James Vance was well-known in both Logan and Pike Counties, referred to as Crazy Jim Vance by the McCoy family and as Uncle Jim Vance to the Hatfield clan. The McCoys liked to point out that his father, Abner Vance, had been hanged and had never been married to Jim’s mother.

Dec 16, 2013 · Otis Rice, a full professor and the West Virginia Historian Laureate, wrote of Jim Vance: “The tall, heavy-set, dark-bearded Vance, himself a later casualty in the feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys, had a reputation, even among his rough associates, for ruthlessness and vindictiveness.”

Sep 22, 2014 · Some feud story writers try to justify the murder of Jim Vance on the basis that his killers knew that he had led the New Year’s raid, and were therefore simply unable to restrain themselves when they came upon the man responsible for burning the McCoy home and killing two innocent people.

Jul 25, 2014 · Most of us of course are familiar with James "Jim" Vance and his role on the Hatfield side of the Hatfield and McCoy feud along the West Virginia/Kentucky border in the late 1800s. But did you know his grandfather was also an infamous Vance? Here are the ones I know of in chronological order:

Dec 16, 2013 · Devil Anse supporters claim his hand was forced due to the murder of his brother, Ellison Hatfield. A portion of feud enthusiasts question Devil Anse’s authority, and claim that he was nowhere near as instrumental in the feud as Wall Hatfield, his older brother, or …

On January 7, 1865, Asa Harmon McCoy was killed by a group of Confederate guerillas in his home. The McCoy family believed Jim Vance, Anse Hatfield’s uncle, was responsible. Thirteen years later, in 1878, there was a dispute about the ownership of a pig. One of the Hatfield cousins had a pig that Randolph McCoy believed to be his.

Just how eccentric was Jim Vance (1832 - 1888), sometimes known as "Crazy Jim” Vance? Coleman Alderson Hatfield (1889-1970), the son of Cap Hatfield, referred to him as such in several of his writings. Coleman was also a feud historian, a respected attorney from Logan County, and the grandson of Devil Anse Hatfield. Coleman once explained ...

Oct 7, 2024 · On the first one, they ran into Cap Hatfield and Jim Vance. While Cap made a run for it, Phillips shot Jim Vance dead. After another half-dozen raids, Phillips captured about ten members of Hatfields & Company and took them to Kentucky to stand trial for murder.

Shortly after the capture and killing of Jim Vance in January 1888, the Hatfield family, led by Devil Anse Hatfield, prepared for one last major offensive attack in revenge against the McCoy family.

A few days after what became known as the New Year’s massacre, bounty hunter Frank Phillips chased down Jim Vance and Cap Hatfield, killing Vance. Phillips rounded up nine Hatfield family members and supporters and hauled them off to jail.