updates on the descendants of Peter & Elizabeth Cline, you can go to the Facebook page, Cline Family Connections.  It was recently announced that a family reunion is being planned.  Please go to the Cline Family Connections Facebook page for more details.

9/2/2013 - Research Hatfield/McCoy/Cline from 12/2012 - 04/2013 - New Research Regarding Hatfield-McCoy Feud & Perry Cline's Involvement, along with the discovery of the location of the Cline Homestead, and the approximate final resting place of Peter Cline, can be found on the Hatfield-McCoy Feud page of this website.  The Cline Homestead would later be the home of Devil Anse Hatfield from 1871 to 1888.  Devil Anse would conduct all of his family's activities during the famous feud from the Cline Homestead, or Cline-Hatfield House. [Go to the Hatfield-McCoy Feud page for more info]. 

6/21/2013 - Kentucky Bar Association Annual Meeting - Panel discussion on the Hatfield & McCoy Feud -  Jacob Perry "Pete" Cline, III was part of a panel discussion of the Feud with several others, including Professor Altina Waller, author of the book, Feud - Social Change in Appalachia, Bill Richardson, local historian and Feud expert, and Darrell Fetty, producer of the mini-series, Hatfields & McCoys, starring Kevin Costner.  Jerry Cline (site moderator) was also present and worked with Pete Cline in the development of the Cline family's prospective on Perry Cline's false and negative portrayal in the mini-series. Producer Darrell Fetty was very gracious and apologized to Pete directly and to all the Clines for Perry Cline's negative portrayal in the mini-series.  Mr. Fetty said that, in the end, they wanted to hit the major events of the Feud but still had to make a movie.  Apology accepted Mr. Fetty!  Unfortunately, we are stuck with the mini-series and will still have to explain, for the foreseeable future, why the portrayal of Perry Cline is grossly mischaracterized.  We need a new documentary on the Feud, period.   

4/3/2013 - Chris Cline, Billionaire - One of our cousins, Chris Cline, who is on the Forbes list as the 377th richest person in the U.S., is reportedly dating Elin Nordegren, the ex-wife of Tiger Woods.  The media got plenty of laughs a couple of weeks ago when Chris's yacht docked next to Tiger's yacht, and Chris's yacht was bigger!  You can find numerous articles about Chris Cline on the internet.  A brief biography may be found on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Cline 

You can also found information about him at Forbes Magazine: http://www.forbes.com/profile/christopher-cline/

Chris descends from Peter Cline through Peter's oldest son, Michael, and Peter's grandson, Mose Christian Cline.  Mose Christian Cline, or Old Mose, was a friend of Anderson "Devil Anse" Hatfield.  During the Civil War, Hatfield sought revenge for Old Mose after Union raiders crossed into Virginia (now WV) and shot up Old Mose when he resisted their attempts to take his livestock.  Hatfield went after the raiders and reportedly killed several of them.  Old Mose lived to tell the tale.

12/29/2012  - Burial Place of Peter Cline - A review of the records in my possession may shed some light on the location of Peter Cline's gravesite.  First, based upon tax and census records and family tradition, we know that Peter Cline was living in Pike County, KY through at least 1830 along Peter Creek and the Tug River ("Peter Creek" was named after him).  The area where Peter Creek empties into the Tug River is the small town of Freeburn, KY.  Across the mouth of Peter Creek is Delorme, WV.

Now, Peter's son, Jacob "Rich Jake" Cline, lived on the WV side of the Tug near the mouth of Peter Creek at the house referred to in later documents as "The Old Home Place."  Jacob owned all of the land just across from the mouth of Peter Creek along the Tug, downriver and up Grapevine Creek.  He also owned land along Peter Creek.  It also appears that Peter and Elizabeth lived with Jacob by 1840.  Family tradition holds that Peter died around 1843 and is buried at or near Delorme, WV.  This is not known for sure, but it is likely that Peter and wife Elizabeth were buried near Jacob's home.

In 1858, Jacob Cline died and he left the "The Old Home Place" to his son Perry Cline.  In 1872, Perry Cline's neighbor, Anderson "Devil Anse" Hatfield, filed a lawsuit against Perry alleging that Perry and others were illegally cutting timber on Hatfield's property.  At some point between 1872 and 1874, Cline and Hatfield settled their case.  According to the West Virginia Supreme Court case, Torpin v. Ellison (1895), in the early 1870's, Devil Anse Hatfield moved into "the Old Home Place" and lived there through the events of the Feud until the summer or fall of 1888, when he sold all of his lands along the Tug, including the Old Home Place, to a man named J.D. Seargent.  Seargent, in turn, sold these lands to a railroad or coal company.

If "The Old Homeplace" can be located with certainty, this would be a great addition to the history of the Hatfield-McCoy Feud.  It would also likely provide the burial locations of Peter & Elizabeth Cline and son Jacob "Rich Jake" Cline.

Jerry P. Cline 

5/31/2012 - The link to an electronic version of the most accurate book on Peter Cline and his descendants, Clines and Allied Families of the Tug River Region, by Cecil Cline and Harry Dale Cline has been updated:

https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE100397

Apparently, the old link was broken.

5/31/2012 - The recent mini-series, Hatfields & McCoys, starring Kevin Costner, takes certain liberties with the actual facts as they pertain to Perry Cline [click on the page above for the "Hatfield McCoy Feud" for more information]. First, in the movie, when Perry Cline first confronts Devil Anse Hatfield, he is portrayed as an attorney representing a client who claims that Devil Anse is cutting timber on his client's land. This is a complete fabrication of the actual facts. In reality, in 1872, a lawsuit was filed by Devil Anse Hatfield against Perry Cline over ownership or timber rights to a 5,000 acre tract of land on Grapevine Creek. Perry, and his brother Jacob Jr., inherited that 5,000 acre tract from their father, Jacob "Rich Jake" Cline, in 1858 when Jacob died. The matter was settled out of court by 1877 when Perry deeded his interest in this 5,000 acre tract to Devil Anse. During this period, Perry was not a lawyer, and he was not representing anyone else's interest as a lawyer. It is unknown how Devil Anse Hatfield got control of that tract of land. However, it was not due to Perry Cline filing a false claim as an attorney on behalf of another, as is claimed in the movie. Perry Cline does not become a lawyer until several years after the beginning of the lawsuit. What is clear is that the writers intended to portray Perry Cline as a "shyster lawyer" from the very beginning.

Second, Perry Cline was married in 1868 to Martha Adkins and had several children with her by the time of the major events of the feud. However, in the movie, Perry is portrayed as a bachelor, with interest in Roseanna McCoy, which never happened. It is true that Roseanna lived with Perry Cline and his wife and children in later years, but as a nanny and nothing more.

The end of the movie is a further attempt to smear Perry Cline when he introduces his bride to Frank Phillips. The insinuation by Frank Phillips, that Perry liked his women "young," is demonstrably false as shown by census and marriage records. The 1870 Logan County, West Virginia census lists Perry Cline as 20 years old, with wife Martha as 21 years old, and their oldest child, John (1 yr old). If the real Perry Cline liked his women "young," he would not have married someone older than himself. As is obvious, the writers were again attempting to paint Perry Cline in a negative light.

Poetic license is sometimes used very effectively to condense real life events, that took place over several years, into a manageable length for a movie. However, this movie unnecessarily takes liberties to portray one side as "good" and the other as "evil." It is unfortunate but it appears that the writers saw it necessary to falsely implicate someone as the "bad guy." It might make good fiction, but it does not make good history.

Jerry P. Cline

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