He was a real person. Movies and books and a thousand tales have made him larger than life, but he was real. His biological father may have been a McCarty, possibly dying while in the Union Army. His mother was Catherine. She came from famine-stricken Ireland in the late 1840's, landing in New York. Two sons were born to her in New York. They were William Henry and Joseph. They eventually left New York for Wichita and then to Denver, Santa Fe and finally Silver City, New Mexico. The trail is not easy to follow.There were several men in her life. For eight years there was a man named William Antrim. They married in Santa Fe on March 1, 1873. The two boys became William and Joseph Antrim. William Henry tried to begin his life of crime by stealing costume jewelry from a peanut and candy stand. His partner in the planned robbery backed out and it fell through. Catherine told her boy, William Henry, if he took up a life of crime he would hang before he was twenty-one.
His mother was seriously ill with TB and died at the age of forty-five. Henry was fourteen and an orphan. At fifteen he stole several pounds of butter and received a spanking from the sheriff.
He later stole some clothing and pistols and spent his first time in jail. After three days he escaped through a chimney. He went to Arizona for a couple of years where he worked on a ranch and learned to ride and shoot. In Arizona he became "Billy" and because he was so small "Kid" became his nickname. It wasn't until the last months before he died that he was called "Billy The Kid". By then he was a hardened killer with a reputation. He was captured and sentenced to be "hung by the neck until his body be dead". Even in shackles and under a constant guard he managed an escape. He headed for Fort Sumner, New Mexico.
On July 14, 1881, Sheriff Pat Garrett, who had dealt with him in the past and had a personal vendetta for him, traced Billy to the room where he was staying. When Billy came into the darkened room near midnight he saw the form of the sheriff and said, "Qui'en es?". Then he said the words in english, "Who is it?". The answer came back with two shots at close range.
William Henry McCarty , Antrim, William H Bonney, "Billy", "Kid", "Billy The Kid" was dead. He was twenty-one.
His life has been castigated and glamourized. Alot of people have become rich and famous by him. He was neither in his brief lifetime. It is often so in life. He loved music. He liked to sing and had a pleasant voice. He could be very likable, but something was missing when it was needed most: FAMILY. That story still unfolds today with a thousand different names and settings. Is there a "kid" out there you can help?
Much of the information I share with you comes from "Billy The Kid, The Endless Ride" written by Michael Wallace. It is printed by W.W. Norton & Company, New York - London.
