Billy the Kid

Comment by Polly Gulley on April 24, 2012 at 1:34pm

Of course Billy would give Sallie a photo of him. Sallie was a popular girl. She was a pretty blond. Pretty blonds have always been popular. It would surprise me if Sallie didn't have a photo of Billy.

Comment by Melvin Graf on April 24, 2012 at 2:11pm

Now, now Eric James.  You left a lot of stuff out.  You didn’t mention that Jesse James faked his death in 1882 and lived until a ripe old age in Texas.  You didn’t even mention James L. Courtney.  Just remember, Golly found this image on the internet and I even let her know the identities of the figures in it.  It’s on the internet and Golly thinks it’s good.  Listen to an expert will ya!  This is the Holy Grail of Old West photos.  Wake up man!

Comment by Steve McCarty on April 24, 2012 at 3:48pm

I've always liked the story about the Pinkerton men and tossing a hand granade down Zelda's  chimney which blew off her arm.  She hung in there though and lived for a long time afterwards.  Frank James did too. They kept replenishing pebbles on Jesse's grave and selling them for a quarter each.  Pretty crafty...those James boys.

I visited Northfield not too long ago and stood in the bank that they held up.  It looks almost new.  It is the real deal though.    

Comment by Steve McCarty on April 24, 2012 at 3:51pm

Yeah, that fellow thinks there may have been some plates buried there. 

If the kid was anything, he was crafty. 

Comment by Polly Gulley on April 24, 2012 at 5:19pm

Steve, I don't remember exactly what our mutual friend said but as I recall he thought from the evidence that it could have been plates. Now who would have thought to do what Billy did. He sure was a quick thinker. It really showed his spunky personality. Apparently Pat didn't find whatever was buried there. I don't think he would have stuck his hands in wet pee pee dirt. That is so funny. I would love to have met Billy. As my grandpa would say, "I bet he was a corker".

Comment by Polly Gulley on April 24, 2012 at 5:49pm

Personally, I wouldn't put anything past Jesse James, He was a murderer, a thief, and a bigot. 

Comment by Steve McCarty on April 24, 2012 at 9:33pm

Meeting Billy the Kid.  There is evidence in my family, and it has been a family legend for a very long time, well before I was born, that the kid was my GG grandfather's brother's son, John McCarty, who died in Andersonville prison on 6 Nov 1864.  John's older brother's name was William Henry McCarty.  He died in 1928, and I have a pic of his gravestone. He is buried in Redbuff, CA.  Interestingly John and Wm. Henry McCarty joined the 6th Indiana Volunteer infantry at the same place and time that Bill Antrim was discharged. The kid's real name was most likely William Henry McCarty.  Did the John meet Antrim as say, "Hey look after my wife and kids while I'm gone will'ya?"  Maybe.  John is mentioned in John Ransom's diary of his time in Andersonville, but misspelled as John McCarten of the 6th Kentucky Infantry.  However the 6th Kentucky infantry was a Confedrate outfit. He was a member, a corporal of the 6th Indiana Infantry.

Am I related to the kid?  Oh, I don't know, but there is a chance.  Catherin McCarty is first seen in Indanapolis in, I think, 1865. I've seen her name written in a old family bible.  My                     ggg grandfather, who would have been the kid's grandfather was William McCarty born in Indianapolis in 1802 (I also see 1803). Am I related to the kid?  I cannot be sure, and frankly I don't feel a need to be so, but there is a chance.  I've told our mutual friend that if he needs the kid's DNA he can have all of mine.  If we are related, I am a direct line through the Y chromosome to the kid's grandfather.  Wm. McCarty.  My grandfather and my father knew the story and they never mentioned it, only one or two times. It was never something my family was proud of and to them being related to Billy the Kid was an embarrassment.  I tend to agree. 

I recognized my pic of the kid because he looked like my grandfather.  

 

Comment by Polly Gulley on April 25, 2012 at 7:58am

Steve, Sometime ago I saw something on TV about the Kid and it was said that his father may have died as a prisoner in the Civil War. So much misinformation is floating around out there about Billy. Even he gave different information to census takers. I think Pat Garrett's book is where the New York City thing and the wrong birth date comes in. I'm sure there is nothing left of Billy to DNA even if they could find his grave but it would be great if we knew for sure. Good record keeping was a rare thing back then too. It's just my opinion but the tintype of Billy is so damaged that I really don't think that is the way he looked at all. You know that when a person was having their picture made they had to stand very still for a long period. If not the photo would turn out distorted and blurred. It's so hard to stand really still. I just think it's very possible that the tintype is very distorted. Not only because of Billy having to stand very still but over the years how many times has the photo been retouched and messed with???? Maybe what you have are images of what he really looked like. I don't know but who else could they be????  If Sallie had photos of numerous Regulators why is it so hard to believe she wouldn't have Billy's as well? 

Comment by Steve McCarty on April 25, 2012 at 8:07am

I agree, Polly.  I know my collection was owned by Sallie and I know here niece owned it to.   About half of the pictures are of her family.  Has to have been hers. Sure she collected the kid's pic along with other Regulators.  The LCW was a big deal.  Even the President knew about it and tried to do soemthing to stop it. So, yeah, my pictures are of the kid and yes, that is what he looked like.

Comment by Steve McCarty on April 27, 2012 at 9:49pm

I would appreciate it Anthony if you took a gander at the picture that I've posted of who I think is John Tunstall.  His outfit is unique and I think it's uptown London.  What do you think?

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