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Brushy Bill Roberts (born Oliver Pleasant Roberts; also known as Oliver Roberts, Oliver P. Roberts, O. P. Roberts, Ollie Roberts, and O. L. Roberts) (August 26, 1879 - December 27, 1950). He claimed he was Billy the Kid, born December 31, 1959, and named William Henry Roberts. He is buried under a tombstone in Oakwood Cemetery in Hamilton, Texas: “William Henry Roberts, A K A Billy the Kid, born 31 December 1859, died 27 December 1950”. Historians and Oliver P. Roberts family members dispute his claim. Background In 1948, William Morrison, a probate investigator for a legal firm, located an elderly man in Florida named Joe Hines. Hines told Morrison of his experiences in the Lincoln County war with Billy the Kid, who had been killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett on July 14, 1881. Hines stunned Morrison by claiming that the Kid was still alive, but did not reveal his name or where he lived. J. Frank Dalton, who had recently signed an affidavit swearing he was Jesse Woodson James, told Morrison that the man Hines described was living near Hamilton, Texas, under the name of O. L. Roberts (nicknamed "Brushy Bill"). Morrison began a correspondence with Roberts, and later met and interviewed him. The life story of Brushy Bill, described in “Alias Billy the Kid”, is based on Morrison’s notes. Early Life Brushy Bill said he was born December 31, 1859, near Buffalo Gap, Taylor County, Texas. . The first European settlers of Taylor County arrived during 1870s. He said his parents were J. H. “Wild Henry” Roberts and Mary Adeline Dunn. No record of either of them has been found. His mother died in 1862 after his father had gone off to war. His mother’s half-sister, Kathrine Ann “Kathleen” Bonney came for him. The marriage record of William H. Antrim and Catherine McCarty revealed that the name of Billy the Kid’s mother was Catherine McCarty. His step-aunt, Kathrine Bonney, took him to Trinidad, Colorado, then to Santa Fe, and finally to Silver City. “Wild Henry” Roberts came back from the war and married Elizabeth Ferguson. Elizabeth Ferguson and Henry Oliver Roberts were the parents of Oliver Pleasant Roberts. Brushy Bill left Silver City in 1872 to look for his people in Texas. He found his father and stepmother in Carlton, Texas, and lived with them until May 1874. . Catherine McCarty and William H. Antrim were married March 1, 1873 in Santa Fe. Witnesses included Henry McCarty and Joseph McCarty. Henry McCarty, son of Catherine McCarty, was later identified in New Mexico records and newspapers as William Bonny, William Bonney, Henry Antrim, Kid alias Antrim, and William Antrim. Pat Garrett identified Billy the Kid as William H. Bonney. Walter Noble Burns identified Billy the Kid as William H. Bonney. The 1880 census confirms that Billy the Kid was known by the alias of William Bonny. Billy the Kid was known as Henry McCarty and Henry Antrim before he was William Bonney. No record has been found that identified Billy the Kid’s mother as Kathrine Bonney. Lincoln County War Brushy Bill’s knowledge of characters and events in the Lincoln County war was extensive. His account of the Lincoln County war was almost identical to information published in 1926 by Burns. Escape Brushy Bill was captured, tried, and sentenced to hang for killing Sheriff Baker during the Lincoln County war. He was imprisoned in the Lincoln jail, and guarded by Deputies Bell and Olinger. Brushy Bill killed both deputies during his escape. Brushy Bill left Lincoln and rode to the home of his friend, Higinio Salazar. Brushy Bill returned to Lincoln to see Celsa Guiterrez, the sister of Sabal Guiterrez, who he said was one of his sweethearts. Sabal and Celsa Guiterrez were husband and wife with a 3 year old daughter, Mauricia, in 1880. Brushy Bill said that Pat Garrett had killed Billy Barlow, not Billy the Kid. . No record of Billy Barlow has been found. . From July 1881 until August 1912, Brushy Bill was sometimes known as the Hugo Kid or the Texas Kid, and spent time with the Yaqui Indians in Mexico; drove a salt truck in Texas; returned to Sonora, Mexico; worked for the Powers Cattle Company; drove cattle from Texas to Kansas City; broke horses for the Tom Waggoner ranch; traveled with the scouts guarding the stage lines on the Idaho trail; rode for Buffalo Bill on his north Platte ranch; joined the Pinkerton detectives; joined the Anti-Horse Thief Association; was a deputy U S Marshal in the Indian Territory; rode in the Cheyenne cowboy roundup; went to boxing school in Cincinnati; rode outlaw horses in Old Mexico, Texas, Cheyenne, Nebraska, and Oregon; went to Argentina to break horses; went to the Shetland Islands to catch ponies; rode with the Buffalo Bill and Pawnee Bill wild west shows; rejoined the Marshal’s force; bought part interest in a ranch in Mexico; enlisted in the Rough Riders and served in Cuba; started a wild west show; traded horses and cattle in the Indian Territory; started another ranch in Mexico; joined Carranza and Pancho Villa in the Mexican revolution; was captain of 106 mounted men. . From August 1912 until his death in 1950, Brushy Bill appeared in official records as Oliver Roberts, O. P. Roberts, Oliver P. Roberts, Oliver Pleasant Roberts, Ollie Roberts, and O. L. Roberts  He was identified as Ollie L. Roberts on his death certificate and original headstone. Brushy Bill said his birth name was William Henry Roberts. The name, William Henry Roberts A K A Billy the Kid, is on his permanent headstone in Oakwood Cemetery, Hamilton, Texas. Marriage Brushy Bill said he married Mollie Brown, Loutecia Ballard, and Melinda Allison. Mollie Brown married Oliver Roberts August 21, 1912. Six years later, Brushy Bill registered for the WWI draft as Oliver Pleasant Roberts, and identified Mollie Roberts as his nearest relative. Brushy Bill, age 40, stated that his date of birth was August 26, 1879, the birth date of Oliver P. Roberts, son of Henry Oliver and Sarah Elizabeth Ferguson Roberts. . Luticia Roberts died in 1944, and Brushy Bill signed the death certificate as Ollie Roberts. Malinda E. Allison married O. L. Roberts January 14, 1945. Relatives Brushy Bill said his parents were J. H. “Wild Henry” Roberts and Mary Adeline Dunn; grandfather, Ben Roberts; half-brother, James Roberts; and cousin, Ollie Roberts. No record of any of them has been found. Brushy Bill identified other relatives: stepmother, Elizabeth Ferguson; uncle, Henry Roberts; and cousin, Martha Roberts Heath. They are found in census, cemetery, or death records and are relatives of Oliver P. Roberts, born August 26, 1879 in Sebastian County, Arkansas. Henry Oliver Roberts and Sarah Elizabeth Dunn were the parents of Oliver P. Roberts. Martha Vada Roberts, wife of Dudley Heath, was the daughter of Henry Oliver Roberts and his first wife, Caroline Dunn. Affidavits Billy the Kid was killed in 1881. Elbert DeWitt Travis, born in 1890; Martile Able, born in 1874 and living in Lampasas County, Texas, in 1880; and Robert E. Lee provided sworn affidavits that they believed Brushy Bill was Billy the Kid. Robert E. Lee, in his affidavit, swore that he first met Billy the Kid in the summer of 1889, 8 years after Garrett killed Billy the Kid. Pro Brushy Bill’s physical characteristics were similar to Billy the Kid’s. Brushy Bill had every scar that Billy the Kid had (but no record has been found describing location, size, and appearance of Billy the Kid’s scars). Brushy Bill’s detailed knowledge of characters and events in the Lincoln County war indicate he had been a participant (or had read “The Saga of Billy the Kid”, by Walter Noble Burns, published in 1926). Martile Able, DeWitt Travis, and Robert E. Lee signed affidavits swearing they believed Brushy Bill was Billy the Kid (but none of them had seen Billy the Kid before 1882). A Bible with Brushy Bill’s genealogy was found in Malinda Roberts’ trunk after her death. The Bible was said to be a Roberts family Bible (but the Bible lacks provenance and could have been Malinda’s, and the date the information was entered is unknown). Facial recognition techniques indicate that Brushy Bill could have been Billy the Kid (but other facial recognition techniques find no similarity). Con No credible proof has been found that Billy the Kid was alive after 14 July 1881. Brushy Bill was known as Oliver P. Roberts after 1911. No credible proof has been found that Brushy Bill and Oliver P. Roberts, son of Henry Oliver Roberts and Sarah Elizabeth Ferguson, were two different men. Brushy Bill said three individuals were his relatives, but they were relatives of Oliver P. Roberts: Henry Oliver Roberts, Sarah Elizabeth Ferguson, and Martha Roberts Heath. No record has been found of 4 individuals Brushy Bill named as relatives: Ben Roberts, J. H. “Wild Henry” Roberts, Mary Adeline Dunn, and James Roberts. Brushy Bill said he was in Mexico from 1908 until 1914 (but he married Mollie Brown in 1912). Brushy Bill said he was in Carlton, Texas, from 1872 until 1874 when William H. Antrim and Catherine McCarty were married in Santa Fe in 1873; two witnesses were Henry McCarty and Joseph McCarty. Brushy Bill referred to Kathrine Bonney, but her name was Catherine McCarty in Kansas and New Mexico records. Brushy Bill did not mention the years Catherine McCarty was in Wichita. Brushy Bill did not mention Joseph McCarty. Brushy Bill said Sabal Guiterrez’s sister, Celsa, was one of his sweethearts and wanted to go to Mexico to get married. Celsa Guiterrez was the wife of Sabal Guiterrez, and their daughter was 3 years old in 1880. No record has been found that confirms any of Brushy Bill’s activities from 1881 until 1912. RmanTaylor (talk) 04:33, 3 May 2016 (UTC)BBA Historian