Where did the alias "Ollie L. Roberts" come from?

[Wayne Land]

Some naming questions I'd like to get some feedback on! Brushy called himself Ollie L. Roberts. There's no debating that fact. He also signed his name as "Bill Roberts" on occasion. No debate there either. It's also a fact he claimed his real name was William Henry Roberts. Others insist his real name was Oliver Pleasant Roberts. I believe I have proven through signatures of O. P. Roberts and Brushy that they were two different people. See www.musicplay.com/Brushy/Documents.html

It's been said that Brushy became known as Brushy "Bill" rather than Brushy "Ollie" simply because the name Bill is commonly used as a nickname as in Wild Bill Hickock whose real name was James Butler Hickock (no William or Bill in there!). I don't buy that logic but I can't rule it out or prove it wrong. I wish I could, because I believe the nickname of "Brushy Bill" was acquired because he was using the name William Roberts and was very good at retrieving young calfs from the "Brush". Naysayers claim he got the name because he never weeded his yard and it was overgrown with "Brush".

Some claim the middle initial of "L" was chosen by Brushy because he hated his real middle name of "Pleasant". I don't buy that either. I believe there was a real live Oliver or "Ollie" L. Roberts who died around 1868 and was somehow a cousin of Brushy's.

On Brushy's initial visit from William V. Morrison, he claimed he was not "Billy The Kid" but that Billy was his half brother and was living down in Mexico. I believe Ollie L. Roberts was the half brother of Ollie P. Roberts. I believe that explains the remark about the half brother.

Any ideas?

[searcher64]

don't know about the middle initial issue, but from jameson and your handwriting comparison, i interpreted that the real o.p. was called 'opie' , and brushy never used that, it seems he liked ollie 'cause 'ollie & mollie' had a nice ring to it...

[Nik Oak]

I wonder if there never was an "Ollie L". There doesn't seem to be much in the way of records of him. If Brushy was impersonating Ollie P, then it could have been advantagious to him to have both of these names in use. Brushy could have just been "Ollie Roberts for most of the time, and Ollie P when something official came up such as the world war 1 draft and Ollie L when he thought that it was safer for him; Ie If there were still people about who might have known the real Ollie P.

[Texas Truth Teller]

"I wonder if there never was an "Ollie L"."

Nik,
I think you are on to something.
Ollie is a common nickname for Oliver. Oliver Roberts, son of Henry Oliver Roberts and Sarah Elizabeth Ferguson can be followed in census and marriage records from Sebastian County, AR, in 1880, to Hopkins County, TX, in 1900, to Van Zandt County, TX, in 1910. He married Anna Lee in 1909, and divorced her in 1910. He then married Mollie Brown in 1912 in Van Zandt County, AR, and moved to Little River County, Arkansas, where he registered for the draft in 1918 as Oliver Pleasant Roberts. Mollie died in 1919, and is buried in Pauley Cemetery, Cerrogordo, Little River County, AR. Oliver then returned to Van Zandt County as a widower in the 1920 census. He later married Lutecia Ballard in Van Zandt County and Melinda Allison in Hamilton County.

No census record of Ollie Roberts, Ollie L. Roberts, or Ollie P. Roberts, cousin of Brushy Bill, has ever been found because he only existed in Brushy Bill's imagination. Oliver Roberts appeared in all census, marriage, warranty deeds, and WWI draft registration as Oliver Roberts, Oliver P. Roberts, O. P. Roberts, or Oliver Pleasant Roberts through 1930.

Oliver Pleasant Roberts, alias Brushy Bill Roberts, alias William Henry Roberts, alias Billy the Kid, appears in death, marriage, and census records after 1930 as Ollie Roberts, Ollie L. Roberts, and O. L. Roberts.

[Texas Truth Teller]

Nik,
Brushy Bill said he had a cousin Ollie, born in 1867. Brushy Bill recovered his cousin Ollie's belongings in the Oklahoma Territory, and returned them to Ollie's parents in Sulphur Springs.

Henry Oliver Roberts, who lived in Hopkins County, TX, when the 1900 census was recorded, married twice.

Family group of Henry Oliver Roberts and his first wife, Caroline Dunn:
Henry Oliver Roberts (18 May 1852 - 21 March 1924); found in 1880, 1900, 1910, & 1920 census records; buried in Canton Cemetery, Canton, Van Zandt County, Texas
Caroline Dunn (October 1850 - 1875), found in 1850, 1860, & 1870 census records; buried in Mount Harmony Cemetery, Greenwood, Sebastian County, Arkansas.
Children:
Samantha Belle Roberts (25 October 1872 - 19 May 1956, Okmulgee, Oklmulgee County, Oklahoma); married 1st Edward Leonard Arnold, married 2nd John Thomas Chancellor; found in 1880, 1910, 1920, 1930, & 1940 census records; buried in Beggs Cemetery, Beggs, Okmulgee County, Oklahoma.
Martha Vada Roberts (3 September1874 - 11 December 1947, Jacksonville, Cherokee County, Texas) married Monroe Dudley John Heath; found in 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, & 1940 census records; buried in Old Palestine Cemetery, Alta, Cherokee County, Texas; Texas death certificate.

Family group of Henry Oliver Roberts and Sarah Elizabeth Ferguson
Henry Oliver Roberts (18 May 1852 - 21 March 1924); found in 1880, 1900, 1910, & 1920 census records; buried in Canton Cemetery, Canton, Van Zandt, Texas
Sarah Elizabeth Ferguson (24 August 1856 - 29 August 1924); found in 1880, 1900, 1910, & 1920 census records; buried in Canton Cemetery, Canton, Van Zandt, Texas.
Children:
Andrew Berry Roberts (9 February 1877 - 12 May 1923, Sulphur Springs, Hopkins County Texas); found in 1880, 1910, & 1920 census records; buried in Shooks Chapel Cemetery, Sulphur Springs, Hopkins County, Texas; Texas death certificate.
Mary Cordelia Roberts Adams (17 April 1878, Sebastian County, Arkansas - 19 December 1968, McClain County, Oklahoma); married Irvin Asberry Adams; found in 1880, 1910, 1920, & 1930 census records; buried in Green Hill Cemetery, McClain County, Oklahoma.
Oliver Pleasant Roberts (26 August 1879, Bates, Sebastian County, Arkansas -27 December 1950, Hico, Hamilton County, Texas); found in 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, & 1940 census records; buried in Hamilton County, Texas, as William Henry Roberts; Texas death certificate as Ollie L. Roberts.
John W. Roberts (27 June 1881 Sebastian County, Arkansas- 11 September 1882, Sebastian County, Arkansas); buried in New Harmony Cemetery, Greenwood, Sebastian County, Arkansas.
Lonnie V. Roberts (6 June 1884 - 30 September 1887, Hopkins County, Texas); buried in Miller Grove Cemetery, Miller Grove, Hopkins County, Texas.
Thomas Ulysses Roberts (3 October 1885 - 16 June 1958, Terrell, Kaufman County, Texas); found in 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, & 1940 census records, buried in Canton Cemetery, Canton, Van Zandt County, Texas; Texas death certificate; WWI & WWII draft registration.
Nora Roberts (29 May 1892, Hopkins County, Texas - 6 May 1893 Hopkins County, Texas); buried in Miller Grove Cemetery, Miller Grove, Hopkins County, Texas.
Joseph Irvin Roberts (26 February 1895 - 6 August 1950, Canton, Van Zandt County, Texas); found in 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, & 1940 census records; buried in Oak Grove Memorial Gardens, Irving, Dallas County, Texas; TX death certificate; WWI draft registration.

The 1900 census indicates that Sarah Elizabeth was the mother of 10 children, and only 5 were still living. Sarah Elizabeth had only borne 8 children, although she could have considered herself to be the mother of the two girls born to Caroline Dunn, H. O. Roberts' first wife.
The 1910 census accurately indicates that Sarah Elizabeth was the mother of 8 children, and only 5 were still living. John W., Lonnie V., and Nora died before the 1900 census.

Henry Oliver Roberts was born 1`8 May 1852. Brushy Bill said his cousin Ollie was born in 1867.

Did a 15 year old Henry Oliver Roberts father a child?