Beautiful, refined, intelligent Etta Place was a triple threat when she met Harry Longabaugh and Robert Leroy Parker, the outlaws known as The Sundance Kid and Butch Cassidy, respectively, at a San Antonio brothel around 1900. In 2003, she was honored with a Walk of Fame star at 7080 Hollywood Blvd. On February 1, 1901, Etta and Sundance posed together for a picture at DeYoungs Photography Studio in New York after having made a purchase at Tiffany Jewelers. As the cheerful three laughed and reminisced about their crime wave, several members of the Bolivian Army surrounded the area. Tomeka Thiam Met Akon When She Was 18 & Gave Him 5 Children. In 1901 she was going by the name Ethel and Etta is Spanish for Ethel. 1961: Female Wild Bunch Gang member Laura Bullion dies in Tennessee, the last member of the gang, and, aside from the Bassett girls, one of the only people who could have either confirmed or denied as to whether Etta Place and Eunice Gray were one and the same. There have also been claims that Place was first the lover of Parker, becoming involved with Longabaugh later, and that she met them both while working in a brothel as a prostitute. Possible identities for her parents range from an Englishman named Ingerfeld to more fanciful alternatives, such as Emily Jane Place and George Capel, alleged son of Arthur Algernon Capel, 6th earl of Essex. Joined the Wild Bunch, an outlaw gang whose two most notable members were Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; accompanied the two men to Argentina in an attempt to "go straight"; for a time, the trio lived anonymously and ran their own ranch; when their true identities were discovered, they returned to their formerly successful lives as bandits; with Etta as accomplice, they caused a sensation with their daring robberies; evidently, the three later parted paths leaving each to face an unknown fate. Lamb, F. Bruce. She received her first professional vocal training at the age of five from James Earle Hines, musical director of the St. Paul Baptist Church Echoes of Eden choir, in south central Los Angeles. While befriending the gang's leader, Butch Cassidy, she developed a romantic relationship with another central gang member, Harry Longabaugh, better known as the Sundance Kid. The authorities of the adjoining provinces have volunteered to co-operate: and yet the robbers are still at large, and their valuable booty unrecovered. She was principally the companion of Longabaugh. Gray was described as being a beautiful woman, as Place was, relatively wealthy, and said to have been articulate in her speech, intelligent, well-mannered, well-dressed on all occasions, and seemingly educated. In 1906 he and Cassidy returned to outlawry, robbing banks, trains, and mining interests in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. February 27, 2023. Etta Place may well have been a woman named Eunice Gray, who for many years operated a bordello in Fort Worth, Texas, and afterwards ran the Waco Hotel there until her death in a fire in January 1962. After returning to the U.S., Pinkerton agents sent a letter to the Buenos Aires police: It is our firm belief that it is only a question of time until these men commit some desperate robbery in the Argentine Republic. Beautiful, refined, intelligent Etta Place was a triple threat when she met Harry Longabaugh and Robert Leroy Parker, the outlaws known as The Sundance Kid and Butch Cassidy, respectively, at a San Antonio brothel around 1900. From an unknown past, she joined the scoundrels and bandits who made up the infamous outlaw gang known as the Wild Bunch. The real Etta Place, according to Pinkerton's (per author James D. Horan) claimed Cassidy and Sundance met Place at Fannie Porter's brothel in San Antonio, Texas. (February 22, 2023). About a minute later, I heard the one who was outside say in English something like "all set." It is thought that Butch and Sundance finally had had enough, and decided to "go straight" in a land where they were unknown. We do not know the nature of the ailment he was being treated for." Estimates of her birth year range from 1878 to 1882 or 1883. Many of the details of Place's life have been lost to time. Researcher Donna Ernst pointed out that Robert Longabaugh possibly was related to Harry Longabaugh, but it was unlikely he was Harry's son, and even less likely that he knew anything whatsoever about Etta Place. Historical Atlas of the Outlaw West. Chris Enss is a New York Times bestselling author who writes about women of the Old West. The isolated mountain village of San Vicente, Bolivia, was noisy and crowded with people, some of whom were loud and nearly shouting their conversations as they made their way from one shop to another. Because Pinkerton's believed the story was true, historians believed it too. The Pinkerton Detective Agency gave out two official descriptions of Etta Place, both differing only in the age given, due to their being released over a four year gap. Butch Cassidy and a girlfriend, Etta Place, and in 1901 drifted to New York City and then South America, where they set up ranching in Chubut province, Argentina. Regardless of their fate, all accounts seem to lack reasonable evidence and credibility. Tomeka Thiam Met Akon When She Was 18 & Gave Him 5 Children. In Search of Butch Cassidy. Lorinda Reese Jameson is the only child of Philadelphia banker G. David Jameson, and her father raised her as he would a son, to ride and to shoot. Because the news could not be confirmed, police doubted the bandit had indeed passed away. ?) Montana, Wyoming, Texas, Arizona and Nevada all suffered at the hands of the Wild Bunch, and posses of skilled trackers and fighters rode themselves haggard looking for the thieves. The members of the Blues Foundation, set up in Memphis, Tennessee, awarded her Blues Female Artist of the Year award 14 times and inducted her into the Blues Hall of Fame. film), starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford, and Katharine Ross as Etta Place, screenplay by William Goldman, directed by George Roy Hill, produced by 20th Century-Fox, 1969. WebEtta James was born Jamesetta Hawkins in Los Angeles and had a very tumultuous childhood as she was brought up by foster parents who ill-treated her. The woman later known as Ethel Place, is most likely born in Texas in 1876. Efforts by both the law and the Pinkerton Detective Agency, which had been hired to assist in their capture, increased the pressure on their outlaw lifestyle. Excerpt from My Antonia Among the many stories of the two men and their apparent demise, the account by Arthur Chapman published in the April 1930 issue of Elks Magazine has been the seed for many accounts, all varying in detail, location, and date. In a letter to his neighbor and close friend Daniel Gibbon, dated February 29, 1904, Cassidy shows genuine immersion in the everyday routine of ranching. However, Willis concedes that Gray never admitted or even claimed to be Etta Place; he merely made that connection on his own, given the similarities of their age, and the period in which Gray said she went to South America coinciding with Place's time in South America. Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. In some respects, stories of Americas Wild West feel like a young country trying to build itself a mythology from scratch. The three visited museums, ate fine food and attended the opera. Worland, WY: High Plains, 1993. https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/place-etta-fl-1896-1905, "Place, Etta (fl. Therefore, its best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publications requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html. Name variations: Emma Place; Eva Place. Goldman, William (screenplay). Ethel Etta Place, Western Woman of Mystery. Because Pinkerton's believed the story was true, historians believed it too. Taglines. Both Ann and her sister Josie Bassett no doubt knew Place, as the three women were often alleged to have been at the Robbers Roost hideout at the same times. History writer Edward Kirby noted in his book The Saga of Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch that she was truly the mystery woman of the Wild Bunch story.. In fact, there were a number of North American outlaws drifting throughout the Southern Continent, any of whom may have been responsible for the crimes blamed on them. Gerald Kolpan's ETTA (www.ettathenovel.com) purports to tell the "true" story of Etta and Sundance and includes many historical figures such as Buffalo Bill, Annie Oakley and Eleanor Roosevelt. May 1, 1905: Place, Longabaugh, and Parker decide to sell their Cholila Ranch and leave South America to avoid the law there. History Blazer, May 1995. She is semi-wealthy, and many speculate that she was Etta Place. . Plot summary. It's known that in 1902 and 1904 Sundance and Etta made return trips to the United States evidence of which was later uncovered by the Pinkertons. The woman later known as Ethel Place, is most likely born in Texas in 1876. Genres. Genres. Palmer Lake, CO: Filter Press, 1977. This petition was signed by Place and Ryan, per Santiago. Sundance bought Etta a gold lapel watch. In early 1905, the trio sold the Cholila ranch as once again the law was beginning to catch up with them. Place. Etta Place (1878-unknown) was almost certainly not her real name, but no one knows for sure what name she was born under. On April 2, they registered at a Mrs. Thompson's rooming house in New York City. Claims that she herself was a teacher at one time have no support, either. March 1903 marked the beginning of the end for the trio in their comfortable exile. A mule train rumored to be transporting a rich payroll was going to be in the area. Etta had her clothes tailored, and adorned herself with expensive jewelry. There were dangerous desperados associated with the gangmen like Harvey Logan, alias Kid Curry and George Flatnose Currie, whose names were synonymous in certain parts of the country with robbery, cattle stealing and gun fighting. However, the most intriguing mystery is not her past but rather where Etta Place went after Longabaugh and Parker were killed. Summer, 1904: Place and Longabaugh sail again to New York City, to visit her family. There are at least shreds of evidence to support that claim. 1899-1900: Place was working as a prostitute in Texas, possibly in Fort Worth, but most likely in Fannie Porter's brothel in San Antonio, during which time she met and became involved with Longabaugh. Optimistic rumors of capture soon changed to criticism as no results were forthcoming. January 1901: Longabaugh and Place visit his family in Mont Clare, Pennsylvania. According to the September 18, 1920, edition of the Seattle Post Intelligencer, Its likely no one will ever know what truly became of Cassidy and the Kid, but Etta is most certainly still alive. Calling her a master criminal, the report contends she had been seen in Paris and Monte Carlo in the fall of 1915. The Wild Bunch had been on, By the early 1900s, the law was closing in and Butch Cassidy was beginning to, George Scarborough was a tough and deadly lawmanuntil he ran into members of the Wild. However, the claims made by Longabaugh become very clouded and confusing, with dates that don't match up, as he often cited facts that were inconsistent with earlier claims made by him, and he often changed his story. Pinkerton detectives find evidence that Place is homesick and wanting to visit her family, but were unable to identify who her family was. Although she was dressed in mens clothing, there seemed to be no question from the witnesses who noticed the woman that it was Etta. Add synopsis. WebEtta Place ( b. c. 1878, d. Digging Up Butch and Sundance. Eyewitnesses indicated years afterward that Place was one of only five women known to have ever been allowed into the Wild Bunch hideout at Robbers Roost in southern Utah, the other four having been Will Carver's girlfriend Josie Bassett who also was involved with Parker for a time, Josie's sister and Parker's longtime girlfriend Ann Bassett, Elzy Lay's girlfriend Maude Davis, and gang member Laura Bullion. These tactics netted them much success, especially after railroad or bank robberies. Other versions have Cassidy and Longabaugh eluding capture, and eventually splitting up to live anonymously throughout North and South America. Davis was the sheriff of Carbon County, WY. At her request therefore on May 1, 1905, Longabaugh accompanied her from Valparaiso, Chile, to San Francisco, California, USA, where she apparently remained while he once again returned to South America. This singer recalled her mothers advice, My mother always told me, even if a song has been done a thousand times, you can still bring something of your own to it. Theories abound regarding Etta's earlier life. Late 1909: A beautiful woman named Eunice Gray arrives in Fort Worth, Texas, and begins running a brothel. Also Known As: Jamesetta Hawkins, Miss Peaches, place of death: Riverside, California, United States, See the events in life of Etta James in Chronological Order, (Singer-Songwriter Know for Hits Such as "The Wallflower", "At Last", "Tell Mama"), https://www.wbur.org/news/2012/01/20/etta-james, http://www.ebony.com/video/entertainment-culture/beyonce-as-etta-james-id-rather-go-blind#.VbsgtrUpp2A. . This photo shows the Sundance Kid, Etta Place and Butch Cassidy getting ready to have tea on their Cholila ranch in 1903. Even her real name is a mystery; Place was the maiden surname of Longabaugh's mother (Annie Place) and she is recorded in various sources as Mrs. Harry Longabaugh or Mrs. Harry A. Again, those claims have no supporting evidence, and are merely rumor. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. Popular locations for her place of birth include Utah, New York City, Pennsylvania, or In 1960, she decided to sign with Leonard Chess' label, Chess Records, and shortly afterwards got involved in a relationship with singer Harvey Fuqua, founder of the doo-wop group, The Moonglows. "Leaving Cholila: Butch and Sundance Documents Surface in Argentina," in True West. WebAccording to reports of the day, Bassett and Davis were two of only five women ever allowed into the Robbers Roost hideout, the other three being Josie Bassett, the Sundance Kid 's girlfriend Etta Place, and Wild Bunch gang member Laura Bullion . 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