Etta Place

Perhaps the biggest mystery surrounding the Wild Bunch has nothing to do with any crime. It is, quite simply, just who was Etta Place anyway? There is basic information out there – photographs, physical descriptions, etc. – but little else. We know she was involved in a relationship with the Sundance Kid as his wife, common-law or otherwise. We know she joined Sundance and Butch Cassidy in South America, returning to the States shortly before the infamous San Vicente shootout. After that Etta vanishes.

Even her name is the subject of controversy. Most historians agree that Place is not her real last name, rather an alias used in conjunction with her association with the wrong side of the law. Place is the maiden name of the Sundance Kid’s mother, Annie Place Longabaugh. Sundance often used his mother’s maiden name as an alias.

The first name of Etta is often chalked up to a spelling error on behalf of the Pinkertons, who variously called her Eva, Ethel, Rita and Etta. According to a signature on a guest register in the Pinkertons files, she went by the name Ethel Place.

The Pinkertons files contain two physical descriptions of Etta dated four years apart. The first, dated May 1902, describe her as 23 or 24 years old, 110 pounds with blue or green eyes and no distinguishing marks. The second, from 1906, refers to her as Mrs. Harry Longabaugh, alias Mrs. Harry A. Place, alias Mrs. Ethel Place. The Pinkertons describe her as 27 or 28 years old, between 5’4” and 5’5” tall, weighing between 110 and 115 pounds with a medium build and dark hair.

Some have claimed that Ann Bassett, the Queen of Brown's Park, was the true identity of Etta Place. And while there is a passing resemblance, it is believed that Bassett did not leave Utah until after the Sundance Kid, Butch Cassidy and Etta Place registered at a boarding house in New York City en route to South America.

Wild Bunch historian Ed Kirby believed Etta’s mother was Emily Jane Place of Oswego, New York. Emily Jane Place was a relative of the Sundance Kid’s mother, Annie Place Longabaugh.

Robert Harvey Longabaugh, also known as Harry Longabaugh Jr., offered his own theory as to Etta’s identity. According to Longabaugh, Etta’s true identity was a woman by the name of Hazel Tyrone, the half-sister of his mother Annie Marie Thayne. After he was born, Sundance took up with Tyrone and abandoned his mother. He goes on to say that after returning to the States, Etta died in Marion County, Oregon in 1935.

One of the most convincing theories is brought forth by Sundance, My Uncle author Donna Ernst. Ernst researched every Ethel born between San Antonio and Fort Worth, Texas between 1875 and 1880 and was able to eliminate all but one. A woman named Ethel Bishop appeared in the 1900 census record as living at 212 Concho Street in San Antonio. Bishop’s listed occupation was that of an unemployed schoolteacher, an occupation commonly attributed to Etta Place. Upon further investigation, Ernst discovered the address Bishop lived at was actually a bordello. In addition to being a schoolteacher, Place was also suspected of working as a prostitute.

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