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.
The infamous Western outlaw known as “Billy the Kid” is mostly likely born in a poor Irish neighborhood on New York City's East Side on November 23, 1859. (Much about his early life is unknown or unverified.) Before he was shot dead at age 21, Billy reputedly killed at least nine people in the American West.
Reporting on his death in 1881, The New York Times described Billy the Kid as slim, good-looking and mild-mannered. “His soft blue eyes were so attractive that those who saw him for the first time looked upon him as a victim of circumstances,” it reported.
The Kid was a charmer; he spoke fluent Spanish and easily befriended Hispanics, especially the señoritas. But the Kid's cheerful disposition only disguised a quick temper that sometimes drove him to commit audacious acts of crime. Contrary to popular folklore of the Old West, Billy the Kid never killed 21 men.
Abstract. Billy the Kid spoke his last words in Spanish. Calling out “¿Quién es? ¿Quién es?” before he was killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett, the young outlaw's final moments signal his diverse ethnic context.
According to Pat Garrett, Billy was “quick as a flash.” While a good shot, he said, Billy “was no better than the majority of men who are constantly handling and using six-shooters. . . .”
Billy the Kid Meets Wyatt Earp in Jerome, Arizona. (Reprinted with permission from "Jerome - The Wickedest City" by William Wingfield, Hartcort Press, 1946.)
Little is known about Billy the Kid's early days, but he was most likely born Henry McCarty in the Irish slums of New York City sometime in late 1859. Raised by a single mother, he moved to Wichita, Kansas, as a boy before later migrating west to New Mexico in the early 1870s.
Furthermore, it's mentioned that he had two siblings, but one disappeared from records, while the other did not maintain a connection with him beyond their childhood. It's safe to conclude that he did not have any offspring, and consequently, there are no living descendants.
Billy the Kid was born Henry McCarthy on November 23, 1859, in the state of Missouri. He stood 5 foot 9 inches tall and weighed approximately 155 pounds. Billy had blue eyes, dirty blond hair, and had two front teeth that protruded. He wore a high-crowned sombrero with a green hatband and was right-handed.
DENVER (Reuters) - The only authenticated photograph of infamous Wild West gunslinger Billy the Kid was auctioned off to Florida billionaire William Koch for an $2.3 million on Saturday night.
Writer visits Lincoln, New Mexico, and explains the ethnic hatreds behind the range war that erupted between the Irish Catholic faction which ran the county, and English Protestants... Billy the Kid fought for the Protestant side, but was apparently a Catholic...
The two men soon began stealing horses from local soldiers. McCarty became known as "Kid Antrim" because of his youth, slight build, clean-shaven appearance, and personality. At some point in 1877, McCarty began to refer to himself by the name "William H. Bonney".
The MGM+ series Billy the Kid chronicles the mostly true account of the legendary Old West outlaw William H. Bonney. The Western series closely follows the rise and fall of one of the most infamous and murderous figures of the late 1800s set in the frontier-expanding United States.
While the Kid became a heroic symbol of resistance against the Santa Fe Ring and Anglo expansion to many Hispanos, to the Apaches he was nothing more than a pest. Successfully stealing horses from the most notoriously skilled horse-thieves in the territory perhaps appealed to the Kid's roguish sense of humor.
Yes John Wayne did know Wyatt Earp. John Wayne was gored as an extra and a prop boy. Wayne created his famous walk and talk in Westerns after Earp. It is said that John Wayne was a pallbearer at Wyatt Earps funeral.
Historians believe that his father (some say his name was William Bonney, others think it was Patrick Henry McCarty) died near the end of the Civil War, leaving his mother (variously identified as Catherine McCarty or Katherine McCarty Bonney) with two young sons.
Bonney, later known as Billy the Kid. It is evident that the two were friends, but how close has not been determined. Some say that Billy the Kid was the closest friend Garrett had at that time. Billy the Kid and his gang went on to become the most feared outlaws in the Southwest.
1. Wild Bill Hickock. Born on May 27, 1837, James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok would accrue fame and infamy during his 39 years of living as a gunslinger who had been through it all.
Original question: “Who was the fastest gunslinger in the Old West?” It's probably a toss up between Wild Bill Hickok, who claimed to have killed 100 men, or Doc Holliday. Holliday only killed one to three men. Most of Hickok's kills were while he was in the Union Army during the Civil War as a civilian scout.
