Did Billy the Kid have children? Facts about William H. Bonney's family ties
It has been over a century since the American Wild West outlaw passed away. But did Billy the Kid have children before he passed away, and are his descendants alive as a legacy? While his life, identity, family and death remain a controversy among historians, he was allegedly aware of how people perceived him. He is believed to have once said:
'I don’t blame you for writing of me as you have. You had to believe other stories, but then I don’t know if anyone would believe anything good of me anyway.'
Source: Getty Images
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Key takeaways
- Billy the Kid became famous as a gunslinger in 1878 after participating in a bloody frontier war in Lincoln County, New Mexico.
- The alleged parents of Billy the Kid are Patrick and Catherine McCarty.
- He was connected to nine murders at the age of 21 years when he died.
- It is uncertain if Billy The Kid had children until he passed on.
Profile summary
| Full name | Henry McCarty |
| Nicknames | Billy the Kid, William H. Bonney, Jr., Henry Antrim, Brushy Bill |
| Gender | Male |
| Date of birth | 1859 |
| Age | 21 years old (at the time of death) |
| Place of birth | New York, United States of America |
| Date of death | 14 July 1881 |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | White |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Sexuality | Straight |
| Mother | Catherine McCarthy or Catherine Antrim |
| Father | Patrick McCarty |
| Siblings | 1 |
| Marital status | Single |
| Famous as | A notorious thief and gunfighter |
Did Billy the Kid have children?
There are no records of children or living descendants of Billy the Kid. His life is shrouded in mystery, which makes it difficult to definitively confirm or deny any claims about his personal life, including having children.
Some historians and writers reported he had children but this is unprovable. As per Las Vegas Optic, Elbert Garcia, who has passed on, claimed to be Billy the Kid's great-grandson through his grandfather, Jose Patrocinio Garcia.
Alleged Garcia's grandfather was born to Billy and his girlfriend, Abrana Garcia, in 1880. Garcia's claim outlined in his book, Billy the Kid’s Kid — The Hispanic Connection, lacks concrete evidence and is met with scepticism.
Other reports, such as Walter Noble Burns' 1926 book, The Saga of Billy the Kid, suggest Billy had two daughters with Abrana. Garcia disputes this as a cover-up to protect his grandfather's true identity.
Source: Original
Who is Billy the Kid?
Billy the Kid, born Henry McCarty, was an American outlaw and gunfighter of the Old West. His birth date is debatable. While some claim he was born on 17 September 1859, others claim he was born on 23 November 1859 in New York City, United States.
Did Billy the Kid have a lover?
He allegedly had a romantic relationship with Paulita Maxwell. Born around 1864-5 in New Mexico, she was the daughter of Lucien Bonaparte Maxwell, a wealthy landowner.
Though some claim that she was pregnant with his child at the time of his death, Billy the Kid's descendants were not recorded from her.
Per True West Magazine's 2020 publication, Billy talked about Mexican girls in an interview with the Las Vegas Gazette in 1881 while in prison. He said:
I never had any beautiful Mexican girl with me. It was as much as I could do to take care of myself...she was ‘game’ though. See the way she stood off the crowd after me.
Paulita also denied having an affair with Billy but admitted to being infatuated with him.
Analysing Billy the Kid's family tree
Sources like The Claire Champion claim Billy the Kid's father was Patrick McCarty, and his mother was Catherine McCarty. His younger brother, Joseph, was born in 1863. Some reports reveal he had a sister named Bridget McCarty but not proven.
Patrick passed away in 1869 or left the family when Billy was young. Billy the Kid's mother, Catherine McCarty, raised him and his younger brother, Joseph. She relocated to Indianapolis, Indiana, with the children, where she met and married William Henry Harrison Antrim.
What did Billy the Kid really do?
Billy the Kid was a notorious American outlaw and gunfighter. His rise to outlawry began in his teens when he started stealing food and later robbed a Chinese laundry. He fled to Arizona, where he killed a blacksmith in 1877, and then returned to New Mexico, where he joined a group of cattle rustlers.
He became a key figure in the Lincoln County War, a violent conflict between competing cattle empires in southeast New Mexico Territory. History alleges he killed more than 21 people before he turned 21 but only nine murders were recorded.
Source: Getty Images
How was Billy the Kid caught?
Sheriff Pat Garrett tracked down and killed him at Fort Sumner, New Mexico, on 14 July 1881. His last words were "Quien es?" (Who is it?). He said so when he tried to identify Garrett in the dark room where he was shot.
Before his final capture in 1881, Sheriff Pat Garrett captured him in December 1880 for the murder of Sheriff William J. Brady. He escaped from jail on 28 April 1881, killing two deputies in the process.
Sharing the expenses incurred before Billy was captured, U.S. Marshal John Sherman Jr. wrote Attorney General Benjamin Harris Brewster. As published on the U.S. Department of Justice's official website, he said in part:
Voucher 1, $375.00, is for the subsistence of my deputies, and posse, and hire of horses with forage for the same. This expense was incurred in the arrest of William Bonny (sic), known as "Billy the Kid," charged with murder and passing counterfeit money; also for the arrest of an accomplice by the name of Rudebaugh.
Frequently asked questions
- Does Billy the Kid have any living relatives? His only known relatives have passed on.
- Did Billy the Kid have a son named Wyatt? The infamous outlaw did not have a son with that name. There was no proof to the claims.
- What were Billy the Kid's last words? His last words were reportedly "Quien es?" (Who is it?).
Did Billy the Kid have children? It has not been proved that the infamous criminal had children or descendants. Scholars and historians still debate facts about his life.
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