If not, then when exactly did Brushy step into the life of Oliver and begin using his name (it would have had to have been sometime between the census reports)? Brushy acquiesced and in June 1949, Morrison visited the old man at his small shack in Hamilton, Texas. Bob Young, Alton Thorton, W. F. Hafer, Jimmy Ramage, Ablo Norman, Tom Turner, and L. L. Gamble also said Brushy was fluent in Spanish. If Brushy Bill's story is true, then it would mean that Pat Garrett had shot a different person and had allowed Billy the Kid to escape. Brushy Bill Roberts on the other hand Billy the Kids headstone in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. Find Brushy Bill Roberts stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. When Brushy told of his days as Billy the Kid from 1877 to 1881, Morrison determined that Brushy knew way too much about the history of the Kid and the Lincoln County War to have read all about it. So why didn't Morrison and Brushy mention the P. Roberts was dead and buried in 1939 at Alto, Texas, so again, he can't be It seems the character and testimony of Brushy keeps changing during the course of the Kid. Disappointed Morrison and Brushy return to Texas. With the help of Ted Andress, a lawyer from an El Paso law firm, Morrison drew up the papers necessary for Brushys pardon. Brett Hall is selling a Brushy Bill Roberts is Billy the Kid book. Hundreds of studies conducted by the FBI, CIA, Interpol and Scotland Yard employing these techniques have yielded significant level of statistical validity. The study used the most advanced photo comparison equipment around as well as the best scientists. Now heres where Brushy testimony was shaky because he was very nervous. Moreover, there is no DNA support. Although many Roberts relatives state that Brushy and Oliver were two different people, there is at least one who says they were in fact the same. has a heck of a lot more holes and discrepancies in his account than Pat He believes that 1990 photo recognition study proves Brushy is Billy. Kid forever. While in New Mexico, the pair stopped at sites such as Fort Sumner and Lincoln. Mabry made an announcement that he was not going to pardon Brushy, because he did not believe him to be Billy the Kid. Billy the Kid: Beyond the Gravetraces the life of this famous desperado through his role in the Lincoln County War, the alleged killing by Sheriff Pat Garrett, Billy's escape, and his life for the next sixty-nine years. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Moments later he heard shots Brett Hall 2.71K subscribers Subscribe 53K views 1 year ago Episode 3 Of My Real Billy the Kid. We must keep in mind that Brushy Bill Roberts worked very hard for many years (since about 1910 onward) to convince people he was Oliver P. Roberts so it is natural that those who knew him by that name may believe that to be true. Billy the Kids Billy the Kids began to pop up everywhere. this little scheme, someone would surely have blab. According to Brushy, Oliver left home at one point and was killed on the trail. Billy the Kid and/or his death was a hoax, then I shake my head, throw my hands up in the If after still other bits of evidence that squashes Brushys claim ( I would Kid's death, she was one of the first to find him lying on the floor of Pete Billy the Kid was killed that night in Fort Sumner because all the facts, He had previously shot two men without warning in his attempt to get Billy the Kid (Tom O'Folliard and Charlie Bowdrie). The story of a man named Ollie Roberts, a.k.a. Billy the Kid almost 70 years later! In fact, both the Kid and Brushy were ambidextrous. A few hours later, Brushy and Morrison arrived at Mabrys mansion. At the same time, Morrison attempted to track down Jim McDaniels, yet this proved an impossible feat. Untitled Billy the Kid/Brushy Bill Roberts: Examination of Billy the Kid's, the outlaw known from the Lincoln County Wars, life. Still, Brushy asked Young to look up an old friend of his, Jimmy McDaniels (a former member of the Jessie Evans Gang and veteran of the Lincoln County War), who also lived in Round Rock. Also, if Garrett the family bible as August 26, 1879. the Kid knew Garrett was in or around Fort Sumner and sent his comrade to Once again, the real Billy the Kid would have known that. An old lawman named Henry Anthony and his sons were also on the street and when Anthony saw Brushy, he jumped up and yelled at Brushy, calling him Billy Bonney, and told him to throw up his hands. Brushy Kid biographer and my goal is to educate people that Billy the Kid was fired, Brushy then ran towards the house and after a brief shoot out with face, a narrow chin, small mouth, round ears and very narrow slopped shoulders. The University of Texas photo-comparison study, the only valid one commissioned to date, adds another layer of evidence in support of the notion that Roberts and the Kid are the same person. and I just skimmed the surface, there is Afterwards, Morrison wrote a report entitled A Statement of Facts, which stated that Billy Bonney was promised a pardon in 1879 by Gov. When it came to the events of the night of July 14, 1881, Brushy said that a man named Billy Barlow was killed by Pat Garrett. In the 1930 Van Zandt census Roberts turned Author Jim Johnson has been intrigued with the Old West, its lore, and its legends all of his life. Kid was very bitter and angry towards the sheriff, not only for the themselves, without computer technology, the two are not the same man. Oliver was a real person that was born in 1879. Texas. Mary Roberts died in 1862 while James was off fighting with Quantrill in the Civil War. So, here is the new Brushy Bill Roberts section of my website. So now His parents were James H. and Mary Adeline Roberts. Their mission to gain the pardon proved to be unsuccessful, and additionally, it was treated as a joke. The men behind the scenes of power, known then as the "Santa Fe Ring", at the time used the newspapers to blast Angel and brand him an egotist and a fraud. (the night the Kid was killed), Brushy recalled that he was warned that In Hico, Brushy was reexamined by Dr. W. F. Hafer and told to get as much rest as possible. Date: 1948 To have pulled friends pitched in and bought a headstone for his unmarked grave in the Brushy supporters also say the Oliver What's more, there are striking similarities in the aliases used, and in one case multiple photos that match Brushy Bill Roberts. A little fuzzy! Jesse walked out of prison a free man and disappeared, never to be heard from again. photo of Brushy) The reader can make up their own mind on this matter, but according to Brushy Bill Roberts, "Garrett would rather climb up a tree and tell a lie than stand on the ground and tell the truth. In 1990, the famous tintype of Billy the Kid, a purported photo of the Kid at age 12, a photo of Brushy at age 14, and a photo of Brushy at age 90 were analyzed in the Acton-Bovik photo study. He began by studying photos of Brushy Bill Roberts and conducting a facial comparison between the two, which is provided in his book. was he couldnt even remember Pat Garrett's name. it's not because he faked Billy the Kid's death, but more likely that he someone out there that Brushy Bill Roberts was not Billy the Kid Here's another claim that flip flops: due to the reverse image of the Kid's authentic photo, up in Walter Noble Burns bestseller "The Saga of Billy the Kid" in Most likely Brushy was told about it and added this romantic Billy the Kid went by several other names, includingHenry McCarty and William Henry Bonney, but in 1949 another name was added to the long list of his aliases: Brushy Bill Roberts. Bill Roberts from Lucas Speers Billy the Kid Web Site. Many years later Billy the Kids Fort Sumner He went by the name of William Henry Roberts and he died in Hico, TX in 1950, though this account of the Billy the Kid conspiracy theory says Brushy Bill went by Ollie P. "Bill" Roberts even though the grave marker says William Henry Roberts. 33 of 38 34 of 38 A former New Mexico lawman is seeking permission to exhume the body of ``Brushy Bill'' Roberts, a Billy the Kid claimant who died in 1950. about and his name (unfortunately) has latch on to the legend of Billy the Henry McCarty (September 17 or November 23, 1859 - July 14, 1881), alias William H. Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid, was an American outlaw and gunfighter of the Old West who is alleged to have killed 21 men before he was shot and killed at the age of 21. those that believe he is, so I'm going to be blunt and shoot from the hip. Oliver P. Roberts was a cousin of Brushy Bill Roberts. meeting was set, it would've been a trap and Garrett would've arrested or Somewhat disappointed, Morrison decided to leave, but asked Brushy if it might be possible to take a trip to Mexico some day soon to interview his brother. Are After his mother died, Brushy went to live with Catherine and her son, Joe. to dignify this claim any more than I have and I wash my hands of it. Why did he change his middle initial from P. to L.? Not one person who was at the meeting ever mentioned this happening. ", Copyright 2015-2017 Creative Texts Publishers, LLC, , , , Copyright 2014-2021 Creative Texts Publishers, LLC. left-hand theory, but ignore or beat around the bush on major issues. Brushy Bill was working as a law enforcement officer at the time and discovered his cousin's body. killing of Sheriff Brady, Brushy said that Fred Waite and he jumped over the highly recommend visitors to Hines then told Morrison of his experiences in the Lincoln County War and with Billy the Kid. questionable. 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Brushy Bill registered for the WWI draft and signed his original name as Oliver Pleasant Roberts. Mr. Cool-headed! ambushed Billy the Kid in the dark. how many girlfriends he had, did he enjoy stealing livestock, etc.). unjustified confinement and abuse he sustained, but causing him to miss Tunstalls funeral. He said that Catherine McCarty was not his mother, but his maternal half-aunt. According to people who knew them, both Brushy and the Kid could write and shoot just as well with either hand. Shortly thereafter, Gov. killed the Kid on the spot, not concocted such a plan. Also, it would have been insanely foolish for Brushy to claim he was Billy, who still technically had a sentence of death hanging over him, and basically put himself at Mabrys mercy. that didn't like him. Its said that he was buried in Fort Sumner Cemetery the following day alongside two other members of his gang. Im sorry but people who No one is claiming that Oliver P. Roberts was Billy the Kid. Brushy Bill had each and every scar Billy was said to have (and more). He showed many of the same marks and scars acquired to his body as Billy the Kid and his ability to slip out of handcuffs. identical names -I dont thinks so. Kid would not have been so foolish as this video demonstrates the undeniable sameness between four 'billy the kid' photos and four pictures of william henry 'brushy bill' roberts. No sooner was Billy the Kids body laid to rest in Fort Sumner bogus After fleeing Sumner, his story went, he lived in Mexico with a tribe of Yaqui Indians for two years; returned to the U.S. and worked in Carlton, Texas; was arrested in Kansas City because he recognized as the Kid, but was released; worked for Buffalo Bill Cody in his Wild West Show; worked for the Anti-Horse Thief Association from 1885-1889; worked for Judge Isaac Parker in Fort Smith, Arkansas; joined the Pinkerton Detective Agency; worked as a U.S. These claims are usually based on genealogical records of the actual Oliver P. Roberts prior to 1910, which do not match known photographs or facts that have been proven to be true about William Henry "Brushy Bill" Roberts. After However, when Morrison took Brushy to visit with Severo Gallegos, Brushy spoke with Severo's Mexican neighbor, Josephine Sanchez, in perfect Spanish. The truth about Brushy He meant to say he was not a. think that the only thing better to debate about on Billy the Kid is that However, although documentation of Billy the Kids life during this period is sparse, the documentation that. This is true, but very, very few researchers knew of this back during the time Brushy made his claim. Had he been born in 1879, he would have been only seventy-one at the time of his death. Bill and Sam Jones, also surviving friends of Billy the Kid, also met with Brushy Bill. All in all, to his end of the deal, but the governor didn't follow through on his. dead and buried. from custody. No matter Since Brushy was so young and Catherine moved around so much, everyone just assumed that Brushy was her son. However, Sonnichsen later said he wished he never wrote that because he meant that Brushy wasn't the type of person who would sit around all day reading history books. Upon hearing this, the old man looked as if he had been badly frightened. stated that Brushy was almost entirely illiterate and had terrible chicken Links: Unsolved Mysteries Wiki is a FANDOM TV Community. few letters to Morrison wasted no time and asked Brushy whether he truly was Billy the Kid, to which Brushy denied, saying that his half-brother, living in Mexico, was the real Billy the Kid. If Brushy was not really Billy the Kid, then why did he come forward and claim he was? Mabry. In 1882 a notorious outlaw by the name of Jesse Evans, a childhood friend of Billy the Kid and a participant in the Lincoln County War, walked out of jail after serving a sentence for killing a Texas ranger. Top $76,000-a-year New Jersey boarding school admits 'more should have been done' to stop bullying of boy, 17, who took his own life after being falsely accused of rape Furthermore, Roberts wanted Morrison's help in acquiring the full pardon he was promised by Governor Lew Wallace in 1879 but refused. think that must be blind. this video demonstrates the undeniable sameness between four 'billy the kid' photos and four pictures of william henry 'brushy bill' roberts. Giving up on the McDaniels angle, Morrison wrote to Brushy and told him that he would like to meet him. accounts. After he escaped from prison in 1881, he'd adopted the name Oliver P. Roberts, which he lived under for the rest of his life until his death in 1950. that. Kid buffs up again at the age of 52 with a wife named Lutcida. Instead, even though he had every opportunity to reveal his claim, he continued to secretly work behind the scenes with Morrison to obtain a pardon from Governor Thomas Mabry and insisted that no one know. Brushy said that when he went to trial, his first indictment was for the murder of Buckshot Roberts and he was represented by Ira Leonard. No, there has been no DNA study of either Billy the Kid's body or the body of Brushy Bill Roberts. average set shoulders. When Jim Tully, a good friend of Brushy's, signed an affidavit that Brushy was completely literate. 23, 1859 (the date that Ash Upson gave for the Kid's birth) is now highly been shot by Pat Garrett in 1881 and that would have made him two years Its important to remember that Oliver P. Roberts was a farmer and not an adventurer. In the courthouse in Lincoln, Brushy detailed to Morrison how he, as Billy the Kid, made his famous escape and killed deputies Bob Olinger and James Bell. Morrison said he would help the old man in his case, but only if he could be shown proof that Brushy was who he claimed to be. wounded as mentioned, he would not have been in any condition for immediate traveling. Witnesses said that Brushy whirled around and reached for an imaginary pistol. The Kid was reckless but he wasn't stupid! There is more evidence against it than supporting it. He then researched the more mundane aspects of Brushy Bill Roberts' story and found numerous corroborations to his account in the historical record. helping the Kid escape, but Lobato wasnt even at Fort Sumner at that Bill Roberts as Billy the Kid, where not really friends of the Kids His Yes, Mrs. Maxwell asked if himself from his leg irons, had a groundskeeper saddle a horse for him and -then Hallelujah! would later go on to say that she was glad to live long enough to see him so Brushy was said to be left-handed too. Over the next several months, Morrison met with Brushy several times and recorded his story in his journal and with a tape recorder. Billy the Kid fever had broken out 25 years The missing seven percent can be explained due to age and dental work, so said Dr. Bovik and Dr. Acton. right-handed, then suddenly Brushy is right-handed as well. Brushy went on to tell Young that when he found McDaniels, to simply tell him the Kid says hello. When Young returned to Round Rock, he met with McDaniels and delivered Brushys message. Source: Fair use. Sheriff Pat Garrett is a legendary lawman who served his community well. it was thought for years that he was left-handed, I came across an interesting exchange between a researcher and Professor Alan Bovik, who performed the 1990 photographic comparison done on the photos of Brushy Bill Roberts and Billy. He spent most of his time chatting up the locals downtown and telling stories of his life on the frontier. I By the time they had completed their trip and returned to Brushys home in Hico, Texas (he had moved from Hamilton in the summer of 49), they had managed to meet with Severo Gallegos, Martile Able, Jose Montoya, and Bill and Sam Jones. They are as follows: Brushy Bills knowledge of the Lincoln County War and the life of Billy the Kid was too extensive to have all been read. During his testimony, 41 in 1920 again in Van Zandt. Brushy claimed that throughout 1871-1874, he left the care of Catherine McCarty a few times to visit his biological father, James Roberts, in Texas, and ended up staying with him a total of two years. it was Billy the Kid who was killed on July 14, 1881. President Ulysses S. Grant installed Civil War General Lew Wallace to clean up Lincoln following a report by special agent Frank W. Angel. the way while Morrison ate up anything he said with a spoon. Governor Lew Wallace to turn state evidence for a full pardon. Here's a brief summarization of Brushy Bill Roberts: wall to reclaim his revolver. Billy the Kid: An Autobiography: The Story of Brushy Bill Roberts $18.00 Paperback $25.00 Hardcover In 1882 a notorious outlaw by the name of Jesse Evans, a childhood friend of Billy the Kid and a participant in the Lincoln County War, walked out of jail after serving a sentence for killing a Texas ranger. In reality, at the time of Tunstall's funeral Sheriff Myth page, Istill get emails from visitors who want more proof Brushy clearly stated the Kid swearing an oath to avenge Tunstall's murder at the funeral was made Author Daniel A. Edwards approaches the story of Brushy Bill Roberts with a fresh eyes approach to the subject. Now with modern photographic comparison software and more access to primary source documents than ever before, many people are beginning to believe that Brushy Bill Roberts truly was the Billy the Kid of legend. Aboutfour weeks later, Brushy Billsuffered a heart attackwhile walking to the post office and died on December 27, 1950. Morrison began a correspondence with Roberts who eventually confessed to being the Kid and went in to fine and intimate details of his exploits as an outlaw, filling in many details of the life of Billy the Kid. click Although I prefer not to give any attention to this controversial topic, I'm forced to discuss Brushy Bill Roberts who keeps Through census records, it is easy to track the life of this Oliver P. Roberts. Kid. Brushy supporters disregard this evidence and their popular I'm just as passionate that Billy the Kid IS NOT Brushy Bill Roberts as An attempt to separate myth from fact. Further intrigued, Morrison probed Hines for the Kids name and address and the old man finally consented. The first three all signed legal affidavits attesting to the fact that Brushy Bill and Billy the Kid were one and the same and the Jones brothers, although they did not sign affidavits (claiming they didnt want to get involved in the proceedings) also stated their agreement with this. Billy the Kid on the other hand, had an oval-shaped Wallace and that Billy was not killed in 1881 and still deserved his pardon. Billy the Kid had a terrible habit of Lew Wallace back in 1879. The photo at the top of this page is of Brushy Bill Roberts, taken in 1949 or 1950 by William V. Morrison. The folklore is that a guy named Brushy Bill was really Billy the Kid. There exists no evidence, other than the word of Brushy Bill, that Billy Barlow, the man Brushy said Garrett really killed, ever existed. The study compared the Dedrick-Upham tintype, the only authenticated image of Billy the Kid with a photograph of William Henry Roberts taken when Roberts was in his late eighties. If a Mary Roberts died in 1862 while James was off fighting with Quantrill in the Civil War. It's disappointing for me to Dolan and Campbell killed her attorney, Huston Chapman and the most absurd the late 1920s. entirely filled with Billy the Kid supporters and friends, there were some A letter written by his own sister confirms the date and place of his birth. In order to first read the detailed accounts of Pat Garrett and Brushy Bill Roberts in regards to the night of July 14, 1881, click here. man, his memory was a little fuzzy. write and had beautiful, readable penmanship. Morrison did indeed return the following day and Brushy admitted to him that he truly was Billy the Kid, only he didnt want to say so in front of his wife. for a pardon for Billy the Kid because I do not believe this man to be Billy First of all, Brushy appears to have had some Hispanic descent due to That alone is more than enough proof that Brushy and Billy slip out of Fort Sumner), discredited all such claims and firmly stated that Ollie P. Bill Roberts, also known as Brushy Bill. When he proclaimed to Hines that the Kid had met his death at the hands of Sheriff Pat Garrett in the house of one of his relatives, he was shocked to have Hines reply that the Kid was not killed by Garrett, or by anyone else for that matter and was still living. still strongly believe that Brushy Bill Roberts was indeed Billy the Kid. When Morrison first met Brushy, he was going by the name of Oliver L. Roberts. No one is claiming that Oliver P. Roberts was Billy the Kid. Brushy repeatedly contradicted The photo of Brushy at age 90 had a 93% match to the famous tintype. Brushy Bill had a well-known association with J. Frank Dalton, a proven false Jesse James claimant. I would love to hear any questions, thoughts or suggestions on this. In a nutshell, Brushy's story went like this: he was born William Henry Roberts on December 31, 1859 in an area of Texas known as Buffalo Gap. When his wife said she needed to mail a package, Brushy said he would walk it down to the post-office. While Billy the Kid was of Scot-Irish decent, had But some locals say they prefer to let . Read another story from us:Surplus of vintage weapons, including Tommy guns, on sale by the St. Louis Police Department. Again with the help of Andress, Morrison filed for the petition for the pardon on Nov. 15, 1950. Since 1881, many people have claimed to be Billy the Kid, and in the decades that followed the Kids death, they popped up everywhere across the United States. indeed Billy the Kid just because Roberts knew a lot about the Lincoln County War and the life of Billy the Kidbut so did a lot The old man said he had nothing to lose and hoped that Morrison would help him gain the pardon that he had beenpromised some 70 years agoby New Mexicos Governor Thomas J. Mabry. Morrison Case:Unknown Identity Further, William V. Morrison discovered five living witnesses that were willing to sign sworn affidavits under oath that Brushy Bill Roberts was Billy the Kid. didn't write this web page to argue or pick a fight with supporters, I know So Brushy was Also of note: there have been six books written on the Brushy Bill controversy. On the morning of the 29th, as Morrison and Brushy at breakfast at a Santa Fe diner, Morrison read in a local newspaper that Mabry had publicly announced his meeting with a Billy the Kid claimant. After all, they supposedly looked the other way either, he wrote like a child, or So in other words, its purely coincidental that that, and he couldn't count on the Kid seizing the opportunity of having the Kid at Stinking Springs, Garrett took his prisoners to Fort Sumner, After some talking he admitted that he had been in hiding and was indeed the outlaw Jesse Evans. Now you can examine the facts, and make of them what you will. However, there exists no contemporary evidence that the real Billy the Kid ever left the care of Catherine McCarty, especially for so long a time period. the Kid was not illiterate, contrary to legendary belief, but could read and grows older, their eyebrows grow thicker). He had several diaries when Morrison found him, he wrote several letters to Morrison and other people, and he had thought for a time to write his autobiography, but later decided not to, fearing the press he might get.

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