William Ellsworth Lay (p.2)

In 1898 Lay found himself working alongside Cassidy in New Mexico where the two men were hired on with the WS Ranch in Alma. Using the alias William McGinnis, Lay worked as a broncobuster for the ranch. The two outlaws may have left the ranch to participate in the June 2, 1899 robbery of the Union Pacific No. 1 near Wilcox, Wyoming. There is no direct evidence linking either man with the robbery, however their names remain on a short list of suspected participants.

Lay left the ranch and, alongside Sam Ketchum and Will Carver, robbed a Colorado & Southern train near Folsom, New Mexico on July 11, 1899. The outlaws made off with $50,000. While hiding out in the Turkey Creek Canyon, a posse confronted the three men and a firefight soon broke out. Lay and Ketchum were wounded in the confrontation as well as two members of the posse, Huerfano County Sheriff Edward Farr and F.H. Smith. Sheriff Farr would later die from his wounds.  Ketchum, too injured to travel, was left behind (he was later captured and died in prison of blood poisoning as a result of his wounds) while Carver and Lay escaped.

On August 16, 1899, while Carver was out getting supplies, Lay was confronted and captured by a posse near Carlsbad, New Mexico. Lay was eventually convicted of Farr’s death and sentenced to life in prison.

Under the name William McGinnis, Lay entered prison as prisoner #PNM1348 on October 10, 1899. Seven years later, New Mexico governor Miguel Antonio Otero  pardoned Lay on January 10, 1906 following his role in quelling a prison riot.

In his book, The Last of the Bandit Riders, Matt Warner claims after he was released from prison he rode out to Santa Fe, New Mexico to speak to the warden. Warner told the warden he was on the hunt for a rich asphaltum deposit and the only person who knew the true location of the mine was Elzy Lay. As Warner made his case, going so far as to present asphaltum samples allegedly discovered in the mine, the warden brought Lay into the room. Looking for a hint of recognition, the warden hoped to trip the two men up. The two outlaws played it off perfectly.

Lay acted as though he knew nothing about the mine. With no offer of freedom added to the deal, he finally admitted he knew of the mine but refused to give up the location.

Warner later approached the warden and arranged to get Governor Otero involved. The governor was unwilling to grant a pardon until Lay relented and gave up the “location” of the mine. Meanwhile Warner left Santa Fe under the pretense of seeking out the mine.

Warner returned a month later claiming he’d been hoodwinked and that the map was bogus. Fed up, Warner said he was through with the whole mess and left the area.

A free man once more, Lay worked his way to California, marrying his second wife, Mary Calvert on March 27, 1909. Elzy Lay died in Los Angeles of natural causes fifteen days before his sixty-fourth birthday on November 10, 1934.

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