Elzy Lay
Elzy Lay | |
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| Born | William Ellsworth Lay November 25, 1869 Mount Pleasant, Vinton County, Ohio |
| Died | November 10, 1934 (aged 65) Los Angeles, California |
| Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park |
| Nationality | American |
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William Ellsworth "Elzy" Lay (November 25, 1869 – November 10, 1934) was an
Early life
Lay was born in
Outlaw life
In the autumn of 1889, Lay met outlaw Butch Cassidy while in Utah. The two became close friends, and Lay began dating Josie Bassett, the daughter of a rancher who often sold beef and horses to the outlaws, while Cassidy began dating her sister, 15-year-old future western outlaw Ann Bassett. He worked briefly on the ranch of cattleman Matt Warner, and it was Warner who gave Lay his first tip for a robbery. From Warner, Lay learned that a shopkeeper nearby had a large sum of cash. Warner, his nephew Lew McCarty, and Lay robbed the man and split the money.
Lay then opened up a gambling house in
In August, 1896, Matt Warner killed two prospectors named Dick Staunton and Dave Milton, during a shootout near Vernal. Warner had been employed by E.B. Coleman to intimidate Staunton and Milton away from a mining claim. The intimidation turned into a gun battle. Warner, Coleman, and hired gunman Bill Wall were arrested, and eventually transported to Ogden, Utah, where they were held in jail. In a plea for help to Butch Cassidy, Warner said he needed a lawyer. Cassidy and Lay robbed a bank in Montpelier, Idaho, using the funds to secure an attorney for Warner. Warner and Wall were convicted of manslaughter, and received a five-year sentence, while Coleman was found not guilty.[1]
The Wild Bunch gang
Cassidy and Lay began hiding out at what was called "
By this time, Maude and Lay had married, and Maude was pregnant with his child. After the birth of their daughter, Marvel, Maude insisted he leave the outlaw life and settle down. He refused. Cassidy and Lay traveled to
Killing of Sheriff Farr, Deputy Kearney and Deputy Love
Cassidy, Lay, Kid Curry, and other gang members Sam Ketchum and Bill Carver headed to New Mexico. On July 11, 1899, without Cassidy, Lay led Curry, Ketchum and Carver in the robbery of a train near Folsom, New Mexico. The robbery was successful, but a well-led posse under the direction of Huerfano County (Colorado) Sheriff Ed Farr soon cornered them near an area known as Turkey Creek. In the first gun battle that followed, Doña Ana County Deputy Kent Kearney[3] was shot, dying the next day. Another deputy was wounded, and outlaw Sam Ketchum was badly wounded.
The gang escaped this immediate threat, but Ketchum's bad wounds held them up, and again they were cornered in the same area on July 16, 1899. They engaged Sheriff Farr and Colfax County Deputy Henry Love[3] in a gun battle, resulting in Farr being killed[3] and Love dying a few days later from his wounds. Lay was also wounded, but escaped (as did Curry and Carver). Ketchum, however, was captured and died in custody from his wounds.
Captured, convicted and pardoned
On August 16, 1899, while gathering supplies, Lay was cornered in
Lay spent seven years in prison, where he became a trustee to the warden. In this role, he once accompanied the warden to Santa Fe. Upon their return, they found that the inmates had taken the warden's wife and daughter hostage inside the prison. Lay was able to convince the prisoners to release the women, and for this act he was
Retirement from crime
Upon his release, Lay found his way to
The end of the Wild Bunch
When Lay was captured, Cassidy, Kid Curry, and Bill Carver all left New Mexico. The loss of Lay deeply affected Cassidy, who for a time made attempts at getting amnesty from the Governor of Utah. Several killings committed by Kid Curry and other robberies committed by the gang made this impossible.
No objective proof exists that Lay had contact with Wild Bunch members after his release, but there is suggestive testimony. Josie Bassett on separate occasions told her cousin, her neighbor, and local historians she had been visited by Butch Cassidy and Elza Lay "in 1930 in Baggs, Wyoming".
Lay died on November 10, 1934, in Los Angeles. He is buried at Forest Lawn in Glendale, California, near Los Angeles.
References
- ^ a b "Butch and Sundance William Ellsworth Lay". Archived from the original on 3 January 2009.
- ^ "Sheriff Josiah Hazen". The Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP).
- ^ a b c "Sheriff Edward J. Farr". The Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP).
- ^ a b "Butch and Sundance William Ellsworth Lay p.2". Archived from the original on 3 January 2009.
- ^ Dick & Daun DeJournette, One Hundred Years of Brown's Park and Diamond Mountain, 1996, pp. 330 - 331
External links
- "William Ellsworth "Elzy" Lay". Western Outlaw. Find a Grave. June 21, 2006. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
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