5 Common Myths About Billy the Kid

Number 5 will blow your mind!

Myth #1: John Tunstall and Billy the Kid were extremely close

The common misconception is that Tunstall was a kindly old man who served as a surrogate father to the Kid.

John Tunstall

The truth is, Tunstall was just 24 years old at the time of his death.

Just to put things in perspective, other Lincoln Regulators, such as Dick Brewer and Josiah Doc Scurlock, were older than John Tunstall.

Tunstall failed to mention Billy in any of his letters home, and by the time he was murdered, they had only known each other for around two months. Their relationship was likely more akin to an employer-employee relationship, rather than a mentor-mentee one.

Myth #2: Billy killed Lawrence G. Murphy during the Battle of Lincoln

Not only did Billy not kill him, but Murphy wasn’t even present.

James Dolan (L) and Lawrence Murphy (R)

In all reality, Murphy was on his deathbed for the majority of the war. It was his protege, Jimmy Dolan, who was really in charge.

Murphy would die peacefully on October 20th, 1878, some two months after the Battle of Lincoln.

Myth #3: Billy the Kid was VERY SHORT

Now, this is admittedly not the most scientific way of doing things, but the rifle that Billy’s holding in the famous tintype was a 1873 Winchester with a 24-inch barrel.

Billy the Kid

Historian Chuck Parsons measured a similar model and found it to be 43 inches long, from the base of the stock to the end of the barrel. So, using the rifle as a scale of sorts, it appears that the Kid was approximately 5 feet 10 inches tall in boots, or about 5 feet 8 inches barefoot.

Thankfully, this is also supported by historical evidence. When the editor of the Las Vegas Gazette visited Billy in jail in 1880, he described him as being “five feet, eight or nine inches tall.”

The average height for American men in 1880 was 5’7”, so while Billy may not have towered over his peers, he certainly wasn’t what anyone would consider short.

Speaking of the tintype…

Myth #4: Billy the Kid was already dead when the iconic photo was taken

I don’t know where this rumor started, but it seems to be gaining traction. It’s also 100% false.

We know it’s false because a copy of the tintype was published in the Illustrated Police News on January 8, 1881—over six months before Billy’s death.

Billy in the Illustrated Police News

Billy was behind bars in Las Vegas, New Mexico, when the Illustrated Police News got their hands on the tintype, allegedly from the Las Vegas Chief of Police.

Myth #5: Billy the Kid was born in New York City

The truth is, nobody knows for sure where the Kid was born. Hell, he doesn’t even officially appear on the radar until 1867, when he, his mother, and brother were residing in Indianapolis. And even then, his name wasn’t printed until his mother’s marriage in 1871.

You’ll often read about Catherine Devine and Patrick McCarty, who were married at Manhattan’s Church of St. Peter on June 19, 1851. You see, Billy the Kid’s real name was Henry McCarty, and he had a brother named Joseph.

Well, guess what? Patrick McCarty and Catherine Devine ALSO had two sons named Henry and Joseph.

Here’s the catch, though: My buddy James Townsend recently discovered the New York Henry’s death certificate. He died in the Bronx of stomach cancer on September 30, 1914. And we know it’s him because his parents are clearly listed as Patrick McCarty and Catherine Devine.

Patrick Henry McCarty’s Death Certificate

That said, I do think New York City is a decent guess.

Billy’s younger brother listed New York as his own place of birth on the 1880 U.S. census. And Billy’s stepfather, William, claimed that the Kid’s biological father died in New York.

We just don’t have definitive proof. At least not yet.

ODDS & ENDS

I recently released an episode on the Mountain Meadows Massacre.

If you’re not familiar, the massacre pitted a Mormon militia and their Paiute allies against a California-bound wagon train. When the smoke cleared, over a hundred men, women, and children were dead. It was an especially dark chapter in American history recently dramatized on Netflix’s American Primeval.

You can watch the Mountain Meadows Massacre here. If audio is more your style, it’s also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible, and pretty much everywhere else podcasts are consumed.

We’ve got a lot more in the works! I’m currently writing scripts on Clay Allison, Porter Rockwell, the Dakota War, the Lost Dutchman’s Mine, and Stagecoach Mary.

Speaking of Billy the Kid, I’m reworking the series I released on the Kid way back in 2023, as well as writing a book about his death. So yeah, there’s a lot to look forward to and I’m excited to share it all with you!

Till next time,

Adios.