Ann Bassett
Encyclopedia
Ann Bassett also known as Queen Ann Bassett, was a prominent female ranch
er of the Old West, and with her sister Josie Bassett
, was an associate of outlaws, particularly Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch
.
, but grew up in Utah
, the second of two daughters. Her sister Josie was born in 1874. Herb Bassett was twenty years senior to his wife Elizabeth Chamberlain Bassett, and the couple moved to Browns Park some time around the earlier part of 1888.
Herb Bassett had a profitable cattle
ranch which straddled Utah, Wyoming
, and Colorado. He often did business with notable outlaws of the era such as Butch Cassidy
, Harvey"Kid Curry"Logan, and Black Jack Ketchum
, selling them horses and beef for supplies. The park, as Browns Park is known, had been a haven for outlaws long before Butch and the boys started running stolen livestock through there. For decades stolen horseflesh was trailed through the park to thriving mining communities in Eastern Colorado. Both Ann and Josie Bassett
were attractive young women, well taught by their father in the arts of horse riding, roping, and shooting. Both were educated early on in prominent boarding schools, were intelligent and articulate in their speech, but chose to return to the life of ranching. Many accounts state the sisters always preferred "cowboying" to being a lady.
By the time Ann Bassett was 15, she had become involved romantically with Butch Cassidy. Her sister Josie was involved with Elzy Lay
. Outlaws Ben Kilpatrick
and Will "News" Carver
, who were both later members of the Wild Bunch
gang, also dated the sisters. These associations were what first exposed Bassett to outlaws.
, and resulted in the cattlemen bringing in killer for hire Tom Horn
to deal with what the cattlemen deemed to be criminals. Horn eliminated several known rustlers during that time but took no action against the Bassets. While he also killed two rustlers in 1900, Isom Dart (ex-slave, rodeo performer and wanna be outlaw) and Matt Rash (a sandy haired Texas cowboy), who were known to be associated with the Bassett family, this was unrelated to the Bassett conflict with their neighbors.
By 1896, Josie Bassett was heavily involved in a relationship with Elzy Lay, Cassidy's closest friend. Josie had also became involved with Cassidy shortly after his release from an eighteen-month prison sentence, during which time Ann was involved with Ben Kilpatrick. When Elzy Lay began a relationship with a woman named Maude Davis, Josie became involved with Will "News" Carver, and Ann returned to her involvement with Cassidy. Through their relationships with the outlaws, and in exchange for their supplying the outlaws with beef and fresh horses from their ranch, the two sisters were in a position to get assistance from Cassidy and his gang in dealing with certain cattlemen who were pressuring them to sell.
This association was a deterrent that kept cowboys hired to harass the sisters from doing so, for fear of retribution from the outlaws. There was even one report that Kid Curry, easily the most feared member of the Wild Bunch gang, once paid a visit to several cowboys known to be employed by the cattlemen, warning them to leave the Bassetts alone. That cannot be confirmed, but although the problems with the wealthy cattlemen's association continued well into 1902, by late 1899 the problems were rare, and there was little pressure placed on the sisters to sell their ranch. Despite the seemingly constant changes in romantic partners by both the Bassett sisters and the gang members, there is no report of there ever being any animosity as a result of this, and it seemed to simply be the accepted way that things were.
Although both sisters were taking part in the fight against the powerful cattlemen's associations, it was Ann that became best known, with newspapers as well as friends dubbing her "Queen Ann Bassett". In early 1897, Bassett joined Cassidy at "Robbers Roost". Elzy Lay, having ended his relationship with Josie Bassett, joined them with his girlfriend and future wife Maude Davis. According to reports of the day, Bassett and Davis were two of only five women ever allowed into the "Robbers Roost" hideout, the other three being Josie Bassett, the Sundance Kid's girlfriend Etta Place
, and Wild Bunch gang member Laura Bullion
.
By April, 1897, the two women were sent home so Cassidy and his gang could concentrate on their next robbery. Cassidy would continue his romantic involvement with Bassett off and on for another four years, seeing her whenever he was near her ranch. The total length of their relationship was around seven years, but was interrupted often with his being away, and for an eighteen-month period when he was in prison starting in 1894, during which time she was involved with Ben Kilpatrick.
By 1903 Bassett had married a rancher by the name of Henry Bernard. Shortly after the marriage, she was arrested for cattle rustling. She stood trial
, but was acquitted and released. The marriage lasted six years, ending in divorce, with Bernard helping Bassett and her sister Josie in maintaining their ranch.
By 1904, most of the outlaws associated with the Bassett girls were either dead or had been captured by lawmen. Ann Bassett never saw Cassidy again after he first departed for South America. Several other outlaws from lesser known gangs drifted in and out of the ranch, usually visiting only to obtain beef or fresh horses, and have a place to stay for a few days. Elzy Lay reportedly visited the ranch again in 1906, shortly after his release from prison, before moving on to California
where he lived out the remainder of his life as a respectable businessman. Herb Bassett died on July 30, 1918.
, the girlfriend of the Sundance Kid, and who mysteriously disappeared from all public records in 1909 not long after his death. According to these speculations, Bassett led a double life, dating Cassidy as Ann Bassett, and dating the Sundance Kid as Etta Place. This would mean that she was involved with both outlaws at the same time, apparently with their full knowledge, but by 1900, when in their company, she simply went by the name of Etta Place.
Ann Bassett and Etta Place would have known one another and were alleged to have been at the "Robbers Roost" hideout at the same time on more than one occasion. Pinkerton
reports give almost identical descriptions of both women, listing both with classic good looks, articulate speech and intelligence, the same hair color, describing both as being good with a rifle and riding a horse, and describing both as being promiscuous with both having taken several lovers. When comparing the best legitimate photograph of Place with the best photograph of Bassett, the two women could be mistaken for one another. Both are pretty, with similar facial features, hair color, and physical build. Michael Rutters' book "Bad Girls" details how Bassett often faked a New England accent in order to appear more cultured. Similarly, Place was said to have indicated that she was from the East Coast, though she never revealed an exact location.
Dr. Thomas G. Kyle of the Computer Research Group at Los Alamos National Laboratory, who had previously performed many such comparisons for government intelligence agencies, conducted a series of tests on photographs of Etta Place and Ann Bassett. Their features matched and both had the same scar or cowlick at the top of their forehead. He concluded that there could be no reasonable doubt they were the same person.
Author and researcher Doris Karren Burton indicates in her 1992 book, "Queen Ann Bassett: Alias Etta Place" that when Bassett is absent from historical records, Place is actively traveling with Cassidy and the Sundance Kid/Harry Longabaugh, and when Place is absent from historical records, Bassett is visible.
However, Burton did not account for documented instances showing Bassett to have been in the United States at the same time that Etta Place was known to have been in South America
. While Place was in South America with Cassidy and Longabaugh in 1903, Bassett was under arrest for cattle rustling in Utah. Furthermore, she was also recently married. On the other hand, Place had departed for South America with Longabaugh in August, 1902, not to return to the United States, specifically New York City
, until the summer of 1904. During that time, Bassett was married, incarcerated, tried, and released over a span of several months in 1903. Finally, Basset never claimed to have been Etta Place, even in her memoirs.
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
er of the Old West, and with her sister Josie Bassett
Josie Bassett
Josie Bassett was a female rancher. She and her sister "Queen" Ann Bassett are known for their love affairs and associations with well-known outlaws, particularly Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch.-Early life:...
, was an associate of outlaws, particularly Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch
Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch
Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch was one of the loosely organized outlaw gangs operating out of the Hole-in-the-Wall in Wyoming during the Old West era in the United States. It was popularized by the 1969 movie, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and took its name from the original Wild Bunch...
.
Early life
Bassett was born to Herb Bassett and Elizabeth Chamberlain Bassett near Browns Park ColoradoColorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, but grew up in Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, the second of two daughters. Her sister Josie was born in 1874. Herb Bassett was twenty years senior to his wife Elizabeth Chamberlain Bassett, and the couple moved to Browns Park some time around the earlier part of 1888.
Herb Bassett had a profitable cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
ranch which straddled Utah, Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
, and Colorado. He often did business with notable outlaws of the era such as Butch Cassidy
Butch Cassidy
Robert LeRoy Parker , better known as Butch Cassidy, was a notorious American train robber, bank robber, and leader of the Wild Bunch Gang in the American Old West...
, Harvey"Kid Curry"Logan, and Black Jack Ketchum
Tom Ketchum
Thomas Everard Ketchum , known as Black Jack, was a cowboy who later turned to a life of crime. He was hanged in 1901 for attempted train robbery.-First train robberies and murders:...
, selling them horses and beef for supplies. The park, as Browns Park is known, had been a haven for outlaws long before Butch and the boys started running stolen livestock through there. For decades stolen horseflesh was trailed through the park to thriving mining communities in Eastern Colorado. Both Ann and Josie Bassett
Josie Bassett
Josie Bassett was a female rancher. She and her sister "Queen" Ann Bassett are known for their love affairs and associations with well-known outlaws, particularly Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch.-Early life:...
were attractive young women, well taught by their father in the arts of horse riding, roping, and shooting. Both were educated early on in prominent boarding schools, were intelligent and articulate in their speech, but chose to return to the life of ranching. Many accounts state the sisters always preferred "cowboying" to being a lady.
By the time Ann Bassett was 15, she had become involved romantically with Butch Cassidy. Her sister Josie was involved with Elzy Lay
Elzy Lay
William Ellsworth "Elzy" Lay was an outlaw of the Old West best known as being a member of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch, gang, operating out of the Hole-in-the-Wall Pass in Johnson County, Wyoming...
. Outlaws Ben Kilpatrick
Ben Kilpatrick
Ben Kilpatrick was an American outlaw during the closing days of the American Old West. He was a member of the Wild Bunch gang led by Butch Cassidy and Elzy Lay. He was arrested for robbery and served about 10 years of his 15 year sentence...
and Will "News" Carver
William Carver (Wild Bunch)
William "News" Carver was an American outlaw and a member of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch during the closing years of the American Old West. His nickname "News" was given to him because he enjoyed seeing his name in newspaper stories of his gang's exploits...
, who were both later members of the Wild Bunch
Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch
Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch was one of the loosely organized outlaw gangs operating out of the Hole-in-the-Wall in Wyoming during the Old West era in the United States. It was popularized by the 1969 movie, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and took its name from the original Wild Bunch...
gang, also dated the sisters. These associations were what first exposed Bassett to outlaws.
Association with outlaws
In 1896, several wealthy cattle barons in the area made attempts to purchase the Bassett ranch from the Bassetts. When the Bassetts refused, the barons began to rustle their cattle. Ann and her sister Josie, in turn, rustled cattle from them. This led to a feudFeud
A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight between parties—often groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one party perceives itself to have been attacked, insulted or wronged by another...
, and resulted in the cattlemen bringing in killer for hire Tom Horn
Tom Horn
Thomas "Tom" Horn, Jr. was an American Old West lawman, scout, soldier, hired gunman, detective, outlaw and assassin. On the day before his 43rd birthday, he was hanged in Cheyenne, Wyoming, for the murder of Willie Nickell.-Early life:Born to Thomas S. Horn, Sr...
to deal with what the cattlemen deemed to be criminals. Horn eliminated several known rustlers during that time but took no action against the Bassets. While he also killed two rustlers in 1900, Isom Dart (ex-slave, rodeo performer and wanna be outlaw) and Matt Rash (a sandy haired Texas cowboy), who were known to be associated with the Bassett family, this was unrelated to the Bassett conflict with their neighbors.
By 1896, Josie Bassett was heavily involved in a relationship with Elzy Lay, Cassidy's closest friend. Josie had also became involved with Cassidy shortly after his release from an eighteen-month prison sentence, during which time Ann was involved with Ben Kilpatrick. When Elzy Lay began a relationship with a woman named Maude Davis, Josie became involved with Will "News" Carver, and Ann returned to her involvement with Cassidy. Through their relationships with the outlaws, and in exchange for their supplying the outlaws with beef and fresh horses from their ranch, the two sisters were in a position to get assistance from Cassidy and his gang in dealing with certain cattlemen who were pressuring them to sell.
This association was a deterrent that kept cowboys hired to harass the sisters from doing so, for fear of retribution from the outlaws. There was even one report that Kid Curry, easily the most feared member of the Wild Bunch gang, once paid a visit to several cowboys known to be employed by the cattlemen, warning them to leave the Bassetts alone. That cannot be confirmed, but although the problems with the wealthy cattlemen's association continued well into 1902, by late 1899 the problems were rare, and there was little pressure placed on the sisters to sell their ranch. Despite the seemingly constant changes in romantic partners by both the Bassett sisters and the gang members, there is no report of there ever being any animosity as a result of this, and it seemed to simply be the accepted way that things were.
Although both sisters were taking part in the fight against the powerful cattlemen's associations, it was Ann that became best known, with newspapers as well as friends dubbing her "Queen Ann Bassett". In early 1897, Bassett joined Cassidy at "Robbers Roost". Elzy Lay, having ended his relationship with Josie Bassett, joined them with his girlfriend and future wife Maude Davis. According to reports of the day, Bassett and Davis were two of only five women ever allowed into the "Robbers Roost" hideout, the other three being Josie Bassett, the Sundance Kid's girlfriend Etta Place
Etta Place
Etta Place was a companion of the American outlaws Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid , both members of the outlaw gang known as the Wild Bunch. Principally the companion of Longabaugh, little is known about her; both her origins and her fate remain mysterious...
, and Wild Bunch gang member Laura Bullion
Laura Bullion
Laura Bullion was a female outlaw of the Old West. Most sources indicate that Bullion was born of German and Native American heritage in Knickerbocker, near Mertzon in Irion County, Texas; the exact day of her birth is unclear...
.
By April, 1897, the two women were sent home so Cassidy and his gang could concentrate on their next robbery. Cassidy would continue his romantic involvement with Bassett off and on for another four years, seeing her whenever he was near her ranch. The total length of their relationship was around seven years, but was interrupted often with his being away, and for an eighteen-month period when he was in prison starting in 1894, during which time she was involved with Ben Kilpatrick.
By 1903 Bassett had married a rancher by the name of Henry Bernard. Shortly after the marriage, she was arrested for cattle rustling. She stood trial
Trial
A trial is, in the most general sense, a test, usually a test to see whether something does or does not meet a given standard.It may refer to:*Trial , the presentation of information in a formal setting, usually a court...
, but was acquitted and released. The marriage lasted six years, ending in divorce, with Bernard helping Bassett and her sister Josie in maintaining their ranch.
By 1904, most of the outlaws associated with the Bassett girls were either dead or had been captured by lawmen. Ann Bassett never saw Cassidy again after he first departed for South America. Several other outlaws from lesser known gangs drifted in and out of the ranch, usually visiting only to obtain beef or fresh horses, and have a place to stay for a few days. Elzy Lay reportedly visited the ranch again in 1906, shortly after his release from prison, before moving on to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
where he lived out the remainder of his life as a respectable businessman. Herb Bassett died on July 30, 1918.
Ann Bassett in later life
Ann Bassett remarried in 1928 to cattleman Frank Willis. The couple remained in Utah, where they maintained a ranch. She remained there for the rest of her life. Willis reportedly loved her dearly, and the two worked closely together in their business. Before she died, she requested that she be cremated, and that her remains be spread across her hometown in northern Utah. However, Willis is alleged to have grieved greatly over her death, and was unable to complete that task, keeping her ashes in his car for the remainder of his life. When he died in 1963, friends and family were the ones who buried her ashes in an undisclosed area in Browns Park.The alleged Ann Bassett-Etta Place connection
Ann Bassett has often been accused of having actually been Etta PlaceEtta Place
Etta Place was a companion of the American outlaws Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid , both members of the outlaw gang known as the Wild Bunch. Principally the companion of Longabaugh, little is known about her; both her origins and her fate remain mysterious...
, the girlfriend of the Sundance Kid, and who mysteriously disappeared from all public records in 1909 not long after his death. According to these speculations, Bassett led a double life, dating Cassidy as Ann Bassett, and dating the Sundance Kid as Etta Place. This would mean that she was involved with both outlaws at the same time, apparently with their full knowledge, but by 1900, when in their company, she simply went by the name of Etta Place.
Ann Bassett and Etta Place would have known one another and were alleged to have been at the "Robbers Roost" hideout at the same time on more than one occasion. Pinkerton
Pinkerton National Detective Agency
The Pinkerton National Detective Agency, usually shortened to the Pinkertons, is a private U.S. security guard and detective agency established by Allan Pinkerton in 1850. Pinkerton became famous when he claimed to have foiled a plot to assassinate president-elect Abraham Lincoln, who later hired...
reports give almost identical descriptions of both women, listing both with classic good looks, articulate speech and intelligence, the same hair color, describing both as being good with a rifle and riding a horse, and describing both as being promiscuous with both having taken several lovers. When comparing the best legitimate photograph of Place with the best photograph of Bassett, the two women could be mistaken for one another. Both are pretty, with similar facial features, hair color, and physical build. Michael Rutters' book "Bad Girls" details how Bassett often faked a New England accent in order to appear more cultured. Similarly, Place was said to have indicated that she was from the East Coast, though she never revealed an exact location.
Dr. Thomas G. Kyle of the Computer Research Group at Los Alamos National Laboratory, who had previously performed many such comparisons for government intelligence agencies, conducted a series of tests on photographs of Etta Place and Ann Bassett. Their features matched and both had the same scar or cowlick at the top of their forehead. He concluded that there could be no reasonable doubt they were the same person.
Author and researcher Doris Karren Burton indicates in her 1992 book, "Queen Ann Bassett: Alias Etta Place" that when Bassett is absent from historical records, Place is actively traveling with Cassidy and the Sundance Kid/Harry Longabaugh, and when Place is absent from historical records, Bassett is visible.
However, Burton did not account for documented instances showing Bassett to have been in the United States at the same time that Etta Place was known to have been in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. While Place was in South America with Cassidy and Longabaugh in 1903, Bassett was under arrest for cattle rustling in Utah. Furthermore, she was also recently married. On the other hand, Place had departed for South America with Longabaugh in August, 1902, not to return to the United States, specifically New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, until the summer of 1904. During that time, Bassett was married, incarcerated, tried, and released over a span of several months in 1903. Finally, Basset never claimed to have been Etta Place, even in her memoirs.