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| Henry McCarty Alias: Kid Antrim, William Bonney, Billy The Kid |
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| Henry McCarty, Born somewhere, sometime between 1859 and 1861. Father unknown. Was given the name of Billy the Kid, again by someone unknown. There seems to be quite alot about The Kid to be unknown, yet when you read most people's accounts of him you hear that He was a Vicious Killer of over 20 men, Cattle Rustler, Bank Robber, Illiterate and sometimes Insane. A lot has been said about Billy, mostly from people that did not know him. |
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| New York |
| Indiania |
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| * Joseph Antrim never married and died penniless on November 25, 1930 at the age of sixty-six. No one claimed his body, so his corpse was given to the Colorado Medical School for autopsy. More about Joe will be added later as I find information on him. |
| Let's start out with what little we do know about The Kid. There were no records of him until around 1870 when his Mother Catherine McCarty and her two sons showed up in Kansas, accompanied by her boyfriend William Antrim. Once settled She opened up a laundry service and done quite well until a Doctor diagnosed her as having tuberculosis. Heading West Loading up her family along with her boyfriend Antrim, She headed west on her doctor's advice to seek a drier climate for her health, arriving in Santa Fe, New Mexico sometime in February. On March 1, 1873, Catherine McCarty and William Antrim were married in a Presbyterian church. After the wedding they packed up again and headed for Silver City arriving sometime in April. Once settled She did what ever she could to make a living while her husband worked at odd jobs and prospected, while Billy and his brother Joe* attended school. Catherine's health began to deteriorate rapidly. Arriving in April it was only a couple of months before she became bed ridden, while her husband was in the hills looking for gold. On September 16, 1874, Catherine Antrim died, leaving her two sons without anyone to care for them. Growing up fast After Catrerine's death Billy's stepfather showed up a couple of times to check on the two boys who were staying with the Truesdell family, but soon stopped coming around. Billy and Joe were left alone to care for themselves. How long Billy remained in school after his Mother's death is unknown, but at about the age of thirteen he was staying in a room at Browns boarding House while working at the Star Hotel doing odd jobs to make what money he could. Small for his age living in a town for only a couple of years no money, no family, few friends, wearing ragged clothes Billy turned to stealing. His first offense was stealing butter from a farmer and selling it. Billy recieved a scolding for his first crime but was not charged. His second crime was stealing a bundle of clothes from a Chinese launderer but this time was arrested, and placed in jail. The Grant County Herald printed the story that a man called Sombrero Jack had stolen the clothes and give them to Billy. Billy, being only a kid was trusted by the sherrif not to leave the jail, but only after a couple of day's ran off. With no where to go and few friends Billy went back to the Truesdell's house. Feeling sorry for the kid they put him on a stage and sent him to Clifton, Arizona where his stepfather was heard to be living. Arizona Finding his Stepfather in Clifton, Billy explained what happened. Antrim was said to have told Billy to leave and not come back. He didn't care about Billy when he left him before why should he care now. Billy found himself alone again in Arizona, no friends no family, no way to support himself and no money. Its hard to imagine a grown man being in this situation much less a small thirteen or fourteen year old kid alone in the desert of Arizona with no means of support. Desperate for money Billy Hooked up with a horse thief named John Mackey, together the two started stealing a few horses around Camp Grant. A short time later they were arrested and placed in jail. Billy not wanting to hang around for the trial and possible hanging, escaped. A few month's later found Billy back in the area of Camp Grant. A blacksmith named Frank "Windy" Cahill disliked the kid and was known to push hom around. Witnesses said that Cahill would slap Billy in front of everyone. On August 17, 1887, Billy walked into Atkis's Cantina where he was immediately confronted by Cahill. Billy having taken enough of his abuse called Cahill a "son of a bitch" Cahill grabbed Billy, threw him to the floor and proceeded to slap him while laughing. Billy hardly 5' 8" and only about 140 lbs could do nothing but take it, or pull his gun. Billy decided to do the latter, somehow getting his gun out of the holster or belt he shot Windy in the gut with his .45 cal. revolver. Although Billy shot Cahill because of a beating, he didn't hang around. Jumping on the first available horse, he hit the trail not waiting to see what would become of the incident. The Town Blacksmith died the next day and Billy was now wanted for murder. |
| Lately I've received a lot of mail with questions about Billy the Kid. Some want to know If the stories I've posted here are accurate. Its impossible to tell you that everything here is true. I have to rely on old newspaper articles and what I've researched in various books and try to put the story together as best as I can. It seems everyone that writes about Billy wants to make a hero out of him and then exaggerate about how many men he killed and how fast he was with a gun. Lets not forget that killing was against the law in the 1800s as it is today, and what difference whether the number was 1 or 20. I do believe that Billy shot most of the time to save his hide knowing it was either kill or be killed. But he still killed people and would have been caught and hanged sooner or later. Billy was abused after his mother died and left at the mercy of the townspeople needing help, but got little. No one was there for him as it is today with a lot of young men. Sometimes I think that times really haven't changed that much. Read the story about Billy and Email me with your thoughts. I try to answer all mail, although sometimes it might take me a few days. The Rebel |
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