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Elzy Lay
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Elzy Lay

American outlaw
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Also known as: William Ellsworth Lay
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Quick Facts
Byname of:
William Ellsworth Lay
Born:
Nov. 25, 1868, McArthur, Ohio, U.S.
Died:
Nov. 10, 1934, Los Angeles, Calif. (aged 65)
Also Known As:
William Ellsworth Lay
See all related content

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.

Following a train robbery near Folsom, N.M., in which two sheriffs were killed, Elzy Lay was captured and on Oct. 10, 1899, sentenced to life imprisonment—under his alias William McGinnis. While in the New Mexico Territorial Prison he helped to quell a riot and in 1906 was granted a governor’s pardon. He then drifted north to Wyoming (still retaining his alias), married one Mary Calvert, and operated a ranch. From 1916 he guided geologists in the area and became an amateur geologist and prospector.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.