William Richard Carver

William Richard Carver was born September 12, 1868 in Wilson County, Texas to George and Martha Jane Carver.

By June of 1889, the twenty-year-old found himself somewhat fatefully employed at the Sixes Ranch near Sonora, Texas–the location of his eventual death. Among the employees were future Wild Bunch member Ben Kilpatrick along with Tom and Sam Ketchum. Will Carver would go on to ride with all three men in his outlaw career.

Three years later in February of 1892, Carver found himself married to his first wife, Viana Byler, in San Angelo, Texas. The marriage was short-lived however when Viana died from pregnancy complications on July 22, 1892.

In December of 1895, Carver found himself in trouble with the law when, along with Sam Ketchum, he was accused of murdering John N. “Jap” Powers in Knickerbocker, Texas. Innocent of the crime, but fearing retribution, Carver and Ketchum fled the area. Powers’ wife and her lover, J.E. Wright were eventually arrested for the murder.

While unproven, it is believed that Carver joined the Ketchum brothers in an unsuccessful bank robbery attempt in Nogales, Arizona on August 6, 1896.

By now a full-fledged member of the Ketchum Gang, Carver participated in a string of train robberies with the outfit, including the May 14, 1897 robber of a Southern & Pacific train in Lozier, Texas. During this period Carver found himself dating Laura Bullion, the future girlfriend of fellow Wild Bunch member Ben Kilpatrick.

Four months after the Lozier robbery, Carver and Kilpatrick joined the Ketchum brothers in the robbery of a Colorado & Southern Flyer Gulf Express in Folsom, New Mexico. Folsom would become a favorite robbery location for the Ketchum Gang and the site of their last stand.

On December 9, 1897 Carver, along with the Ketchum brothers, Ed Bullion and three others attempted to rob a Southern Pacific train near Stein’s Pass, New Mexico. A gunfight erupted and Ed Bullion was killed at the scene. The remaining members of the gang escaped without injury.

On July 11, 1899 Will Carver, Sam Ketchum and Elzy Lay robbed the Colorado & Southern Flyer in Folsom, New Mexico. A few days later a posse caught up with the bandits and a firefight broke out. Ketchum and Lay were wounded and eventually captured. Ketchum died a few days in prison as a result of blood poisoning. Lay received life in prison for his role in the robbery while Carver alone managed to escape.

The Ketchum Gang finished, Carver partnered with Harvey Logan. The two men were spotted near St. Johns, Arizona. A postal clerk reported the two suspicious looking men to Sheriff Edward Beeler who set out after the outlaws with a posse. After several days of a wild goose chase, the sheriff gave up his pursuit. Two members of the posse, Andrew Gibbons and Frank LeSeuer, continued the chase, eventually catching up to the outlaw duo. Unfortunately for Gibbons and LeSeuer, Logan was waiting for them and quickly killed both men.

Carver joined Logan and the Sundance Kid in the robbery of the First National Bank of Winnemucca on September 19, 1900 in Winnemucca, Nevada. The three outlaws made off with $32,640.

After fleeing Winnemucca, Carver joined the rest of the Wild Bunch in Fort Worth, Texas for a celebration. It is rumored that part of the reason to celebrate was Carver’s upcoming nuptials to Callie May Hunt. It was in Fort Worth that Carver, along with Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, Harvey Logan and Ben Kilpatrick posed for the now infamous “Fort Worth Five” photograph at the John Swartz Photography Studio.

Carver and Hunt were married December 1, 1900.

Following Fort Worth the Wild Bunch split up. Cassidy and Sundance headed to New York and eventually South America, while Carver and Logan, along with Hunt and Logan’s girlfriend Annie Rogers, headed off for a honeymoon of sorts. By the end of December, Carver sent his wife home to her parents. He would never see his bridge again.

Carver and Logan traveled to Eden, Texas and met up with Ben Kilpatrick. While staying on Kilpatrick’s farm, Logan killed Kilpatrick’s neighbor, Oliver C. Thornton on March 27, 1901. The three outlaws made a quick exit from Eden.

Six days after Thornton's death, Carver is spotted in Sonora, Texas picking up supplies. Sheriff E.S. Bryant and his deputies made an attempt to arrest Carver for Thornton’s murder. A firefight broke out and Will Carver was fatally wounded. Carver succumbed to death five months before his thirty-first birthday.

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