Who Was Brushy Bill Roberts?


Oliver P. Roberts AKA "Brushy Bill Roberts"

When BTKOG founder Marylin Bowlin visited a Billy the Kid museum in Hico, TX back in 1987 she was astonished to learn that they were claiming that an old man named Brushy Bill Roberts was actually Billy the Kid and that he had actually escaped Sheriff Pat Garrett's bullets on that fateful night of July 14, 1881.

Marylin firmly believed this to be untrue, so along with her husband Joe Bowlin they returned to New Mexico and vowed to protect the true and well researched history of Billy the Kid. Marylin and Joe Bowlin, along with several other interested persons then founded the Billy the Kid Outlaw Gang, whose purpose was to preserve, promote, and protect the true and well researched history of Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett in New Mexico.

Brushy Bill's story sounds really great at first telling, but it just doesn't stand up to thorough analysis and close scrutiny. Those who promote the idea that Brushy Bill Roberts was Billy the Kid, will tell you how he was a simple, quiet, and peace loving old man who did not seek attention and who only wanted to be pardoned for his crimes under his previous identity as the outlaw Billy the Kid.

Wow! This story sounds great and wouldn't it be great if Billy the Kid really did live past that night? There have been some folks over the years who have accussed Brushy Bill Roberts of being an old man just seeking fame and attention. Again those who like to promote his legend will quickly tell you that is not the case at all.

They will tell you that Brushy Bill Roberts was living quietly with his wife in Hamilton, TX when he was approached by an attorney named William Morrison, who had received information from a man named Joe Hines in Florida that Billy the Kid was alive and living under the name of Oliver "Brushy Bill" Roberts in Hamilton, TX. The story goes on to say that Brushy Bill Roberts at first told Morrison that he was not Billy the Kid, but that Billy the Kid was actually his brother and was living in Old Mexico.

Of course as any good story would go, Brushy finally cracks on the second meeting with Morrison and admits that yes, he really is Billy the Kid, he just doesn't want his wife to know.

Morrison of course then believes that he has uncovered Billy the Kid alive and well in Hamilton, TX, so he sets in motion the legal wheels turning and arranges a meeting between Brushy Bill Roberts and New Mexico Governor Thomas Mabry to obtain a pardon on Roberts' behalf for his past crimes as Billy the Kid.

Did Morrison truly believe that Oliver Roberts was Billy the Kid or did he simply see a golden oppurtunity to make a lot of money if he could get the public to buy into this. To uncover the truth about Brushy Bill Roberts it is very important to uncover just who he truly was. In 1987 BTKOG founder Joe Bowlin received a response letter from Brushy Bill Roberts' niece named Geneva Pittmon which firmly and plainly confirmed that Brushy Bill Roberts was her uncle, whose real name was Oliver P. Roberts and firmly stated that he was not Bily the Kid. Her letter read as follows:



Dear Sir: the reason you are not finding my family is you don't have the right name. My grandfather was H.O. Roberts married to Shara (I think she meant Sarah)Elizabeth Ferguson on May 14, 1876. Oliver P. Roberts was Brushy Bill's name. I don't know what the P. was for. He was born August 26, 1879. I have the family Bible record. My husband thinks I should not tell you anything unless I know just what are your interests in my family? A William A. Tunstill P.O. Box 995 Roswell New Mex 88201 is also writing me asking questions which I have not written. He also has come up with a Ben Roberts as my great grandfather who was from (Kentucky?)and settled near Austin, 1835. I would also like for this to be settled as I know my uncle Oliver was not Billy the Kid.

Mrs. Geneva Pittmon

This letter should have ended the legend of Brushy Bill Roberts once and for all, but again some people just refuse to let a good story die, so that start claiming that no, Geneva Pittmon was wrong and Brushy bill Roberts was not ever known as Oliver P. Roberts. However, with only a minimal amount of research we can again prove that yes Brushy was known in his life as Oliver P. Roberts and if it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck then it is usually a duck.

We are very fortunate here in the fact that William Morrison drives the final nail in this story's coffin. On p. 60 of William Morrison's book entitled "Alias Billy the Kid" he has this to say about Brushy Bill Roberts:

"There is some reason to believe that he spent all his mature life impersonating one of his own relatives. This was the real Ollie Roberts, a cousin, who was born in 1867, ran away from home about 1884, and was killed in the Indian Territory in a difficulty about some stoilen horses.

As Brushy told it, he and his side-kick, Indian Jim, were scouting for stolen stock one time and reached a community named Shakerag, where they expected to pick up some contraband horses. The deputy sheriff at this place reported that he had killed two men who were in possession of the animals, and they all went out to bury the bodies.

The deputy searched the dead men, appropriated their money and personal effects, and was going on with the burying when Bill recognized one of the victims as his cousin Ollie. He looked under the mane of one of the horses and found the brand of the Anti-Horse Thief Association, realized that his cousin was working for the law, and stopped the proceedings at once. "We know this man," he said to the depuity. "He ain't no horse thief."

Using his leverage as an officer, he took over his cousin's belongings, intending to return them to the boy's family. He probably hung onto them however, for when he finally located the survivors at Sulpher Springs, Texas they took him for the runaway boy and he let them think he was.

Dudley Heath, who was married to Billy's cousin Martha, was dubious. "That's not your brother," he told her. But Ollie's mother took Brushy Bill to her bosom as a long lost son, and members of the family, down through the years, called him Ollie and supposed he was the son of the woman (Sarah Elizabeth Ferguson) who claimed him.

Here we have Morrison admitting that Brushy Bill was known as Martha Vada Roberts'(later Heath)brother Ollie. We know through Census and family records that Martha Vada Roberts was the sister of Oliver Pleasant Roberts, so therefore we have already proven that Brushy was indeed known as Oliver Pleasant Roberts.

Even with this evidence there are still those who are not convinced and still insist that Brushy Bill Roberts was not Oliver P. Roberts, thus it becomes neccesary to go one step further. Let us examine the similarities between the life of Brushy Bill Roberts and Oliver Pleasant Roberts. I offer a very interesting article written by researcher Wayne Kindred just a few years ago. Wayne is well known as a "Wild Bunch" expert and a great all around Western history researcher. Wayne makes a very compelling argument showing that Geneva Pittmon's letter to BTKOG founder Joe Bowlin was very accurate and that Brushy Bill Roberts was just who she said he was.

According to Brushy, his cousin Oliver was born in 1867. Oliver ran away from home about 1884 and was killed in Indian Territory in the late 1880's. Brushy just happened along and took his dead cousin's belongings with the intentions of returning them to Oliver's parents. But when he next saw Oliver's parents, they took him for their runaway son. Brushy spent the rest of his life pretending to be his cousin Oliver.

Brushy believers claim that Oliver's full name was Oliver L. Roberts, and he was the son of Brushy's uncle Henry Oliver Roberts and Caroline Dunn. However, the family tree taken from the Bible of Henry and Caroline's daughter Martha Vada Roberts does not show a brother named Oliver who was born in 1867. (Family tree reproduced in Tunstall and Jameson's books) It shows Henry and Caroline having only two children. Samantha Bell, born 1871, and Martha Vada, born 1873. Information from the Bible of Geneva Pittmon also shows Henry and Caroline only having two children; Samantha and Martha. Census records also cast doubt on Oliver L. Roberts being born to this couple in 1867. They show that Henry Oliver Roberts was not born until May 18, 1852. While it is certainly possible that he could have fathered a child at age 14 or 15, it seems unlikely. So far, my search of census records have not turned up an Oliver L. Roberts, born in 1867. As far as I can determine, the only evidence that Oliver L. Roberts ever existed is Brushy's word. If the Brushy believers have proof of his existance, I invite them to share that proof with us.

While I did not find Oliver L. Roberts in the census, I did find Oliver P. Roberts, who was born in 1879. Brushy believers say that Oliver P. was not the son of Brushy's uncle Henry. They claim that Oliver P. was Brushy's third or fourth cousin and should not be confused with Oliver L. or Brushy. They are mistaken on both counts.

According to Bible and census records, Henry Oliver Roberts was born May 18, 1852. Henry's first wife, Caroline died sometime prior to 1876. And on May 14, 1876, Henry married Sara Elizabeth Ferguson. This marriage produced at least six children, including Oliver Pleasant Roberts, born August 26, 1879. So Henry Oliver Roberts did have a son named Oliver P. Roberts, not Oliver L. and there is some evidence that it was Oliver P. Roberts that Brushy imitated.

In "Alias Billy the Kid", Sonnischsen said, "Ollie's mother took Brushy Bill to her bosom as a long-lost son." Dewitt Travis said that Ollie's "father and mother" died thinking Brushy was their son. These statements show that it was Henry and Sara Elizabeth who believed Brushy was their son. If there had actually been a son named Oliver L. Roberts, Sara Elizabeth would not have been his mother. So if Sara Elizabeth took Brushy to be her long-lost son, she believed that he was Oliver P. Roberts.

Martha Vada Roberts' granddaughter Eulaine Goff Haws also believed it was Oliver P. Roberts that Brushy impersonated. In the Tunstall family tree, Eulaine said, "Oliver (P.) was killed. Brushy Bill used his name as an alias and with my Grandfather (Henry) and S. Elizabeth."

If Brushy impersonated anyone, it was Oliver P. Roberts, but unless Oliver P. ran away to I.T. at age 5, that does not fit with Brushy's story. And if Brushy had been born in 1859, as he claimed, he would have been 20 years older than Oliver. Assuming that the reunion between Oliver's parents and Brushy took place in 1900, does it seem reasonable that they would mistake a 40 year old Brushy for their 20 year old son? This theory becomes even less likely when you consider that Oliver's mother was born in 1856 and would have been only 3 years older than Brushy if he had been born in 1859.

But, however illogical it may seem, Oliver's parents apparently died believing Brushy was their son. One logical explanation is that Brushy really was their son.

Were Brushy and Oliver P. Roberts the same person? Brushy believers have tried to refute that idea by saying Brushy and Oliver P. had different wives. I have begged and pleaded with them to give me the names of Oliver P.'s wives. So far, they have refused. If Brushy and Oliver had different wives, give us the names, dates, and documentation.

They have also stated that Brushy could not be Oliver P. because Oliver P. died in 1937 and is buried in the Old Palestine Cemetery at Alto, TX. I contacted the Cherokee County Historical Society asking if Oliver Roberts was buried there and received this answer from Mr. Gordon Bennett.

Mrs. Helen Crawford surveyed the Old Palestine Cemetery and published her finding about 30 years ago. I am sorry to report that Oliver Roberts is not listed in her book. Oliver Roberts does not appear in any known published cemetery listing in Cherokee Co. TX."

While Brushy believers insist that Oliver P. Roberts and Brushy were not the same person, Oliver's niece said they were. In an 1987 letter, Geneva Pittmon stated that Brushy Bill was her uncle Oliver P. Roberts. She also emphatically stated, "My uncle Oliver was not Billy the Kid."

Brushy believers scoff at Geneva Pittmon, saying, "Geneva Pittmon was not a relative of the Roberts family, but the step-niece from Brushy's third wife, Louticia Ballard." Again, they are mistaken. Geneva Pittmon was the daughter of Thomas H. Roberts born October 3, 1885. Thomas was the son of Henry Oliver and Sara Elizabeth Roberts and the younger brother of Oliver P. Roberts. Geneva Pittmon was a member of of the Roberts family, and her statement cannot be ignored.

In "Alias Billy the Kid", Brushy said his father's second wife was Elizabeth Ferguson. But we know that Sara Elizabeth Ferguson was really the second wife of Henry Oliver Roberts. The idea of Henry being Brushy's father is not that far fetched when you look at the similarities between his alleged uncle Henry and his alleged father James Henry Roberts. In addition to both being named Henry, consider the other parallels in their lives.......

James Henry's first wife was Mary Adeline Dunn.

Henry Oliver's first wife was Caroline Dunn.

Mary Adeline died about four years after marrying James Henry.

Caroline died four or five years after marrying Henry Oliver.

James Henry's second wife was Elizabeth Ferguson.

Henry Oliver's second wife was Sara Elizabeth Ferguson.

James Henry and Elizabeth had a son named James.

Henry Oliver and Sara Elizabeth had a son named James.

Are these parallels just a coincidence?

If the above evidence was not enough to convince you that Brushy Bill Roberts was not Billy the Kid, then lets please continue on. Most supporters of Brushy's story state that he only wanted a pardon for his crimes and he was never out to seek publicity. If that was truly the case then why did he attend a press conference in New York City with his friend J. Frank Dalton on January 10, 1950 claiming that he was a member of the James Gang? We offer two seperate articles from that press conference interview as further evidence that he was definitely seeking attention. A man truly in hiding would not have attended such an event, but Brushy did......







It is also interesting to note that Brushy Bill Roberts was basically illiterate, while Billy the Kid had a very readable and articulatable handwriting which is evidenced in the many letters that he wrote to Governor Lew Wallace. According to authors Frederick Bean and W.C. Jameson on p.204 of their book "The Return of the Outlaw Billy the Kid" "Evidence suggests Roberts possessed only rudimentary reading and writing skills. His wife, Melinda, wrote letters for him. Examples of his penmanship in the possession of the authors show a scrawl not unlike that made by a four-year-old child." Billy the Kid was also known to be very fluent in the Spanish language and could speak it well. Brushy Bill Roberts could not understand Spanish.


While living Brushy claimed on several occassions to have been born in 1868.
It was this date that was put on his original headstone in the Hamilton cemetery.


BTKOG president Lucas Speer and Secretery Virginia Clark visiting Oliver's "new and improved"
headstone in Hamilton, TX. Note that his birthdate has been changed to December 31, 1859
and he is now known as William Henry Roberts instead of his given name of Oliver Roberts.

The grave of Brushy Bill Roberts in Hamilton, TX is also interesting in itself. You may note from the pictures above that Brushy's headstone has mysteriously been updated in the last few years to make his story a little more believable. It may be fitting to end this by stating that Census records do not show a son named William Henry Roberts being born to a James Henry Roberts and Mary Dunn on December 31, 1859. However they do show an Oliver pleasant Roberts being born to a Henry Oliver Roberts and Sarah Elizabeth Ferguson on August 26, 1879. Was Brushy Bill Roberts Billy the Kid? We think not and continue to support the real and true documented history of Billy the Kid, who was born into the world as Henry McCarty. We would like to end this article with a picture of the real Billy the Kid's grave in Fort Sumner, New Mexico and would like to lovingly dedicate this page of our website to the memories of Joe and Marylin Bowlin who always knew in their hearts that Billy the Kid never left his beloved Territory of New Mexico and died because of that fact.......


Billy the Kid's real grave in Fort Sumner, New Mexico