Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Elzy Lay
William Ellsworth "Elzy" Lay (November 25, 1869 – November 10, 1934) was an outlaw of the Old West in the United States. He was a member of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch gang, operating out of the Hole-in-the-Wall Pass in Johnson County, Wyoming. Lay was Cassidy's best friend and assisted him in leading the Wild Bunch gang.
Lay was born in Mount Pleasant, an unincorporated community in Vinton County, Ohio, the son of James Landon Lay and Mary Jane Bellew. He had a brother, Encil Lay, and a sister, Maggie Lay Sprigg. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to northeastern Colorado. At the age of 18, Lay left home looking for adventure with his childhood friend William McGinnis. McGinnis soon returned home, claiming he was homesick. Later, Lay used the name "McGinnis" as an alias when working as a ranch hand.
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 Vernal, Utah. For a time, it was profitable, until it was shut down by Uintah County Sheriff John T. Pope. Following his business being closed, Lay moved back to Warner's ranch, where he renewed his relationship with Josie Bassett. He remained there until Butch Cassidy was released from an eighteen-month prison sentence. During that time, Lay became involved with another girl, Maude Davis, whose brother Albert Davis was a smalltime outlaw. Outlaw Ben Kilpatrick began dating Cassidy's girlfriend Ann Bassett during that time. Cassidy and Lay, after Cassidy's prison release, obtained their own cabin on the Green River. Ann Bassett ended her relationship with Kilpatrick, and returned to her involvement with Cassidy.
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.
Cassidy and Lay began hiding out at what was called "Robbers Roost", in Utah. Girlfriends Maude Davis and Ann Bassett joined them there, Lay having ended his relationship with Ann's sister, Josie, who by that time was involved in a relationship with Lay's outlaw friend Will "News" Carver. In April 1897, the two women were sent home, while Cassidy and Lay began planning the robbery of a payroll shipment in Castle Gate, Utah. In a 2006 History Channel documentary on the Old West, this robbery is described as Cassidy's boldest. On April 21, 1897, the payroll arrived, and Cassidy and his gang members simply walked out in broad daylight and took $7,000 at gunpoint. A gang member named Joe Walker is alleged to have disabled the telegraph lines to prevent word of the robbery being put out to nearby law enforcement.
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 New Mexico, and by this time were calling their gang the "Wild Bunch". There, they worked for a short time on the "WS Ranch", before heading north to Wyoming. They committed their most famous robbery on June 2, 1899, by robbing a Union Pacific train near Wilcox, Wyoming. Following the robbery, they fled to the Hole-in-the-Wall, successfully evading posses in pursuit. Kid Curry, who was by this time a member of the gang, killed Converse County Sheriff Josiah Hazen during that pursuit. The gang split up in different directions for a time, a common action following any of their robberies.
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 was shot, dying the next day. Another deputy was wounded, and outlaw Sam Ketchum was badly wounded.
Hub AI
Elzy Lay AI simulator
(@Elzy Lay_simulator)
Elzy Lay
William Ellsworth "Elzy" Lay (November 25, 1869 – November 10, 1934) was an outlaw of the Old West in the United States. He was a member of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch gang, operating out of the Hole-in-the-Wall Pass in Johnson County, Wyoming. Lay was Cassidy's best friend and assisted him in leading the Wild Bunch gang.
Lay was born in Mount Pleasant, an unincorporated community in Vinton County, Ohio, the son of James Landon Lay and Mary Jane Bellew. He had a brother, Encil Lay, and a sister, Maggie Lay Sprigg. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to northeastern Colorado. At the age of 18, Lay left home looking for adventure with his childhood friend William McGinnis. McGinnis soon returned home, claiming he was homesick. Later, Lay used the name "McGinnis" as an alias when working as a ranch hand.
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 Vernal, Utah. For a time, it was profitable, until it was shut down by Uintah County Sheriff John T. Pope. Following his business being closed, Lay moved back to Warner's ranch, where he renewed his relationship with Josie Bassett. He remained there until Butch Cassidy was released from an eighteen-month prison sentence. During that time, Lay became involved with another girl, Maude Davis, whose brother Albert Davis was a smalltime outlaw. Outlaw Ben Kilpatrick began dating Cassidy's girlfriend Ann Bassett during that time. Cassidy and Lay, after Cassidy's prison release, obtained their own cabin on the Green River. Ann Bassett ended her relationship with Kilpatrick, and returned to her involvement with Cassidy.
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.
Cassidy and Lay began hiding out at what was called "Robbers Roost", in Utah. Girlfriends Maude Davis and Ann Bassett joined them there, Lay having ended his relationship with Ann's sister, Josie, who by that time was involved in a relationship with Lay's outlaw friend Will "News" Carver. In April 1897, the two women were sent home, while Cassidy and Lay began planning the robbery of a payroll shipment in Castle Gate, Utah. In a 2006 History Channel documentary on the Old West, this robbery is described as Cassidy's boldest. On April 21, 1897, the payroll arrived, and Cassidy and his gang members simply walked out in broad daylight and took $7,000 at gunpoint. A gang member named Joe Walker is alleged to have disabled the telegraph lines to prevent word of the robbery being put out to nearby law enforcement.
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 New Mexico, and by this time were calling their gang the "Wild Bunch". There, they worked for a short time on the "WS Ranch", before heading north to Wyoming. They committed their most famous robbery on June 2, 1899, by robbing a Union Pacific train near Wilcox, Wyoming. Following the robbery, they fled to the Hole-in-the-Wall, successfully evading posses in pursuit. Kid Curry, who was by this time a member of the gang, killed Converse County Sheriff Josiah Hazen during that pursuit. The gang split up in different directions for a time, a common action following any of their robberies.
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 was shot, dying the next day. Another deputy was wounded, and outlaw Sam Ketchum was badly wounded.