Henry McCarty (Billy the Kid) was an outlaw in New Mexico. He committed many crimes including killing, petty theft, illegal gambling, and cattle rustling. He was born in New York but grew up in New Mexico. His mother Catherine McCarty, who later became Catherine Antrim, came from Ireland. Henry McCarty’s father is unknown. Even though there were few records on McCarty, some of his childhood acquaintances said McCarty grew up as an ordinary boy who was a little “mischievous ”. McCarty had many aliases including, William Bonney, the Kid Antrim, and the Kid. He is infamously known as Billy the Kid. Billy the Kid died at the age of 21 from a gunshot by Sheriff Pat Garrett at Fort Sumner, New Mexico. I chose to write about Billy the Kid because I could not find any information on my ancestors and because he lived in Silver City. …show more content…
As a child, I learned about him in school. I vaguely remember his birth place, death, and many names. From others, I heard rumors about his death. The common rumor told, was that Billy the Kid was not killed by Garrett because they were friends. The resources stated he was an outlaw who did live in New Mexico. The resources also proved that he was killed by Sheriff Garrett (which was I already knew). The rumors told conflicted with multiple resources that confirmed he was killed By Sheriff Garrett. No information found, suggested that the sheriff and Kid were ever friends.
A couple resources contradicted each other in the regarding Billy’s birth. One stated he was born in New York while another said that he was born in Ireland. My resources hardly conflicted with each other. Some provided much more detail but they all agreed on one thing, there are many myths about Billy the Kid. His history is very spotty and often misleading. With all the murders he was involved with, nine deaths occurred. Both sources agree that the myth is that he killed 21