These tactics netted them much success, especially after railroad or bank robberies. Files from the Pinkerton Agency (a detective agency established in 1850 that pursued Butch, Sundance and the gang they ran with known as the Wild Bunch at the behest of the Union Pacific Railroad Company) described Etta as having classic good looks, approximately 54 to 55 in height, weighing between one hundred ten pounds and one hundred fifteen pounds, with a medium build, reddish-brown hair, and cold gray eyes. Her date and place of birth are unknown, but the overall consensus was that she was from Utah or New York. Encyclopedia.com. For the next two-and-one-half years, the trio ran a successful ranching enterprise, with Etta's equestrian skills and knowledge of horses surely contributing to a doubling of their stock. Born in about 1878, nothing is known of Ettas life before she met Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, better known as the Sundance Kid. In 1901 she was going by the name Ethel and Etta is Spanish for Ethel. In 2003, she was given the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Boulder, CO: Johnson Books, 1985. "I will want to buy some Rams, so please keep your ears open for we dont know where to look for them. Kirby, Edward M. The Saga of Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch. Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. 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. She was the one who held the horses and remained on guard while they robbed and stole. In February 1901, she accompanied Longabaugh, whom she may or may not have married, to New York City, where at Tiffany's jewelers they purchased a lapel watch and stickpin and where at a studio in Union Square on Broadway she posed with him for the now famous DeYoung portrait, one of only two known images of her [2]. Popular locations for her place of birth include Utah, New York City, Pennsylvania, or The other assailant at once went outside, and they immediately took off in flight on horses that they had already prepared. The Pinkerton Agency, which had a strong interest in Etta, described her as attractive, speaking with an educated tone. It is possible that she met Parker and/or Longabaugh in Fort Worth or in the brothel of Madame Fannie Porter in San Antonio, which was frequented by members of the Wild Bunch gang and which resulted in several gang members meeting girlfriends that later traveled with them, to include Kid Curry's meeting of prostitute Della Moore. After a bad patch, she returned with the single and album, Tell Mama, in 1967. 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. The ship was bound ship for Buenos Aires, Argentina. Again, the Wild Bunch fled to Chile, at which point the documentation of their activities gallops off into dozens of conflicting accounts. 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. Historical documents do show that Etta and Sundance were dedicated to one another and that she was undeniably the Queen of the Wild Bunch.. Before any policemen arrived, the four robbers had re-mounted and disappeared in a cloud of dust. Her first solo hit in doo-wop style, All I Could Do Was Cry, became an R&B hit. WebEtta Place was involved with the Sundance Kid and was a member of the Butch Cassidys Wild Bunch. 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. 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. The gang had its headquarters in Grand Encampment, Wyoming, and rode hundreds of miles to strike for wealth in unsuspecting places. In a cynical jab at the powers that be, a Buenos Aires Herald editorial on December 23, 1905, touted: Those bad, bold, whisky-drinking, hard-riding, round-the-corner-shooting, Anglo-American, gaucho, Bank robbers have not been captured yet. In some respects, stories of Americas Wild West feel like a young country trying to build itself a mythology from scratch. The men sported new aliases; Butch took the name James (later Santiago) Ryan, while Sundance took Etta's last name, making him Harry (later Enrique) A. While the life of Place is somewhat mysterious - the only known facts being those that occurred while she was with Longabaugh - Bassett's life is well documented. Since arriving in Bolivia in 1902, the trio had robbed numerous banks, and intercepted one mule train after another carrying gold and paper money. 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. They believed the story was circulated to conceal her identity. Flourished around 18961905; dates and locations for her birth and death are unknown, as are parents' names, marriages, and children; thought to have been educated in the East as a teacher. In early 1961, she released her signature song, At Last! In fact, even her real name is a mystery. There he used the name of Harry E. Place. Arrived Buenos Ayres [sic] August 9, 1902, as Harry A. Some claims indicate that Place ended her relationship with Longabaugh and returned to the United States prior to his death. However, that is where the similarities end. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. She married Artis Mils in 1969 who remained her husband until her death. On February 1, 1901, the trio met as planned in New York City. Plot summary. 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. . From an unknown past, she joined the scoundrels and bandits who made up the infamous outlaw gang known as the Wild Bunch. Etta had her clothes tailored, and adorned herself with expensive jewelry. Having spent much of their lives in the United States holding up trains and robbing banks, Butch and the Sundance Kid considered absconding with mining companies payroll shipments to be a natural course of events. Their classification as service personnel was apparently to allow them to gain passage on what was not a passenger vessel but a freighter. Theories abound regarding Etta's earlier life. Taglines. Many of the details of Place's life have been lost to time. Documents salvaged from the fire indicate she was 77 years of age. 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. Sundance bought Etta a gold lapel watch. "Place, Etta (fl. We do not know the nature of the ailment he was being treated for." 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. Robert Harvey Longabaugh (February 21, 1901-December 18, 1972), who claimed years later to be the son of Longabaugh, claimed that Etta Place was actually Hazel Tyrone, a half-sister to his mother, Annie Marie Thayne. Etta James was known for her spectacular voice that had the power to move one to tears, and despite her brilliant career, her latter years were marred with legal battles between her husband and son. Claims that she herself was a teacher at one time have no support, either. Reminiscing about their past adventures drove the former gang members back to their old habits. He recorded each lead in his 1977 book, The Identity of Harry Longabaugh's Mysterious Lover. The majority of the experts agree that Butch and Sundance probably met Etta at a bordello around 1900. Upon their arrival in Argentina some time in March, Pinkerton records show that Longabaugh went to the London and River Platte Bank and "opened an account with the bank on March 23, 1901, depositing $12,000 in gold notes. Chris Enss is a New York Times bestselling author who writes about women of the Old West. Etta Place (born c. 1878, date of death unknown) was a companion of the American outlaws Butch Cassidy (real name Robert LeRoy Parker) and the Sundance Kid (Harry Alonzo Longabaugh), both members of the outlaw gang known as the Wild Bunch. The woman later known as Ethel Place, is most likely born in Texas in 1876. In 1952, she met musician Johnny Otis who helped the band sign to Modern Records and changing their name to the Peaches and gave the singer her stage name reversing Jamesetta into "Etta James". Research has also detected that Robert Longabaugh possibly was told by his mother that Etta Place was in reality her half-sister, and that her real name had been Hazel Tyrone. was a companion of the American outlaws Robert LeRoy Parker, alias Butch Cassidy and Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, alias Sundance Kid. The Pinkerton Agency had known their precise address for some months, but the rainy season prevented their assigned agent, Frank Dimaio, from traveling there and making an arrest. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. Popular locations for her place of birth include Utah, New York City, Pennsylvania, or Wisconsin. The Sundance Kids widow Etta Place joins up with Pancho Villa. Redford, Robert. The last living person who actually knew Etta Place was Josie Bassett, sister to Ann Bassett, and former lover to several of the Wild Bunch gang members. 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. What is known, with little doubt, is that she simply changed her name and began a new life, essentially disappearing from history. Estimates of her birth year range from 1878 to 1882 or 1883. A membe, Theodore Roosevelt Her self-titled album in 1973 was notable for its rock and funk styles, produced by the renowned rock producer Gabriel Mekler and nominated for a Grammy but did not do well commercially. Theories abound regarding Etta's earlier life. Etta Place, shown here in a photo taken in either Mexico or Texas with a womens group called Las Soldaderas, was a friend and outlaw companion of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It is also possible that they traveled to a Dr. Pierce's Invalid Hotel in Buffalo, New York State, for (unspecified) treatment. Frank Dimaio of the Pinkerton Detective Agency arrived in Buenos Aires and began a three-month investigation. Ethel Etta Place, Western Woman of Mystery. , which reached number two on the R&B chart and followed that up with, Trust in Me, to string instruments. Neither claim has any evidence to support them whatsoever. 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. 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. Those who had met Place claimed that the first thing noticed about her was that she was strikingly pretty, with a very nice smile, and that she was cordial and refined, but an excellent shot with a rifle. His cohorts in crime thought the idea had promise and were enthusiastic about the opportunity. Soldier Prince from Argentina to New York City. 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. When Mama Lu died in 1950, Dorothy took her to the Fillmore District, San Francisco where she was exposed to doo-wop and was inspired to form a girl group, called the Creolettes. 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. According to one of the many legends of Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid and Etta Place in South America, two men and one woman at the table pulled their chairs into the limited shade offered by the thin limbs of casadensis trees. She was principally the companion of Longabaugh. 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