This is probably the source of the information on wikipedia.
“The Real West”, January 1980, pp. 26 - 28.
The Search fo Billy the Kid’s Roots is Over, by Jack DeMattos
Extract #1
“March 24, 1979
Dear Mr. DeMattos
Replying to your recent request for transcriptions from our records, I give you the following:
Patrick McCarthy (with “H”), son of Patrick McCarty and Catherine Devine McCarty, born 17 September 1859, was baptized 28 September 1859 by Rev. J. Conron, the sponsors being Thomas Cooney and Mary Clark
Sincerely yours,
Rev. James B. Roberts
Church of St. Peter
16 Barclay Street
New York, NY 10007”
Extract #2
“Noted Billy the Kid scholar Phil Rasch provided me with copies of pages from the Manhattan city directories between 1857 and 1868. Each of these directories listed dozens of people named McCarthy and McCarty - and , more often than not, the spellings of the names were confused from year to year; in other words, a person that was listed one year as “McCarthy” was listed in a subsequent directory as “McCarty”, and vice versa.
However, in the entire list of McCarthy/McCarty names, there was only one lady named Catherine, (the accepted first name of Billy the Kid’s mother), who was widowed at exactly the right time period.”
Extract #3
“The 1858-59 New York Directory (p. 499) listed one Patrick McCarty, laborer, as living at 218 Greene Street. The address may have been a misprint, since all subsequent directories give the address as 210 Greene Street.
The 1860 directory one again recorded this individual as Patrick McCarty, but gave his address as 210 - rather than 218 - Greene Street (p. 533).
Then, in 1863, the city directory listed him as Patrick McCarthy - rather than McCarty (p. 541). However, since the address given was 210 Greene Street, it can safely be assumed that this was the same individual. This also provides us with the second example of the McCarthy and McCarty spellings being confused.
Sometime in 1863 or 1864, Patrick McCarty died. Exactly from what is not yet known.”
Extract #4
“However Patrick died, 1864 marked the first (and only) appearance of his widow in the New York City Directory. In that 1864 directory (p. 537), she was listed as Catherine McCarty, widow of Patrick, and her address was given as 210 Greene Street.
The distance from the church where Billy the Kid was baptized to the farthest end of Greene Street is exactly one mile: since 210 Greene Street was located at the lower end of the street, the distance was considerably closer. Since both Barclay and Green Street were located in what was then Manhattan’s First Ward, all the was needed for confirmation was a census record.”
Missy, the 1860 census of New York City, lists the Patrick McCarthy family, census page 176, lines 24 - 27, living in the First Division, First Ward, of New York City. Patrick is 30; Catherine is 29; Bridget is 7; and Henry is 1. Both parents were born in Ireland. Both children were born in New York.
Nice post!
REPLY:
Russ, You may want to see what has been posted since then; April and May 2020.
Updated info from documents:
While it is often accepted that Billy the Kid was born as "Henry McCarty" in New York City, there is a theory that he was born on September 17, 1859, and was the son of Patrick McCarty and Catherine Devine. There is a 1851 New York City church marriage record for Catherine Devine and Patrick, as well as a Baptismal record for their son in 1859. Let's look at what the documents reveal.
Certificate of Baptism
Church of St. Peter
Barclay Street, New York
This is to Certify
That Patrick Henry McCarthy
Child of Patrick
and Catherine Devine
born in NY
on the 17 Day of September 1859
Was Baptized
on the 28 Day of September 1859
According to the Rite of Roman Catholic Church
by the Rev. J. Conron
the Sponsors being Thomas Cooney
and Mary Clark, as appears
from the Baptismal Register of this Church.
There is also a 1914 death certificate for Patrick McCarthy from the New York City Municipal Deaths:
Name: Patrick McCarthy
Event Type: Death
Event Date: 30 September 1914
Event Place: Bronx, New York, New York
Gender: Male
Age: 51
Marital Status: Married
Race: White
Occupation: Truck driver
Birth Date: 17 October 1862
Birthplace: United States
Burial Date: 1 October 1914
Cemetery: Calvary Cemetery
Father's Name: Patrick McCarthy
Father's Birthplace: Ireland
Mother's Name: Catherine Devine
Mother's Birthplace: Ireland
It seems that both the Baptismal record and the death certificate are for the same person born as "Patrick Henry McCarthy". The birth date on the death certificate is somewhat off, being 17 October 1862 vs 17 September 1859. However, the various Federal and New York State census records show there is some variation in Patrick McCarthy's birth year. The New York State census was taken in between the decades; such as 1865 and 1875.
Either "Patrick Henry McCarthy" is NOT the real Billy the Kid, or the Kid actually did survive the July 1881 "death" and lived until 1914, where he died in the Bronx, New York. Were there two different men named "Patrick Henry McCarthy" that were the son of Catherine Devine and her husband, Patrick?
ALSO:
Although New York City records are massive, and many researchers have been lost in the files for decades, there is still a lot to glean from the extant records that are now available online. Back when William J. Carson researched the theory about Patrick Henry McCarthy being the real Billy the Kid, he had to do a lot of digging to find what he considered to be proof of Billy the Kid's birth.
In reference to your reply about the theory of Billy the Kid's family residing at 210 Greene St.:
That is probably the same Patrick McCarthy family that went to the Church of St. Peter on Barclay St. in New York City, and where their son, Patrick Henry McCarthy was baptized in September 1859. But, 210 Greene St. was NOT in the 1st ward of New York City in 1860; it was in the 8th and 15th wards. The McCarthy family that was enumerated in the 1860 Federal census was NOT living on Greene St.; they were living on Washington St., which is in the 1st ward.
June 26, 1860, 1st Division, 1st Ward, New York City, page 176:
Patrick McCarthy, age 30, male, Day Laborer, b Ireland
Cath'n McCarthy, age 29, female, b Ireland
Bridget McCarthy, age 7, female, b New York
Henry McCarthy, age 1, male, b New York
The Patrick McCarty and Catherine McCarty family that resided at 210 Greene St, were very likely another couple with the same names, but were residing in the correct ward of New York City; the 15th ward, where 210 Greene St. WAS located in 1860:
1858-1859 New York City directory, p. 499. Patrick McCarty, laborer, 218 Greene Street
1860 New York City directory, p. 533. Patrick McCarty, 210 Greene Street
1863 New York City directory, p. 541. Patrick MCCARTHY, 210 Greene Street
1864 New York City directory, p. 537. Catherine McCarty, widow of Patrick, 210 Greene Street
July 14, 1860, 1st Division, 15th Ward, New York City, page 88:
Pat McCarthy, age 30, male, Laborer, b Ireland
Cath'n McCarthy, age 30, female, b Ireland
No children listed
You may want to read an interesting magazine article from Real West magazine, May 1969, page 46:
What was Billy the Kid's Real Name? By William J. Carson
This article includes a copy of the Certificate of Baptism for Patrick Henry McCarthy, who was born in September 1859, and the son of Catherine Devine and her husband Patrick McCarthy.
William J. Carson researched the theory (since the early 1960s) about Patrick Henry McCarthy being Billy the Kid. He indicated that 210 Greene St. was at the intersection of 10 Pearl St., where Patrick McCarty had died on December 31, 1862. However, he didn't seem to realize that the 1864-65 New York City directory listed Patrick McCarty's widow as being named Mary A. McCarty, residing at 10 Pearl St.; not Catherine as he had surmised in the article.
THEN:
Texas Truth Teller
posted:
Guest
May 6, 2020 at 2:01pm QuotePost Options Post by Texas Truth Teller on May 6, 2020 at 2:01pm
Elwood,
Excellent response, citing records, not hearsay or opinions.
Jack DeMattos apparently erred when he concluded, based on circumstantial evidence, that he had identified Patrick Henry McCarty and Catherine Devine as the parents of Billy the Kid.
The childhood of Billy the Kid and the name of his father and maiden name of his mother may remain a mystery forever.
The fact remains that Catherine McCarty and William Antrim were married in Santa Fe, NM, on 1 March 1873, and Henry McCarty and Joseph McCarty were two of the witnesses. According to Brushy's story, he left Silver City in 1872 to go back to Texas to see his people. They were not in Buffalo Gap, but Brushy located them in Carlton and lived with them for 2 years. So Brushy was not in Santa Fe and was not a witness when Catherine McCarty and William Antrim were married.
