HER STORY CONTINUES - TO Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, To Pancho Villa and His Rebel BanditsShe Was a Lot of WomanTo a Lot of Men! Gerald Kolpan's ETTA (www.ettathenovel.com), tells the story through the eyes of Etta Place, the alleged girlfriend of the Sundance Kid. Always soulful, her extraordinary voice was showcased to great effect in singles such as, At Last, Dance With Me Henry and Id Rather go Blind. A Pinkerton account states that "Etta Place, Harry Long[a]baugh's wife, in male attire, is alleged to have held the horses while Long[a]baugh and Cassidy committed the robbery." 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. On April 2, they registered at a Mrs. Thompson's rooming house in New York City. The photo was sent to a family member and remained in the family for many years until it was published in 1992. 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. With the exception of Butch, Sundance and Etta, who traveled to Pennsylvania and New York together, gang members confined themselves to the West. Another report indicates she committed suicide in 1924 in Argentina, while yet another report indicates that she died of natural causes in 1966. The three were members of the outlaw gang known as Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch. Plot summary. Legendary figures like Wyatt Earp, Jesse James, Belle Starr and the Apache Kid had their exploits built up far out of proportion to the actuality. In 1906 he and Cassidy returned to outlawry, robbing banks, trains, and mining interests in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. According to historians, on February 20, 1901, the husband and wife and Cassidy boarded the SS Herminius at New Yorks Pier 32 under the aliases Mr. and Mrs. Harry Place and James Ryan. Some claims indicate that Place ended her relationship with Longabaugh and returned to the United States prior to his death. Estimates of her birth year range from 1878 to 1882 or 1883. was a companion of the American outlaws Robert LeRoy Parker, alias Butch Cassidy and Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, alias Sundance Kid. Gray was described as being a beautiful woman, but there are no known photographs of her from that period, and only one quality photograph from the period of Place. She recorded the hit ballad, My Dearest Darling, in 1960, to the accompaniment of string instruments, and sang background vocals on label mate Chuck Berry's, Back in the U.S.A. She was principally the companion of Longabaugh. A mule train rumored to be transporting a rich payroll was going to be in the area. With the arrival of spring, however, Place again disappears from record, her whereabouts remaining a mystery for nearly four more years. They traveled to Monte Carlo, took up residence on the Riviera, and generally lived an easy life for a while. She never makes any indications that she is, nor does she attempt to fuel this rumor, but rather avoids the topic altogether. By the age of 5, she was known as a gospel prodigy, gaining fame by The majority of the experts agree that Butch and Sundance probably met Etta at a bordello around 1900. Butch purchased a Tiffany lapel watch for Etta, and she and Sundance posed for their now famous photograph at De Young's Studio, 857 Broadway at 17th St. Nearly a year and a half later, the Pinkerton Agency would receive a copy of the photograph. Born in about 1878, nothing is known of Ettas life before she met Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, better known as the Sundance Kid. By the end of that year however they were again back in Argentina; on December 19, Place took part, along with Longabaugh, Parker and an unknown male, in the robbery of the Banco de la Nacion in Villa Mercedes, 400 miles west of Buenos Aires. There is still considerable debate over when her relationship with Longabaugh ended. However, the date of retrieval is often important. For more than a day, Butch, Sundance and Etta fought being overtaken by authorities. The loss of their anonymity eventually led them back to the life they knew best: that of the outlaw. Leads develop only to dissolve into ambiguity". The remainder of Robert Longabaugh's stories are believed to have been completely fabricated by him. Popular locations for her place of birth include Utah, New York City, Pennsylvania, or Wisconsin. Twenty-eight-year-old Etta smiled happily at her two companions as the conversation strayed from the execution of the job to the large amount they had stolen. Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). There also is no evidence to support that Harry Longabaugh was ever in the Oregon area during the timeframe when Robert Longabaugh alleged his mother began an affair with him. Many of the details of Place's life have been lost to time. Historical documents do show that Etta and Sundance were dedicated to one another and that she was undeniably the Queen of the Wild Bunch.. Place, Purser, Mrs. Harry A. Taglines. The woman later known as Ethel Place, is most likely born in Texas in 1876. The trio fled north to San Carlos de Bariloche where they embarked on the steamer Condor across Lake Nahuel Huapi and into Chile. As had been the case in the United States, many Argentinean crimes were attributed to the trio with little or no reliable evidence. Its unlikely Etta, Ethel or Place is her real name. The book purports to tell the "true" story of Etta and Sundance and includes many historical figures such as Buffalo Bill, Annie Oakley and Eleanor Roosevelt. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (112 min. After signing with Chicago's Chess Records her career began to soar. Author and researcher Larry Pointer, who up until the late 1970s spent more time researching and chasing leads to Etta Place than any other researcher, wrote that it, "is one of the most intriguing riddles in western history. This photo shows the Sundance Kid, Etta Place and Butch Cassidy getting ready to have tea on their Cholila ranch in 1903. In support of this is his alleged involvement in the July 3, 1901, holdup of a Great Northern train near Wagner, Montana. February 1901: Longabaugh and Place visit New York City, and Tiffany's Jewelers. Butch Cassidys sister, Lula Parker Betensen, told reporters from the Los Angeles Times on April 7, 1970, that the Bolivian Army did not kill her brother and Etta. Gigi Santo Pietro Is a Tattoo Artist - Facts about Vanna Pointer, Larry. His death certificate lists his father as being Harry Longabaugh, and his mother as being Annie Marie Thayne. 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. She was principally the companion of Longabaugh. WebIn much the same way as she appeared, Etta Place suddenly vanished from history with only rumors and myth to explain her fate. Meadows, Anne. They believed the story was circulated to conceal her identity. Name variations: Emma Place; Eva Place. 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. Through his research, he discovered a paper trail and enough eyewitness reports to significantly improve the chance of capturing the outlaws. However, the most intriguing mystery is not her past but rather where Etta Place went after Longabaugh and Parker were killed. Atlas of South America. Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. One claim is that she returned to her life as a school teacher, living the remainder of her life in Denver, Colorado, while another story claims she lived the remainder of her life teaching in Marion, Oregon. She continued to work with Chess throughout the 1960s and early '70s. Gigi Santo Pietro Is a Tattoo Artist - Facts about Vanna 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 a letter to his neighbor and close friend Daniel Gibbon, dated February 29, 1904, Cassidy shows genuine immersion in the everyday routine of ranching. The Outlaw Trail. In 2009, a critically-acclaimed new novel about Etta Place was released. Theories abound regarding Etta's earlier life. 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. There are also various claims that she returned to prostitution, living out the remainder of her life in Texas, or New York, or California. In reality, there are really no facts whatsoever to show beyond a doubt what happened to Place following Longabaugh's death. 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]. Documents salvaged from the fire indicate she was 77 years of age. Place, Stewardess, which was OK as no passengers were carried, hence put them in the crew's list. After each job, a series of relay horses would quickly deliver the bandits to one of their sanctuaries, most notably Hole-in-the-Wall, Brown's Park, or Robbers' Roost. Author and historian Richard Selcer wrote in his book, Hells Half Acre, that Etta could very well have traveled to Denver with her husband. The funeral was presided by Rev. Born In: Los Angeles, California, United States. In 2003, she was given the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. 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. The Wild Bunch. WebIn Sundance Kid. He even claimed that he was a pallbearer at Butch Cassidy/aka Parker's funeral years after Parker was alleged to have been killed in Bolivia, and that Cassidy was buried in Spokane, Washington. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The one instance where she is known to have signed her name, she recorded it as "Mrs. Ethel Place." We arrived here today, and the day after tomorrow my wife and I leave for San Francisco.". Worland, WY: High Plains, 1993. 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. The isolated mountain village of, Historians and researchers debate this fanciful account of the final demise of Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid and Etta Place. Estimates of her birth year range from 1878 to 1882 or 1883. , which reached number two on the R&B chart and followed that up with, Trust in Me, to string instruments. A gun suddenly fired, and a bullet almost took off Butchs head. 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. Longabaugh and Place sail to San Francisco, where she remains, while he returns to South America. When Dimaio departed Buenos Aires empty-handed in May 1903, he assembled and distributed WANTED posters describing Butch, Sundance, and Etta. In fact, even her real name is a mystery. By mid-January 1901, the Wild Bunch had gone their separate ways. She remarried and moved to Paraguay. In early 1961, she released her signature song, At Last! With Longabaugh now dead, and Place having no real ties to any overt criminal acts, Pinkerton interests' in her location die down, and her trail goes cold. Etta and Sundance boarded a ship to New York, ostensibly to visit Longabaugh's relatives in Pennsylvania and Atlantic City. WebIn Sundance Kid. 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. Excerpt from My Antonia Richard M. Abrams It was an attempt to catch the singer in a raw and fiery performance outside the recording studio. Etta Place (1878-unknown) was almost certainly not her real name, but no one knows for sure what name she was born under. Etta Place (1878-unknown) was almost certainly not her real name, but no one knows for sure what name she was born under. Both of those claims are possible, as members of the Wild Bunch gang often alternated girlfriends. Tomeka Thiam Met Akon When She Was 18 & Gave Him 5 Children. 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. "Leaving Cholila: Butch and Sundance Documents Surface in Argentina," in True West. The woman with him is said to be his wife and to be from Texas. 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. 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. Born in about 1878, nothing is known of Ettas life before she met Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, better known as the Sundance Kid. https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/place-etta-fl-1896-1905, "Place, Etta (fl. Add synopsis. In the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Etta Place is depicted as a schoolteacher - the role of Place is portrayed by Katherine Ross, playing alongside Paul Newman and Robert Redford in the titular roles. This unfortunate lack of facts only adds to the curiosity about one of the most mysterious figures of the American West, the woman who rode with the Wild Bunch. She bore the brunt of attack by aroused citizens and was always the last in the getaway, a San Antonio Light article reported. 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. Without further evidence, it is most likely that on February 20, 1901, the three boarded the ship Herminius, bound for South America. mexico pancho villa nogales mexico nogales arizona arizona 6 more. 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. In 1901 she was going by the name Ethel and Etta is Spanish for Ethel. ." In researching his claims about his mother, there is some evidence that she did once teach school, but also some indications that she was a prostitute. Plot summary. 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. Other claims indicate that the two were still involved in a relationship, and that she simply returned due to her tiring of life in South America. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. The two men quickly dove under the table. After a ten year battle with drug addiction and alcoholism, she released two albums in 1989 - Seven Year Itch, and Stickin' to My Guns, produced by Barry Becket and recorded at Fame Studios. She was principally the companion of Longabaugh. Retrieved February 22, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/place-etta-fl-1896-1905. 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. Fact timelines generally accepted by historians. Genres. What is known, with little doubt, is that she simply changed her name and began a new life, essentially disappearing from history. 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. Etta had her clothes tailored, and adorned herself with expensive jewelry. 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. Principally the companion of Longabaugh, little is known about her; both her origins and her fate remain mysterious. Law enforcement was lax in the region, and the bandits again got away. Before any policemen arrived, the four robbers had re-mounted and disappeared in a cloud of dust. 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. Her first solo hit in doo-wop style, All I Could Do Was Cry, became an R&B hit. Other versions have Cassidy and Longabaugh eluding capture, and eventually splitting up to live anonymously throughout North and South America. Genres. 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. 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