Robert Leroy Parker was born in Beaver, Utah in 1866. His
mother and father joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in
their teens while they were still living in the British Isles. With their families
they followed the pioneers west, but left the church at some point after
settling in Utah. Young Robert grew up on his parents’ ranch near Circleville. He
had a reputation for politeness and generosity, and he seldom drank to excess. When
Robert was 14, he made a visit to a clothier’s shop in a neighboring town, but
found the owner absent. He helped himself to a pair of jeans and some pie, and
left a note promising to pay on his next visit. The store owner pressed
charges, but Robert was acquitted by a jury of his peers. Within a decade he
was robbing banks and holding up trains under the pseudonym of Butch Cassidy.
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