How a Boy from McArthur Became Butch Cassidy’s Closest Friend
When most people think of Ohio’s place in American history, they think of presidents, astronauts, and aviation pioneers. Few would ever associate the hills of Vinton County with the American West. Yet Southeast Ohio’s surprising connection to the Wild Bunch reveals that one of Butch Cassidy’s closest friends began his journey not in Wyoming, Colorado, or Utah, but in the small town of McArthur, Ohio.
Those accomplishments are well known and deservedly celebrated.
What many people don’t realize is that Ohio also has a connection to one of the most famous outlaw gangs in American history.
Before we begin, there is one Ohioan who deserves mention. Annie Oakley, the legendary sharpshooter born in Darke County, became one of the biggest stars of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show and remains one of the most recognizable figures associated with the American frontier. Her remarkable story deserves an article of its own, and we’ll save that for another day.
Today, we’re heading down a different trail.
This is the story of a boy from McArthur, Ohio, who grew up to become one of Butch Cassidy’s closest friends and one of the most important members of the Wild Bunch.
The Boy from McArthur
If you’ve ever driven through McArthur, Ohio, you’ve probably never imagined it had a connection to the Wild West.
Tucked among the hills of Vinton County, McArthur seems worlds away from the dusty trails, outlaw hideouts, and frontier towns that have become synonymous with the American West.
Yet that is exactly where this story begins.
William Ellsworth “Elzy” Lay was born in McArthur in 1868. While still a child, his family left Ohio and headed west. Exactly how they made the journey has been lost to history. No known records describe whether they traveled entirely by train, by wagon, or some combination of the two.
As I researched Lay’s story, I found myself wondering about that journey. Did the future outlaw board a train somewhere in southeastern Ohio? Did he pass through Logan, Athens, or Columbus on his way west? Railroad maps from the era suggest it was certainly possible, but the historical record offers no definitive answers.
What we do know is that the boy from McArthur eventually found himself in Colorado.
And that is where his life changed forever.
Meeting Butch Cassidy
While working as a cowboy in Colorado, Lay met a young ranch hand named Robert LeRoy Parker.
History remembers him by another name.
Butch Cassidy.
The two men quickly became close friends. In fact, many historians believe Elzy Lay was one of Cassidy’s earliest and most trusted companions. Long before Hollywood turned Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid into household names, Elzy Lay was already riding alongside Cassidy.
As the years passed, both men drifted into outlaw life. Bank robberies, train robberies, and payroll thefts eventually made the Wild Bunch one of the most notorious gangs in the American West. Newspapers followed their exploits, lawmen pursued them across multiple states, and their names became part of frontier legend.
Although the Sundance Kid often receives much of the attention today, Elzy Lay was one of the gang’s key figures. He participated in major robberies, helped plan operations, and became one of the Wild Bunch’s leaders.
In many ways, he was there from the beginning.
The Outlaw Hollywood Forgot
Most Americans know the Wild Bunch through the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford.
The movie remains one of the most beloved Westerns ever made, but like many Hollywood productions, it simplified history to tell a more focused story.
The film centers almost entirely on the relationship between Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. For moviegoers, that partnership became the defining story of the Wild Bunch.
What many people don’t realize is that another man played a major role in the gang’s history.
Elzy Lay.
Despite being one of Cassidy’s closest friends and most trusted associates, Lay does not appear in the film at all.
According to accounts from those involved with the production, the filmmakers wanted to focus on the dynamic between Cassidy and Sundance. Introducing another major figure into the story would have complicated the narrative and taken attention away from the friendship that served as the film’s emotional core.
As a result, generations of moviegoers came away knowing Sundance’s name while never hearing about the Ohio-born outlaw who had ridden beside Butch Cassidy for years.
A Leader in the Wild Bunch
Lay was far more than just another member of the gang.
He participated in major robberies and became one of the organization’s leaders. When historians discuss the Wild Bunch, Lay’s name frequently appears among the group’s most important members.
In 1899, he became involved in a famous shootout near Folsom, New Mexico. The confrontation left a lawman dead and eventually led to Lay’s capture.
Unlike many outlaws of the era, Lay’s story did not end in a hail of bullets.
He was sentenced to prison and served nearly seven years behind bars. When he was released, he largely left his outlaw days behind and settled into a more respectable life.
Yet his connection to Butch Cassidy would continue to fuel stories and speculation for decades.
Did Elzy Lay See Butch Cassidy Again?
The fate of Butch Cassidy remains one of the great mysteries of the American West.
According to the traditional account, Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were killed by Bolivian soldiers in 1908. Yet stories claiming Cassidy survived have circulated for more than a century.
Among the most intriguing came from Wyoming rancher Josie Bassett.
Born in 1874, Bassett was not some distant observer repeating old campfire tales. She personally knew many of the figures associated with the Wild Bunch. Josie herself had a romantic relationship with Elzy Lay, while her sister, Ann “Queen Ann” Bassett, was romantically linked to Butch Cassidy.
Few people would have been in a better position to recognize Cassidy if he suddenly appeared on her doorstep.
Years later, Josie claimed that both Butch Cassidy and Elzy Lay visited her ranch near Baggs, Wyoming, around 1930.
The story has fascinated historians and Western enthusiasts ever since.
Supporters of the theory point out that Josie knew both men personally and would have had little reason to invent such a tale. Skeptics counter that no documentary evidence has ever surfaced proving the visit occurred, and no verified records place Cassidy in Wyoming during that period.
More than a century later, the mystery remains unsolved.
Did Butch Cassidy die in Bolivia in 1908?
Or did he quietly return to the United States and visit old friends years later?
No one knows for certain.
A Forgotten Ohio Connection
When Americans think of the Wild West, they picture Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico. They think of Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, Wyatt Earp, and Doc Holliday.
Rarely do they think of southeastern Ohio.
Yet one of Butch Cassidy’s closest friends and most trusted associates began life in the hills of Vinton County.
Today, most people passing through McArthur have never heard of Elzy Lay. His name is largely absent from Ohio history books and tourist attractions. Even many fans of Western history have never encountered his story.
Yet for a time, the boy from McArthur rode with one of the most famous outlaw gangs in American history.
It’s a reminder that history often begins in places we least expect.
Sometimes the road to frontier legend starts in a small town tucked among the hills of southeastern Ohio.
And sometimes the most interesting stories are hidden where nobody thinks to look.
