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.
Henry McCarty was born to parents of Irish Catholic ancestry, Catherine (née Devine) and Patrick McCarty, in New York City. While his birth year has been confirmed as 1859, the exact date of his birth has been disputed as either September 17 or November 23 of that year.
Assuming the events in the film were historical, three-year-old William Bonnie and his Irish-Catholic parents would have lived in that same Five Points neighborhood where Leonardo DiCaprio revives the “Dead Rabbits.” Not only was Billy the Kid descended from Irish-Catholic immigrants, he apparently spoke Irish himself, ...
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.
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.
Reporting on his death in 1881, The New York Times described Billy the Kid as slim, good-looking and mild-mannered. “His soft blue eye was so attractive that those who saw him for the first time looked upon him as a victim of circumstances,” it reported.
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.
During the Lincoln County War his associates began calling him “The Kid” because of his youthfulness and slender build. In 1880, newspaper reporters and dime novelists who often embellished his deeds and his legend grew. So did the nickname that most people know him today, “Billy the Kid.”
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.
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.
Chuck Usmar, a noted Billy the Kid expert, believes he has found evidence that proves the notorious criminal could speak Irish, a useful skill to have in the Wild West, it seems, as he helped other Irish immigrants make themselves understood.
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. . . .”
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.
Billy the Kid committed many crimes during his short 21 years, but bank robbery was not one. Billy the Kid was most known for being a horse thief and belonged to a gang that stole horses from cattleman, John Chisum of New Mexico.
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.
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.
Born in Alabama and reared in Louisiana, Garrett left home at about the age of 17 and headed for Texas and the life of a cowboy and buffalo hunter. In 1879 he married and settled in Lincoln county, New Mexico, where he became first deputy sheriff and then sheriff.
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.
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.
