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 .

Nov 21, 2024 · Elzy Lay (born Nov. 25, 1868, McArthur, Ohio, U.S.—died Nov. 10, 1934, Los Angeles, Calif.) was a western American outlaw, a member of the Wild Bunch (q.v.) and the favourite friend and ally of Butch Cassidy in train and bank robberies.

Real name William Ellsworth Lay. Born in Mt. Pleasant, Ohio, he moved to Denver and became an outlaw after he mistakenly believed he had killed a man in a fight. In the 1890s Lay rode with Butch Cassidy and became one of his closest associates.

Jan 30, 2017 · She needed help and Butch hired out where he made the acquaintance of another hand, Elzy Lay. They were the same age and became fast friends. The Bassett’s had two daughters, fifteen-year-old Josie and nine-year-old Ann.

Aug 31, 2022 · William Ellsworth "Elzy" Lay (November 25, 1868 – November 10, 1934) was an outlaw of the Old West best known as being a member of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch, gang, operating out of the Hole-in-the-Wall Pass in Johnson County, Wyoming.

Sep 5, 2024 · Explore the hidden legacy of Elzy Lay, Butch Cassidy's cunning co-leader, through 4 eye-opening documentaries. Discover how this brilliant outlaw strategist masterminded Wild Bunch heists, evaded capture, and found redemption, reshaping our understanding of Wild West partnerships and the unsung architects of frontier crime.

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. [1]

After participating in a train robbery near Folsom, New Mexico, in which two sheriffs were killed, Lay was captured. On October 10, 1899, he was sentenced to life imprisonment—under his alias William McGinnis.

Feb 11, 2022 · Elzy Lay is shown in prison garb at left. At right is his former outlaw associate Butch Cassidy. Public Domain

Elzy Lay, one of Cassidy's closest friends and cofounder of the Wild Bunch gang, was wounded and also captured. Cassidy and the other members regrouped in Wyoming. On August 29, 1900, Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, Kid Curry, and another unidentified gang member believed to have been Will Carver, held up another Union Pacific train at Tipton, Wyoming .