[JoeProBono]

Billy the Kid’s Grave

Old West outlaw William Bonney, aka “Billy the Kid,” was famously shot by Lincoln County Sheriff Pat Garrett in Fort Sumner, New Mexico on July 14, 1881. He was buried in the Old Fort Sumner Cemetery alongside Tom O’Folliard and Charlie Bowdre, two members of the Kid’s gang, who had both been killed by Garrett’s posse in 1880. The Kid’s individual grave marker, which wasn’t placed until 1940, has been stolen and recovered twice. It is presently in shackles inside an iron cage.

[bcsco]

Most historians today go with the theory that the Kid’s name was really Henry McCarty, born in New York City. “Bonney” was an alias. His mother later married a William Antrim and he also was called “Kid Antrim”. He only became known as “Billy the Kid” after his exploits in New Mexico became widely known. I think that name came from dime novelists...