OUTLAW BEGINNINGS

Butch Cassidy and the Hay Springs Ranch
“when a young man the fellow gave no signs of the desperate career he subsequently adopted”

Some of the earliest recorded events of Robert LeRoy Parker’s aka “Butch” Cassidy’s life revolve around what was known as the Hay Springs Ranch and Pat Ryan. According to the stories Young Parker’s first job away from home at age 13 was with Pat Ryan at the Hay Springs where he worked for one or two seasons from 1879 to 1880. Most authors have assumed this meant ranching and herding cattle as a young ranch hand.

Hay Springs is about fifteen miles Northwest of Minersville and fifteen miles South of Milford on the eastern edge of what is known as Milford Flat, a broad area between the Mineral Mountians on the East and the Picacho, or Star Mountains range to the West. The Beaver River in the 19^th century meandered its way through the middle providing lush grass and meadows on either side.  The first settlers in the area were Joseph Clements and Rufus Stoddard. Clements a small time rancher had a dugout in the willows next to the springs. Rufus Stoddard homesteaded just south of Clements; also close to the springs. Both settled there in 1870 – 1871. The two adjacent homesteads became a camping spot for freighters and other travelers between Beaver and the eastern Nevada mines at Pioche. The heavy growth of natural grasses and plentiful water found in the area during the pioneer freighting days. Stoddard also operated a small saloon which provided travelers with liquid refreshment.

The Ryans came into the area sometime after 1873 when rich silver mines were located in the Star Mountain range, just west of The Springs. Brothers Dennis (Denny) and Pat Ryan invested heavily in several small mines. They were attracted to the springs as a spot to build a smelter and an excellent spot for ranching. A small smelter was built at the western edge of the springs, and for a time in 1875 and 1876 a small smelter town was established near the smelter with Stoddard’s saloon as the center of town.  The Ryans purchased 400 acres of prime grazing land just to the west of the springs for their ranch and John Ryan, the third Ryan brother was put in charge of the ranching operations.

The Ryan ranches eventually took up a large part of western Beaver County. During the 1880s the Ryan-Ream company for a time was the largest cattle operation in the State running over 20,000 head of cattle at a time throughout Beaver County in several ranching locations.  When young Bob Parker went to work on the ranch, Hay Springs was primarily the Ryan’s horse ranch. All of the Ryans, but especially Pat Ryan were heavily involved in horse racing, and in raising purebred horses. An 1887 Salt Lake Herald article described it as a “perfect oasis in the desert, consisting of 400 acres. Here are kept hundreds of excellent cattle and a fine stable of horses.” The reporter then went on to describe the stables with its prize racing horse “Black Pat,” a speedy 4 year old, which the Ryans had trained with their experienced horse trainer Bob Branton. Ryan horses were regularly raced locally, at the Sale Lake races, and elsewhere in Utah.

John Ryan managed the ranch, with his brother, Pat Ryan helping, that is when Pat was not in Frisco, Utah helping to manage the famous Horn Silver mine or at the Ryan saloon. In addition to the ranch house, corrals and stable, John Ryan also built a complete horse racing track. While the ranch was used for raising the family’s fine race horses, they also raised and trained horses for their cattle operation and for freighting.

It was here at the Hay Springs Ranch that Bob Parker learned to love and train horses. It is doubtful that as a small 13 year old Parker was always out herding cows as many have claimed. Rather he was probably mostly employed at the ranch in the stables as a stable hand, grooming, training, and riding the Ryan’s racing horses, an occupation and past time that Parker pursued for many years in Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming before becoming an outlaw. These skills also proved useful in many of Butch’s getaways.

There is some evidence that Parker may have been used and trained by the Ryans as a Jockey for some of their races at the ranch and elsewhere. In 1898, commenting on Cassidy for the Salt Tribune, Pat Ryan told the reporter that: “when a young man the fellow gave no signs of the desperate career he subsequently adopted, but that on the contrary he was quiet and inoffensive. . . . and while he was hard on the horse on which he was mounted that was about the only offense for which he was rebuked when he was in Mr. Ryan’s employ.”

OUTLAW BEGININGS:
Beaver, Utah in 1872
Robert LeRoy Parker aka “Butch” Cassidy spent his early childhood growing up in Beaver, Utah. According to his younger sister Lula Parker Betenson, and other sources he spent most of his time living with his mother and siblings at their Grandmother, Jane Sinclair Gillis’ home in Beaver as “Butch’s” father Max Parker was often away from home making a hardscrabble living. Beaver, Utah in the 1860’s was like most Mormon settlements along the Mormon corridor, small, sleepy and closely controlled by the Mormon Church. In 1872 when “Butch” was six years old all of that changed. Five events happened in 1872 that changed Beaver from a sleepy Mormon village into a vibrant multi-cultural burg. These changes had a great impact on the Parker family.
These changes were:
1 The attempt to establish the “United Order” in Beaver by the Mormon Church.
2. The establishment of the Territorial Second District Court making Beaver the legal headquarters of Southern Utah and rendering the local legal system obsolete.
3. The establishment of Fort Cameron by the Federal Government, ostensibly to protect the local citizens from the local Indians, but also to protect the judges and other offers of the new Second District Court, and to keep an eye on supposed Mormon rebellion.
4. The establishment of a local federal government Survey office which effectively ended the old process of land allocation by the LDS Church and Territorial Government.
5. The opening of the silver mines west of Beaver near present day Milford bringing in even more “gentiles” to the area.

OUTLAW BEGININGS
BUTCH CASSIDY BIRTH HOME?
Definitely Butch’s Boyhood home - Joseph Bohn House, Beaver Utah

It has been claimed that the original old black basalt portion (right side) of this home built by Thomas Frazier in Beaver was the birth place of Butch Cassidy. Butch, born Robert Leroy Parker was born 13 April 1866. Records show however that Thomas Frazier did not move to Beaver Utah until 1868.The earliest this home could have been built was in 1869/1870 when Thomas Frazier first started building homes in the area. So no, this is not the house that Butch was born in. That home probably no longer exists.

But, could Butch have lived in this home during his growing years? Records show that this is probably the case, that Butch was born on the adjoining property in either a small log or adobe house (no longer extant) which preceded the building of this home. Joseph Bohn who owned the house and had it built did not live here. He actually lived across the street in an old adobe home. He rented this home and property out until he sold it in 1876 to David and Christina Gillis Levi. The Levis probably rented the property for several years before buying it as a home for Jane Gillis, Christina’s mother (Butch’s Grandmother), and her family. David and Christina usually lived on their farm, west of town. Max Parker did not buy his first property in Beaver until 1877. Records show that Anne Parker lived with her mother, Jane Gillis most of the time before the family moved to Circleville, as Max Parker was away from the family much of the time. Lula Betensen, in her book Butch Cassidy, My Brother also states that her brother Butch was born at the home of Anne’s mother, Jane Gillis.

So this was probably Butch Cassidy’s Boyhood home until he was 13 and already working away from home.

OUTLAW BEGINNINGS:

: Butch Cassidy in the 1870 Census
The 1870 U. S. Census for Beaver, Utah, the first recorded evidence of Birth Cassidy’s existence.

Robert Leroy Parker, better known as “Butch” Cassidy was born 13 April 1866. This date comes from family records kept by the Parker family. No official record of Parker’s birth exists. Utah did not start keeping birth records until 1898. Similarly L.D.S. Church records for Beaver, Utah, which served as a semi-official record for Utah, did not record his birth either. Lulu Betensen. Butch’s sister, claimed that Beaver’s early LDS church membership records were not preserved thus not recording Parker’s birth. This is curious because the Beaver LDS Church records are full of recorded births, baptisms and deaths for the church members in Beaver, some born as early as the late 1700s. Every faithful member of the Church in Beaver In 1877 seems to have had their information recorded. So, why not Robert Leroy Parker? Why not his parents, Max and Annie Parker? The Gillies family, Annie Parker’s family are all there, including Uncle Dan Gillies, Ann’s brother, who moved to Circleville with the Parkers. Some of the younger Parker children are recorded, even after the family moved to Circleville in 1879.
The answer comes from Lulu Betenson, Butch’s sister who claimed that Max Parker, Butch’s father was disaffected from the Church. Her version is that he became angry at the Church over a land dispute while in Circleville. (The subject of a future post). This is only partly true. Max Parker probably did become dissatisfied, if not antagonistic with the Church, but not over a land dispute. Max’s disaffection probably came much earlier than that, and is the reason that his family was not recorded in the early LDS Church records of Beaver.