Newsletter
The Life and Legend of Billy the Kid
Late
Henry McCarty is believed to be born to an Irish immigrant named Catherine McCarty. Although the identity of his father is uncertain, Henry probably lived alone with his mother in the slums of New York City before moving to Indianapolis some time in the next decade.
March 1,
Catherine McCarty marries William Antrim in Santa Fe, New Mexico. By this time, Catherine has developed tuberculosis, and before long the family settles in Silver City to take advantage both of the local mining opportunities and of the better climate.
September 16,
After being confined to bed for months, Catherine McCarty Antrim dies of tuberculosis. Henry's stepfather expresses little interest in raising the teenage boy, and Henry will move in to a local boardinghouse run by Mrs. Sarah Brown.
September 23,
Henry is arrested for his role in a theft with his boardinghouse mate George Schaefer. According to the legend, Henry acted as a lookout while Schaefer robbed a Chinese laundry operator, stealing clothing and two pistols. Henry is c
Billy the Kid Wasn&#;t Left-Handed, and Other Family History Truths
By: Rob Burt
Have you ever heard the expression, &#;A picture is worth a thousand words&#;? That is definitely true for family history work. You can learn lots of valuable information from family and historical photographs . . . as long as you interpret them correctly.
Take the following picture as an example. It is a well-known photograph of Henry McCarty, alias Henry Antrim and William H. Bonney&#;better known as Billy the Kid.
For years, historians, writers, and aficionados of the West used this image to argue that the infamous Western outlaw was a minority in the gunfighter community&#;a left-hander. This idea was so common that a film titled The Left-Handed Gun on the life of Billy the Kid and starring Paul Newman was released in , and many history books note that he was a southpaw.
In this picture, the rifle Billy is holding is a Winchester Model If you look closely at the gun, the loading gate (where bullets are put into the rifle) appears on the left-hand side of the gun. (See highlighted area below.)
However, an observant historian eventually noted a problem with the picture: the Winchester
Billy the Kid
()
Who Was Billy the Kid?
Little is known of Billy the Kid's youth, but early on he entered a life of thievery, eventually heading west and joining a violent gang. Billy was captured and sentenced to death for the murder of a sheriff but escaped after killing guards. The legend of Billy the Kid was created by his killer, Sheriff Pat Garrett.
Early Life
Billy the Kid was born William Henry McCarty Jr. on November 23, , in New York City. Little is known about his early life, but it is believed that his father died or left the family when Billy was very young, and he was orphaned at 15 when his mother died of tuberculosis. Shortly after, he and his brother got involved in petty theft.
Billy had a slim physique, sandy blond hair and blue eyes, and wore a signature sugar-loaf sombrero hat with a wide decorative band. He could be charming and polite one moment, then outraged and violent the next, a quixotic nature he used to great effect during his heists and robberies. According to legend, he killed 21 men during his days as an outlaw, one for each year of his life, though he likely killed far fewer than that number.
Outlaw
On the run from the authorities, B
Billy the Kid was famous across the Wild West and beyond as an outlaw, gunslinger and crook. Born in as Henry McCarty in New York City, he assumed the sobriquet Billy during his tenure as an outlaw, a vocation he pursued from when he shot a blacksmith at Camp Grant Army Post in Arizona.
The life of ‘the Kid’ – who became the most wanted outlaw in the American West – was short and replete with unhappiness and violence. Yet upon his death, his legend electrified audiences worldwide.
Here are 10 facts about Billy the Kid.
1. He was orphaned at age 15
The boy who would become known as Billy the Kid, Henry McCarty, had a turbulent childhood. He was born to Catherine and Patrick McCarty in late Within a few years, his father died. Catherine moved Henry and his younger brother to Indiana, then to Kansas and onwards to New Mexico.
On 16 September , Catherine died from tuberculosis. Shortly before that, her husband William Antrim abandoned the McCarty boys. Henry was 15 years old at the time.
2. His first crime was stealing food
Henry was able to secure a room and board in exchange for work at a boarding house. One year after his mother died, on 16 September , he was caught steali
Biographies you may also like
Jeniece theatris childress biography Learn more about Earl Childress (British, ). Read the artist bio and gain a deeper understanding with MutualArt's artist profile.
Countess castiglione biography for kids Virginia Oldoïni, comtesse de Castiglione, dite La Castiglione, née à Florence le 22 mars et morte à Paris le 28 novembre , fut une femme du monde, célèbre sous le Missing: biography.
Paraag marathe biography channel Marathe spent 24 years climbing his way up through the ranks of his beloved San Francisco 49ers and now stands on the brink of putting together an American takeover of .
Niall breslin books of the bible Following the success of his first picture book, The Magic Moment, musician and mindfulness expert Niall Breslin (Bressie) is back with another important life lesson for young children, .
Waad mohammed biography of martin luther Dr Martin Luther King Jr. was America's most prominent civil rights activist, and many consider him to be the greatest American leader of the 20th century. His leadership was instrumental in Missing: waad mohammed.
Nandor glid biography of martin luther king Arguably the most important figure in American Civil Rights - and one of the country’s most important public figures overall - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. has been understandably Missing: nandor glid.