Jesse Evans

[susan]

What happened to Jesse Evans/Hines? I have found no census record for him other than the one in Huntsville. How did he know that Billy The Kid survived? Was there correspondence between the two of them? Also, what happened to Jim McDaniels in Round Rock, Texas? I understand that Jesse Evans inherited his brother's land but can find no record of his death in Florida or any other place. Did he have children? Also, why did Pete Maxwell basically betray his friend, Billy The Kid? I read that Billy and Paulita were only friends so why would he do that? Why was Billy going into Pete's bedroom anyway? That all makes no sense to me.

[clydec]

I believe the reason there is nothing about Jesse Evans in Florida is that It probably was not Jesse Evans that spoke to Morrison, but William Cambell, who was another one of Dolan's henchmen. Cambell was the one that Brushy said shot Chapman. Brett Hall, who wrote the book "the real Billy the kid aka brushy Bill Roberts", said as much in the book.

[susan]

In 1948, probate investigator William V. Morrison was sent from St. Louis, Missouri to Florida to investigate the case of an elderly man attempting to claim his recently deceased brother's land. The deceased man had been Jesse Evans' brother. The man's name was Joe Hines, but during Morrison's interview of Hines, the latter allegedly revealed that he was really Jesse Evans and discussed his part in the Lincoln County War, and his association with Billy the Kid. He revealed that of those involved in that range war, three, including himself, remained alive; the other two were Jim McDaniels (an Evans Gang member) and Billy the Kid. Hines claimed that Billy the Kid was going by the name of Ollie P. Roberts, living in Hico, Texas. With some coaxing, Roberts did talk to Morrison, but eventually his story was discredited by almost all historians. Hines won his case, and was granted his brother's land in Florida. It has been asserted that Hines in fact had been Jesse Evans, but no one has been able to explain why, if Roberts was not Billy the Kid, Hines/Evans pointed Morrison in his direction. Morrison also attempted to track down former Evans Gang member Jim McDaniels, locating him in Round Rock, Texas. McDaniels, along with Severo Gallegos, Martile Able, Jose Montoya, and Bill and Sam Jones, all of whom had known Billy the Kid, signed affidavits claiming to verify that Roberts was in fact Billy the Kid.[1][2]

The above came from Wikipedia. Do you mean Cambell inherited the land?

[clydec]

Well, whoever it was that Morrison represented in that suit inherited the property. Brett Hall said he read Morrisons notes and that Morrison identified the man as William Cambell. How it went from being William Cambell to Jesse Evans I am not sure, but Morrison said it was Cambell.

[susan]

Okay. Thank you.   What about my other question about Billy entering Pete Maxwell's bedroom.  That just does not sound right to me.  Why would he do that and was he betrayed by Pete?  I thought they were friends. 

[Texas Truth Teller]

"That all makes no sense to me."

Susan,
There is very little about Brushy Bill's story that makes sense.
Information about Brushy Bill found on Wikipedia is predominantly taken from "Alias Billy the Kid". There are exceptions and mistakes.

"McDaniels, along with Severo Gallegos, Martile Able, Jose Montoya, and Bill and Sam Jones, all of whom had known Billy the Kid, signed affidavits claiming to verify that Roberts was in fact Billy the Kid.[1][2]"

Not true. Page 113, "Alias Billy the Kid"
Extracts:
SAM JONES
"Sam Jones wrote, 'Received your letter, and am sorry but feel that I can't sign the affidavit.'
BILL JONES
"I am sorry, but Mr. (Bill) Jones does not feel that he can sign your affidavits that your man is Billy the Kid. He gave no conclusive proof of this at the time we met. It seems to me that if he were Billy the Kid, he would no need affidavits to prove his contention."

Affidavits were signed by DeWitt Travis, Robert E. Lee, and Martile Able. Their affidavits are not credible, since none of them had seen William Bonney before 1882 and could not identify Brushy Bill as the same man. They may have believed Brushy Bill was Billy the Kid, and accepted Brushy Bill's story as fact.

DeWitt Travis was born about 1890, some 8 years after Pat Garrett killed Billy the Kid.
Robert E. Lee, in his affidavit, said that the first time he saw William Bonney, alias Billy the Kid, was in 1889. That was 7 years after the death of Billy the Kid.
Martile Able, whose maiden name Martelia Bilberry, was living in her parents' household in Lampasas County, Texas, in the 1880 census. She never saw William Bonney.

Wikipedia shows that one of the names of Brushy Bill was Ollie Partridge. Brushy Bill, after marrying Mollie Brown in van Zandt County, Texas, moved to Little River County, Arkansas. He registered in Little River County for the World War I draft, and signed the draft card as Oliver Pleasant Roberts. No credible document has ever been found that his middle name was Partridge.

Hope this helps.

[Wayne Land]

"Martile Able, whose maiden name Martelia Bilberry, was living in her parents' household in Lampasas County, Texas, in the 1880 census. She never saw William Bonney."

Well, that depends on whether or not you believe her. If you believe her then the likely explanation is Martile Ables' husband John had known Billy The Kid prior to 1881 and eventually introduced Billy (Brushy) to his wife. She swore Brushy was Billy because she had met someone her husband identified as Billy The Kid who she believed was the same person as Brushy. I'm sure she believed her husband would not lie to her.

And what about Severo Gallegos who absolutely, according to historians, did see Billy prior to 1881 and signed an affidavit that Brushy was Billy?

[Wayne Land]

Regarding the identity of Joe Hines. What I was told some years ago by Brett Hall's associate Jannay Valdez was that Hines was indeed William Campbell and that Morrison had named him in the book as Jesse Evans only because Campbell made Morrison promise not to reveal his true identity. Supposedly, Brett had found this information while reviewing Morrison's notes which were shared with him by Morrison's daughter. Just reporting what I was told.

[clydec]

That is what Brett told me as well Wayne.

[Texas Truth Teller]

"And what about Severo Gallegos who absolutely, according to historians, did see Billy prior to 1881 and signed an affidavit that Brushy was Billy?"

True, Severo Gallegos signed an affidavit. True, Morrison introduced Brushy Bill to Severo Gallegos as Billy the Kid. True, Severo Gallegos had seen William Bonney in 1881, 68 years before meeting with Brushy Bill. True, Severo Gallegos said Brushy Bill was too young to be Billy the Kid. True, Billy the Kid would have been 10 years older than Severo. True, Brushy Bill was 10 years younger than Severo. True, Morrison suggested a second meeting.

A very biased attempt to obtain the affidavit that Morrison wanted.

[Texas Truth Teller]

"Well, that depends on whether or not you believe her. If you believe her then the likely explanation is Martile Ables' husband John had known Billy The Kid prior to 1881 and eventually introduced Billy (Brushy) to his wife. She swore Brushy was Billy because she had met someone her husband identified as Billy The Kid who she believed was the same person as Brushy. I'm sure she believed her husband would not lie to her. "

I do not believe Martile Bilberry Abel.
"Alias Billy the Kid", p. 112, the following statement is found in quotation marks, implying Morrison recorded Martile's recollection, word for word:
"I had not seen Billy since before Pat Garrett claimed he shot him." She was about 9 years old and lived in Lampasas County, Texas in 1880. Billy the Kid was killed in 1881.

John C. Abel was living in Uvalde County, TX, in 1880; Travis County, TX, in 1870. I don't believe John C. Abel ever saw William Bonney.

[SBeck]

texas Truth Teller, in another thread I wondered why the affidavits may have been signed. Your comments provide some clarity and possible explanations.

[Wayne Land]

"True, Severo Gallegos signed an affidavit. True, Morrison introduced Brushy Bill to Severo Gallegos as Billy the Kid. True, Severo Gallegos had seen William Bonney in 1881, 68 years before meeting with Brushy Bill. True, Severo Gallegos said Brushy Bill was too young to be Billy the Kid. True, Billy the Kid would have been 10 years older than Severo. True, Brushy Bill was 10 years younger than Severo. True, Morrison suggested a second meeting."

We can go 'round and 'round about this 'til the dogs come home and you still won't be convinced. But what the heck, I'll try. "68 years" and 10 years difference in age doesn't mean they wouldn't recognize each other. As for the initial reaction that Brushy looked too young, I actually think that lends additional credence to Severo's identification of him. The fact that after 68 years he didn't immediately proclaim "that's Billy alright" means he was careful and determined to come to the right conclusion rather than jump to a conclusion. That makes him more credible, not less credible. Let's take Severo at his own word. For those who haven't read it, I'm going to present the last part of his affidavit, the part that relates to the identification. Then folks can decide for themselves whether this man was coerced or whether he was unsure of what he was saying.

"This affiant further states that he made many visits to see Billy the Kid in the Lincoln Jail: that he took berries to the jail for Billy to eat: that he saw Billy escape from the Jail in April, 1881: that he never saw Billy the Kid again until the first day of April, 1950: that after talking to Billy for several hours on April first, this affiant knows from conversation and looking him over, that Billy the Kid was the same person as O.L. Roberts who visited here in Ruidoso.
This affiant further states that he never believed that Billy the Kid was killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett: that he heard from time to time throughout the years that Billy the Kid was still living.
This affiant further states that O.L. Roberts has the same blue-grey eyes, with brown spots in them: that his nose is straight, with high cheek bones, large ears, small feet and hands with large wrists, and he stands as straight as he stood in Lincoln County days: that he is still fast on the draw: that he talks and laughs the same, and looks the same in many ways: that h has no teeth now, and his hair is nearly gray with some dark steaks in it.
This affiant further states that he is of firm belief that Billy the Kid and O. L. Roberts are one and the same person."

So in spite of his initial "knee jerk" reaction that Brushy looked younger than he would have expected, Severo was convinced because of both the conversation they had and Brushy's appearance and his voice and laughter. I wish we could have a transcript of that conversation. I suspect it would remove all doubt. But there shouldn't be much anyway. Severo didn't appear to have any doubt. He didn't say "I guess" or "probably" or "maybe". He used the words "firm belief". And that was the way he left it. And he continued to believe Brushy was Billy for the remainder of his life.

[SBeck]

Even if the affidavits are highly doubtful, they raise questions nevertheless. Unless these people have been coaxed by unknown means into signing something they knew full well was false , they apparently believed to have seen Billy the Kid - or someone they believed to be the Kid, since they hadn't met him before - after his official death in Fort Sumner.

[Wayne Land]

Texas Truth Teller said:

"I do not believe Martile Bilberry Abel.
"Alias Billy the Kid", p. 112, the following statement is found in quotation marks, implying Morrison recorded Martile's recollection, word for word:
"I had not seen Billy since before Pat Garrett claimed he shot him." She was about 9 years old and lived in Lampasas County, Texas in 1880. Billy the Kid was killed in 1881."

So this very elderly woman who may have been suffering from some degree of dementia makes a statement that indicates she saw Billy The Kid prior to 1881 even though it isn' likely true that she did. I say, if she were alive today and we could question her the way Morrison should have, we might well have our answer to her voracity. But we don't have that luxury. He should have asked her "Are you saying you knew Billy prior to 1881 when you were 9 years old? Where and how did you see him before he was allegedly shot by Garrett? How did you first come into contact with Billy the Kid?"

But we can't ask her those things. Is it then fair to accuse her of lying? We don't know. I believe she first met Billy some time after 1881 when she was introduced to him by her husband John and that her comments were either not correctly worded to show that or she was having memory issues. I believe her because she had no reason to lie and because Brushy recognized her as soon as he saw her. And because she had been introduced to another Billy The Kid claimant sometime earlier and had denied he was Billy. If she didn't know what Billy The Kid looked like then why deny the other fellow? If she was just seeking notoriety then why deny the other claimant?

If Brushy was not Billy The Kid but somehow did know John Able and was introduced to John's wife as Billy The Kid, then what was Oliver P. Roberts doing portraying himself as Billy in the early 1900's?

Yes, I do believe Martile.