We strive for accuracy and fairness. Outside of his gunfighting days with the Regulators, his main criminal enterprise was rustling cattle on the New Mexico plains. [109] A markedly different theory, in which Garrett and his posse set a trap for McCarty, has also been suggested. [65] There is some doubt as to whether McCarty and McSween were even acquainted at the time of Brady's death. This was done to prevent an accidental discharge should the hammer be struck. When it didnt fire, the Kid drew his own gun and shot Grant dead. B illy The Kid was born in the slums of New York City in 1859. He noticed someone in the darkness, and uttered the words, "Quin es? Billy the Kid, 1930 widescreen film directed by King Vidor and starring Johnny Mack Brown as Billy and Wallace Beery as Pat Garrett.[121]. After a year of no parental guidance and looking out for himself, the Kid quickly fell in with the wrong crowd. His real name and date of birth are disputed. During this time, McCarty became acquainted with John R. Mackie, a Scottish-born ex-cavalry private with a criminal bent. Billy the Kid - DesertUSA Garrett may have deliberately been waiting in the dark to shoot the Kid. His father can't be proven, but theory says that his name could be William Harrison Bonney, Patrick Henry McCarty, Patrick McCarthy, and a few more. [24] In April, 1875, McCarty was arrested by Grant County Sheriff Harvey Whitehill, after McCarty stole some cheese. For the next year-and-a-half, McCarty survived by rustling, gambling, and taking defensive action. [87], Other versions of this story exist. One-Eyed Jacks (1961) is the only film directed by actor Marlon Brando, who also played its lead character, Rio. The thirteen films included Blazing Frontier, The Renegade, Cattle Stampede, and Western Cyclone (1943).[122]. Billy The Kid - Living Along The Ancient Way We Communicated w/a Ghost Outlaw & Billy The Kid's Enemy - YouTube [30] Biographer Robert M. Utley writes that the nickname arose because of McCarty's "slight build and beardless countenance, his young years, and his appealing personality". By 1871, Catherine was diagnosed with Tuberculosis and was told to move to a climate that was warmer and drier. Another individual who allegedly claimed to be Billy the Kid was John Miller, whose family supported his claim in 1938, some time after Miller's death. [23] Early biographers sought to explain McCarty's subsequent descent into lawlessness by focusing on his habit of reading dime novels that romanticized crime. Tom Sullivan, a former sheriff of Lincoln County, and Steve Sederwall, a former mayor of Capitan, disinterred the bones of John Miller in May 2005. Meet The Cast Of "Billy The Kid" - TVOvermind This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Billy-the-Kid-American-outlaw, American Heritage - Billy the Kid: From Outlaw to Legend, PBS - American Experience - The Life and Legend of Billy the Kid, Billy the Kid - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). [66] Roberts, however, refused to be taken alive, even after he suffered a severe bullet wound to the chest. [22] One of McCarty's school teachers later recalled that the young orphan was "no more of a problem than any other boy, always quite willing to help with chores around the schoolhouse". While the evidence shows that Billy lived on, it does not appear that Brushy Bill Roberts was Billy the Kid. One particularly legendary gunfight unfolded in January 1880 at a New Mexico saloon. Henry McCarty Billy the Kid (Henry Antrim) ( Henry McCarty) William H. Bonney Born 17 September 1859 - New York, NY Baptized 28 September 1859 - St. Peter's Church, Manhattan, New York, NY Deceased 14 July 1881 - Fort Sumner, DeBaca Co., NM,aged 21 years old Outlaw 2 files available Parents Patrick McCarty 1828-1869 Catherine Devine 1829-1874 Billy the Kid was unable to settle down, so he made his living by gambling and rustling cattle. [92], During this time, McCarty became acquainted with an ambitious local bartender and former buffalo hunter named Pat Garrett. UK rock band Loungetree recorded a song 'William Child' on their 2009 album 'Seasons' with inspiration drawn from the name and legend of Billy the Kid, Joseph Santley's 1906 Broadway play co-written by Santley, in which he also starred, Michael Ondaatje's The Collected Works of Billy the Kid, 1973 play based on his poetry. After the death of his father, he traveled west with his mother ending up in Silver City, New Mexico Territory in 1873. [81], In the Autumn of 1878, a former Union Army general, Lew Wallace, became Governor of the New Mexico Territory. Updated: April 8, 2020 | Original: July 14, 2016. Billy the Kid was quickly put on trial in Mesilla and was sentence to hang for the murder of Sheriff Brady. Victims of Billy the Kid, the Regulators, and the Rustlers, Billy's When the men began to run out of the burning house the Dolan side opened fire and all hell broke loose. When Grant fired, nothing happened, and McCarty then shot him. Left in the care of an absentee stepfather, the future gunslinger spent the next year living in foster homes and boardinghouses. That same year, he adopted the alias William H. Bonney and became known as Billy the Kid or simply The Kid.. [80] McSween was shot down while fleeing the blaze, and his death essentially marked the end of the Lincoln County Cattle War. Shot three times and killed on Nov. 27, 1880 , possibly by Billy the Kid, Dirty Dave and Wilson, possibly by his own posse. The Kid was known for his easygoing personality, but he wasnt afraid to draw his six-shooter when provoked. The Illegal Rebirth of Billy the Kid is a science fiction novel by Rebecca Ore, published in 1991. [34] Years later, Louis Abraham, who had known McCarty in Silver City but was not a witness, denied that anyone was killed in this altercation. [67] During the gun battle that ensued, Roberts shot and killed the Regulators' leader, Dick Brewer. [32] On August 17, Cahill reportedly attacked McCarty after a verbal exchange and threw him to the ground. After his escape from death row, the Kid spent several months hiding out on the frontier and taking refuge with sympathetic locals in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. How Did Billy the Kid Die? - History From that point on, McCarty was more or less a fugitive. The posse led by Garrett fared well, and his men closed in quickly. Whatever happened, Bell staggered into the street and collapsed, mortally wounded. The bullet pierced the Kid's heart and he fell to the floor. Billy the Kid tries to live in peace, under a new name and in a frontier town, but is approached by a preacher who asks for his help in freeing the town from a ruthless man and his gunman. Now the Dolan side struck back. [40] At some point in 1877, McCarty began to refer to himself as "Willam H. Billy the Kids grave is in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. [112] When a reporter reminded Wallace that the Kid was depending on Wallace's intervention, the governor supposedly smiled and said, "Yes, but I can't see how a fellow like him can expect any clemency from me". His mother Catherine McCarty was a widow and single mother and he had a younger brother named Joseph (born 1863). a 19th century American frontier outlaw and gunman who participated in the Lincoln County War. Family tree of Henry McCarty Billy the Kid - Geneanet Later that evening, Grant pulled the same pistol on the Kid and tried to shoot him in the back. For two nights in the Hollywood Bowl, musicians of all kinds are coming together to celebrate the country music icon. A Billy the Kid Mystery Solved - Indiana Historical Society The Antrim Family - About Billy the Kid )[114] Indeed, the notion of a left-handed Billy became so entrenched that, in 1958, a film biography of "the Kid" (starring Paul Newman) was titled The Left Handed Gun. Although the popularity of the first story persists, and portrays Garrett in a better light, many historians contend that the second version is probably the accurate one. He was said to be friendly and personable at times, and many recalled that he was as "lithe as a cat".] [76] Under indictment for the Brady killing, McCarty and the other Regulators spent the next several months in hiding and were trapped, along with McSween, in McSween's home in Lincoln on July 15, by members of "The House" (as the Murphy-Dolan faction was known) and some of Brady's men. [118] In 2004, researchers sought to exhume the remains of Catherine Antrim, McCarty's mother, "so her DNA could be tested and compared with DNA to be taken from the body buried under the Kid's gravestone". Unlike other Old West outlaws such as Jesse James, Cole Younger or Butch Cassidy, Billy the Kid didnt make his living as a bandit. The other guard Bob Olinger was across the street having dinner when he heard the gunshots. [35], Deluvina Maxwell, a friend of Billy the Kid, stated: "Garrett was afraid to go back in the room to make sure of whom he had shot. [2] Meanwhile, McCarty scooped up Ollinger's[103] 10-gauge double barrel shotgun and waited at the upstairs window for Ollinger, who had been across the street with some other prisoners, to come to Bell's aid. All we know is he had a mother named Catherine (maiden name unknown) and a younger brother named Joseph (middle and last name unknown), and absolutely nothing is known of his biological father. 1. [38] It is unclear how long McCarty rode with the gang of rustlers known as "the Boys", but reliable sources indicate that he soon turned up at the house of Heiskell Jones in the Pecos Valley,[39] New Mexico. During this time, his notoriety with newspapers increased, and they dubbed him "Billy the Kid," and the most important outlaw of New Mexico. On July 14, 1881 just before midnight, Pat Garrett waited till the town was quiet before he slipped into Pete Maxwells room to ask him about Billy the Kid. Abrana Garcia | BlazingYoungGuns Wiki | Fandom Billy The Kid Descendant Pushes For Pardon KOAT 91.3K subscribers Subscribe Like 22K views 12 years ago A woman who says she is a relative of Billy the Kid is urging Gov. It happened when a posse from White Oaks surrounded the Kid and his gang at a station house, during the standoff the posse accidentally killed their own deputy, James Carlyle. "As [McCarty] was leaving the saloon, his back turned to Grant, he heard a distinct click. The Sad Life Of Billy The Kid - Grunge