James B. Roberts, Church of St. Peter, New York City, to Jack DeMattos, March 24, 1979. This was unsupported by his family until 1938, some time after his death. William Bonney, also known as Billy the Kid, is believed to be depicted in this undated ferrotype picture, circa 1880, provided by the Lincoln County, N.M. Heritage Trust Archive. In conjunction with my presentation of the facts regarding Billy the Kid claimant Brushy Bill Roberts, I decided to do the same for a lesser known claimant, John Miller. My opinion. Maybe Miller really was Billy the Kid. Miller was also known to listen to a radio program about Billy the Kid and get furious when it would report historical inaccuracies over the Kid's life. [118] but confirmed the records' existence, and that they could have been produced earlier. Meanwhile, a Mexican who died a day earlier was placed in the casket meant for Billy and buried. Jim Johnson provides proof that is backed up with appropriate documentation. McCarty was charged with theft and was jailed. For years, this was the only photograph scholars and historians agreed showed McCarty. It was probably taken on his property in the Ramah-Zuni area of New Mexico Territory. For years Wallace denied that he had agreed to the bargain with McCarty; however, in a newspaper article published in 1902, Wallace changed his story and said he had promised McCarty a pardon in change for the testimony. [120] The lawsuit ultimately cost Lincoln County nearly $300,000. "There was a cover-up." He also resembled him in other characteristics, such as being fluent in Spanish, incredibly dexterous with pistols and rifles, having a penchant for making friends of just about everyone he knew, having a quick-temper and equally quick sense of humor, and being very generous. McCarty was 15 years old when his mother died. John Miller had claimed to be William Bonney, aka Billy the Kid. [102] In July 2015, Stahl filed suit in the New Mexico Supreme Court. It has been theorized that she was really Manuela Bowdre, the widow of Charlie Bowdre, but there seems to be evidence that Manuela married someone else after Charlie's death. During the confusion, Alexander McSween was shot and killed by Robert W. Beckwith, who was then shot and killed by McCarty. Miller frequently delighted in displaying his incredible skill with a pistol, and enjoyed teaching some of his tricks to his younger friends. Why is there no yet-discovered record of him prior to August 1881. To cap it all off, Max Miller, who had enlisted in the U.S. Army and was fighting in World War I, was reported missing-in-action in Germany. Before returning the pistol, which he noticed contained only three cartridges, McCarty positioned the cylinder so the next hammer fall would land on an empty chamber. She traced Miller's life through his years in … 300 South McCormick Street . Related Terms: History. Richardson's decision, citing "historical ambiguity," was announced on December 31, 2010, his last day in office. By February 1878, McSween owed $8,000 to Dolan, who obtained a court order and asked Lincoln County Sheriff William J. Brady to attach nearly $40,000 worth of Tunstall's property and livestock. The couple even managed to gain something of a "good Samaritan" reputation for housing and feeding travelers and helping out their neighbors when they were down on their luck. After McCarty was spotted in Silver City, his involvement with the gang was mentioned in a local newspaper. The victim, Patrick Floyd Jarvis “Pat” Garrett, was the former sheriff of Lincoln County best known for having killed outlaw Billy the Kid on July 14, 1881. By 1918, the Millers' fortunes had turned for the worse. [134] Editors from the True West Magazine staff said, "no one in our office thinks this photo is of the Kid [and the Regulators]. The Millers named the child Max and raised him as their son, never having offspring of their own. [125] In 1954, western historians James D. Horan and Paul Sann wrote that McCarty was right-handed and carried his pistol on his right hip. [a][10][11][12] Census records indicate his younger brother, Joseph McCarty, was born in 1863.[13]. "[113], In 2004, researchers sought to exhume the remains of Catherine Antrim, McCarty's mother, whose DNA would be tested and compared with that of the body buried in William Bonney's grave. [95] The ferrotype survived because McCarty's friend Dan Dedrick kept it after the outlaw's death. He seldom discussed his past openly, indicating he was hiding something. Billy the Kid (born Henry McCarty; September 17 or November 23, 1859 – July 14, 1881), also known by the pseudonym William H. Bonney, was an Irish-American outlaw and gunfighter of the American Old West who killed eight men before he was shot and killed at the age of 21. [36][38], After Tunstall was killed, McCarty and Dick Brewer swore affidavits against Brady and those in his posse, and obtained murder warrants from Lincoln County justice of the peace John B. Who is it?"). [116] In 2014, Cooper was awarded $100,000 in punitive damages but the decision was later overturned by the New Mexico Court of Appeals. The following day, an armed mob gathered at the train depot before the prisoners, who were already on board the train with Garrett, departed for Santa Fe. As agreed, McCarty provided a statement about Chapman's murder and testified in court. John Miller's claim to being the Kid rests on a 1993 book by the late Helen Airy, called Whatever Happened to Billy the Kid? Billy the Kid (a nickname for a man born Henry McCarty and later known as William H. Bonney) was an outlaw who lived a short but tumultuous life. [65][66] Still in custody several weeks later, McCarty began to suspect Wallace had used subterfuge and would never grant him amnesty. When Miller was then carried away by his Mexican friends to be prepared for burial, he showed signs of life and was hidden by Isadora. Bonney". If Miller was the Kid, how did he come by the wagon, provisions, and small herd of cattle that he and Isadora had in their possesion when they arrived in Las Vegas on Aug. 8, 1881? John Miller closely resembled Billy the Kid physically, having similar sloping shoulders, buck-teeth, out-turned thumbs, heavy brow, small hands, big ears, blue eyes, and numerous bullet wounds on his body. Sarah Brown, the owner of a boarding house, gave him room and board in exchange for work. The three men had wielded an economic and political hold over Lincoln County since the early 1870s, due in part to their ownership of a beef contract with nearby Fort Stanton and a well-patronized dry goods store in the town of Lincoln. [122], One of the few remaining artifacts of McCarty's life is a 2-by-3-inch (5.1-by-7.6-centimeter) ferrotype photograph of McCarty by an unknown portrait photographer in late 1879 or early 1880. During the ensuing scuffle, McCarty grabbed Bell's revolver and fatally shot him in the back as Bell tried to get away. [137][138], In 2010, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson turned down a request for a posthumous pardon of McCarty for the murder of Sheriff William Brady. McCarty was orphaned at the age of 15. "[87] According to the historical record, he did not speak after the reading of his sentence. Prescott, Arizona 86303 . Letter from Rev. [112], John Miller, an Arizona man, also claimed he was McCarty. [77] Pat Garrett continued his search for McCarty; on December 23, following the siege in which Bowdre was killed, Garrett and his posse captured McCarty along with Pickett, Rudabaugh, and Wilson at Stinking Springs. zSo far, no record of John Miller has been discovered before Aug. 8, 1881, less than a month after Billy the Kid was allegedly killed by Pat Garrett. [93] He obtained a horse and rode out of town; according to some stories he was singing as he left Lincoln. Miller was friendly with the rustlers, often feeding and sheltering them, and would bargain with them for the return of his neighbors' animals. [126] The opinion was confirmed by Clyde Jeavons, a former curator of the National Film and Television Archive. So far, no record of John Miller has been discovered before Aug. 8, 1881, less than a month after Billy the Kid was allegedly killed by Pat Garrett. All three of these dates would make Miller older than Billy the Kid. The jury members interviewed Maxwell and Garrett, and McCarty's body and the location of the shooting were examined. Garrett’s account leaves it unclear whether McCarty was killed instantly or took some time to die. [80] In a later interview with a reporter, McCarty said he was unafraid during the incident, saying, "if I only had my Winchester I'd lick the whole crowd. Therefore, when he confided in a select few that he was truly Billy the Kid, he was believed without question. Hearing of the mineral springs in the town of Buckeye that may help his rheumatism, Miller and his wife moved there in 1920. This section of my page contains several photos of Billy the Kid claimant John Miller. "When the deputy United States Marshal that was with Pat Garrett … Another posse member took Tunstall's gun and killed him with a shot to the back of his head. Also according to his friends, Miller was an honest and trustworthy individual, not the type to lie. Meanwhile, Sheriff Brady assembled a large posse to seize Tunstall's cattle. Carlysle later attempted to escape by jumping through a window but he was shot three times and killed. [86] Following two days of testimony, McCarty was found guilty of Sheriff Brady's murder; it was the only conviction secured against any of the combatants in the Lincoln County War. nmjames Senior Member. McCarty waited at the upstairs window for Olinger to respond to the gunshot that killed Bell and called out to him, "Look up, old boy, and see what you get." While his birth year has been confirmed as 1859, the exact date of his birth has been disputed as either September 17 or November 23 of that year. To cut to the chase, John Miller was not Billy the Kid, he was just one of the many old men that claimed to be Billy the Kid. Before dying in the 1930s, John Miller … The laugh's on me this time. Quote. So do most of the Indians and the Mormon pioneers who knew John Miller. [88], Following his sentencing, McCarty was moved to Lincoln, where he was held under guard on the top floor of the town courthouse. When it failed to fire, McCarty drew his own weapon and shot Grant in the head. This originally appeared in Smithsonian Magazine, 1991. zMiller was known to have a good rapport with cattle and horse thieves, which possibly stemmed from his time as Billy the Kid. [58][59] McCarty wrote to Governor Wallace on March 13, 1879, with an offer to provide information on the Chapman murder in exchange for amnesty. Most authors and historians believe that his real name was William Henry McCarty, but was it? McCarty shot and mortally wounded Cahill. Nevertheless, nearly all who he told his stories to connected the dots and believed that he truly was the famous outlaw. In a 1900 census report, Miller stated he was born in 1857. When Olinger looked up, Bonney shot and killed him. Severe drought and pestilence had ruined their ranch, Isadora was losing her eyesight and had a useless hand due to it being caught in a gopher trap, and Miller himself was suffering from rheumatism. They hope to compare his DNA to "supposed" blood found on the carpenter bench. Found Photograph", "$2 Photo Found at Junk Store Has Billy The Kid in It, Could Be Worth $5M", "Man who discovered rare Billy the Kid photo: 'The hunt is a really grand thing, "Billy the Kid's Elusive Tombstone / Old Fort Sumner and Billy the Kid's Grave", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FpaBZpvLMA, "Billy the Kid: The True Story of a Western 'Bad Man, "Billy the Kid and the U.S. Isadora, however, who only spoke Spanish, was far more open in admitting that Miller and the Kid were one and the same. [91], While McCarty was on the run, Governor Wallace placed a new $500 bounty on the fugitive's head. Miller and friends managed to pull her out of the building before it was entirely consumed, but she was already dead, most likely from smoke inhalation. She claimed she lived at Fort Sumner when her husband (as Billy the Kid) was allegedly killed by Garrett, but no record exists showing an Isadora living in Sumner in 1881. When Miller's job was completed, Eriacho fulfilled his promise to him and Miller soon after built a house and ranch for himself on a hillside south of Ramah and near Ojo Pescado, a site that would later be known as Miller's Canyon. When he fell off a roof he was repairing, his son Max decided it was finally time he be taken to a retirement home. Below is a synopsis of what we do know of Miller's life. Some think he looks more like Billy than Brushy does but his face is much too wide, and the chin to lower lip is too short. SUMMARY. [43] On the morning of April 4, 1878, Buckshot Roberts and Dick Brewer were killed during a shootout at Blazer's Mill. A witness said, "[Billy] had no choice; he had to use his equalizer." He walked up to Grant, told him he admired his revolver, and asked to examine it. John Miller never told his story officially and the vast majority of his claim is based around second-hand information and speculation from those who knew him. Neither John Miller nor Oliver P. Roberts were Billy the Kid! … [118], In February 2015, historian Robert Stahl petitioned a district court in Fort Sumner asking the state of New Mexico to issue a death certificate for McCarty. McSween's supporters gathered inside his house; when Buck Powell and Deputy Sheriff Jack Long set fire to the building, the occupants began shooting. Tunstall and his business partner and lawyer Alexander McSween were opponents of an alliance formed by Irish-American businessmen Lawrence Murphy, James Dolan, and John Riley. If authentic, it is the only known photo of Billy the Kid and the Regulators together and the only image to feature their wives and female companions. Miller soon got a job as a horse trainer on a nearby ranch, and after he saved up enough money, he built another ranch of his own near the town of Liberty, not far from Buckeye. Account & Lists Account Returns & Orders. (The story is detailed in WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BILLY THE KID by Helen Airy). [13] Shortly before McCarty's mother, Catherine, died of tuberculosis, then called "consumption", on September 16, 1874,[17] McCarty's stepfather, William Antrim abandoned the family leaving both McCarty boys orphans. If Miller was not the Kid, who was he? He lived out his life in northwest New Mexico, and south and central Arizona and died in Prescott, Arizona in 1937. McCarty escaped from the Lincoln County jail on June 17, 1879. He became well-known in the region when he joined the Regulators and took part in the Lincoln County War of 1878. When better fit to travel, the Millers moved on to the Quemado area, where Miller acquired a job as a cook on the cattle company known as Nation's Ranch. You've heard all of the so- called 'evidence' for and against Brushy Bill Roberts and John Miller… New Mexico Governor Bruce King arranged for the county sheriff to fly to California to return it to Fort Sumner,[143] where it was reinstalled in May 1981. [51][52], McCarty and three other survivors of the Battle of Lincoln were near the Mescalero Indian Agency when the agency bookkeeper, Morris Bernstein, was murdered on August 5, 1878. During the following decades, legends grew that McCarty had survived, and a number of men claimed to be him. Sometime in the late 1920s or early 1930s, the Miller house caught fire, with Isadora inside. Who was Isadora really? Sue Land, director of the Billy the Kid museum in Hico, says the best piece of evidence that Billy the Kid escaped Fort Sumner unscathed is Pat Garrett's own deputy. According to eyewitnesses, the pair were innocent bystanders forced at gunpoint by Jesse Evans to witness the murder. [33][5] After regaining his health, McCarty went to Apache Tejo, a former army post, where he joined a band of rustlers who raided herds owned by cattle magnate John Chisum in Lincoln County. [56][57], On February 18, 1879, McCarty and friend Tom O'Folliard were in Lincoln and watched as attorney Huston Chapman was shot and his corpse set on fire. ¿Quién es?" Peppin's men retreated when one of the snipers, Charles Crawford, was killed by Fernando Herrera. He fled from New Mexico Territory into neighboring Arizona Territory, making him both an outlaw and a federal fugitive. Here’s a little on John Miller found on Lucas Speer’s Billy the Kid Website. Throughout the next few months, Miller made repeated attempts to get a friend of his or his son to visit him, so that he could finally "set the record straight." His first arrest was for stealing food, at the age of 16, in late 1875. McCarty met with Wallace in Lincoln on March 17, 1879. His friends later reported that Miller loved to tell stories of Billy the Kid and the Lincoln County War and often displayed numerous bullet scars on his body. Above appears the famous tintype of Billy the Kid on the left, with a photo of claimant John Miller on the far right. To read about his claim, click here. [142] It was stolen on February 8, 1981, but recovered days later in Huntington Beach, California. It was the last time the two saw each other. John Miller - The other noted Billy The Kid claimant. Hello Select your address All Hello, Sign in. [41], McCarty then joined the Lincoln County Regulators; on March 9 they captured Frank Baker and William Morton, both of whom were accused of killing Tunstall. McCarty's notoriety grew in December 1880 when the Las Vegas Gazette in Las Vegas, New Mexico, and The Sun in New York City carried stories about his crimes. During the encounter, one member of the posse shot Tunstall in the chest, knocking him off his horse. 3 people found this helpful. The full title of the Garrett-Upson book was, sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFNolan2009 (. The posse opened fire, killing O'Folliard; the rest of the outlaws escaped unharmed.[75][76]. Three days after that, New Mexico Gov. Furthermore, Miller's pistol had several notches on it, which he claimed were for the men he killed. Furthermore, where is the trunk today? Marshal John Sherman informed newly appointed Territorial Governor and former Union Army general Lew Wallace that he held warrants for several men, including "William H. Antrim, alias Kid, alias Bonny [sic]" but was unable to execute them "owing to the disturbed condition of affairs in that county, resulting from the acts of a desperate class of men. Arizona Pioneers' Home . John Miller first comes into historical record on Aug. 8, 1881, when he was married to a Mexican girl named Isadora at Las Vegas, New Mexico Territory. Cart All. In this latter scenario, Garrett never learned that Billy was not killed. There they stayed for a few days before moving on to Reserve, a mining town, where they remained until Miller recovered from his chest wound. Despite the fact that his neighbors believed Miller was the Kid, none of them apparently thought much of it or thought any less of him as a person. Billy the Kid (born Henry McCarty; September 17 or November 23, 1859 – July 14, 1881), also known by the pseudonym William H. Bonney, was an Irish-American outlaw and gunfighter of the American Old West who killed eight men before he was shot and killed at the age of 21. No Charges in Billy the Kid Exhumation, Prosecutors won't seek charges for exhumation in Billy the Kid case ... N.M., dug up the bones of John Miller in May 2005. [117] As of 2012[update], her body had not been exhumed. Although both markers are behind iron fencing, a group of vandals entered the enclosure at night in June 2012 and tipped the stone over.[144]. John Miller never claimed to be Billy the Kid. [72] The shootout ended in a standoff; the posse withdrew and McCarty, Rudabaugh, and Wilson rode away. [107] The book, The Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid,[d] was first published in April 1882. [62][63] On March 21, McCarty let himself be captured by a posse led by Sheriff George Kimball of Lincoln County. Billy (Gun) Enwood Guest. Marshal Robert Widenmann, a friend of McCarty, and a detachment of soldiers captured Sheriff Brady's jail guards, put them behind bars, and released Bonney and Brewer. Surely she would have known for sure whether he was or not. In equally rare instances when Miller would get drunk, he would also blurt out that he was the Kid, only to renig on the claim when he'd sobered up. Miller was a most interesting character in his own right. Another thing that makes Miller unique as a claimaint is that he never told his story publicly. [90][91] [92] After about an hour, McCarty freed himself from the leg irons with an axe. Directed by David Miller, Frank Borzage. Miller reportedly was always on guard, acting like a man being hunted by the law. Cahill died the following day. Letter from Governor Wallace to W.H. Tunnell’s research led them to Pioneers’ Home, where Miller died on Nov. 7, 1937. When they arrived on December 26, they were met by crowds of curious onlookers. [28][29] McCarty fled but returned a few days later and was apprehended by Miles Wood, the local justice of the peace. [39] On February 20, 1878, while attempting to arrest Brady, the sheriff and his deputies found and arrested McCarty and two other men riding with him. However, all his friends and his son were too busy to reach him in time, and he died on Nov. 7, 1937. However, he was unable to remember important events in Billy’s life such as the Lincoln prison escape, he didn’t really look like the outlaw, he was illiterate while the Kid wasn’t and finally, his birth date was recorded in his family Bible as 1879. Apparently, Miller told different versions of this to different friends. However, Miller also apparently had the visage of a fugitive from the law, always wearing a pistol and having a ready rifle by the door of his house. McCarty and two other Regulators were later charged with killing three men, including Lincoln County Sheriff William J. Brady and one of his deputies. [86] According to legend, upon sentencing, the judge told McCarty he was going to hang until he was "dead, dead, dead"; McCarty's response was, "you can go to hell, hell, hell. Also, read the various discrepancies and questions surrounding all the accounts of the shooting by clicking here. Tunstall put Bonney in charge of nine prime horses and told him to relocate them to his ranch for safekeeping. Carlysle offered to exchange places with Greathouse, and McCarty accepted the offer. Billy did not have such notches on his pistols, and it's doubtful that any other gunfighter did either. Although neither Miller nor the ranchhand were wounded in the fight, the incident cost Miller his job and he and Isadora were again forced to flee, this time back to El Morro, and from there to the Zuni Mountains, in north-central New Mexico Territory. He was buried in the Pioneer Home Cemetery, with a memorial plaque bearing his name along with the names of several other pioneers buried within the cemetery. [18][19] Ten days later, McCarty and George Schaefer robbed a Chinese laundry, stealing clothing and two pistols. Billy The Kid's Pretender John Miller: Cooper, Gale: Amazon.sg: Books. This led historians to believe he was left-handed, but they did not take into account that the ferrotype process produces reversed images. [103][104], Five days after McCarty's killing, Garrett traveled to Santa Fe, New Mexico, to collect the $500 reward offered by Governor Lew Wallace for his capture, dead or alive. few that he was truly Billy the Kid, he was believed without question. In 1948, a central Texas man, Ollie P. Roberts, also known as Brushy Bill Roberts, began claiming he was Billy the Kid and went before New Mexico Governor Thomas J. Mabry seeking a pardon. [21] In 1876, he was hired as a ranch hand by well-known rancher Henry Hooker. The two men soon began stealing horses from local soldiers. Since Miller never publicly spoke of his claim, all that we know of it is based on second-hand information, making it almost a claim of a claim. The origin of the difficulty was not learned. Baker and Morton were killed while allegedly trying to escape. [53][54], On October 5, 1878, U.S. A photograph curator at the Palace of the Governors archives, Daniel Kosharek, said the image is "problematic on a lot of fronts," including the small size of the figures and the lack of resemblance of the background landscape to Lincoln County or the state in general. Miller was known to have a good rapport with cattle and horse thieves, which possibly stemmed from his time as Billy the Kid. If John Miller was the Kid, how did he escape from Pat Garrett at Fort Sumner? Along the way, the Millers met prominent cattleman and rancher Jesus Eriacho, who hired Miller to look after a section of his large herd for the next five years. [67], McCarty avoided further violence until January 10, 1880, when he shot and killed Joe Grant, a newcomer to the area, at Hargrove's Saloon in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. [44] Warrants were issued for several participants on both sides, and McCarty and two others were charged with killing Brady, Hindman and Roberts. A letter from an official of Saint Peter's Church in Manhattan states it is in possession of records showing McCarty was baptized there on September 28, 1859. Throughout the five years, the Millers lived in caves and abandoned cabins, and kept mostly to themselves. This book exposes John Miller, a minor 20 th century Billy the Kid imposter, who gained publicity by being exhumed for DNA fakery for the gigantic 21 st century “Billy the Kid Case” hoax.. EXCERPT. Soon after, Miller became engaged in a gunfight with a Mexican ranchhand.