Billy the Kid's Forgotten Brother - Western History Facts

Billy the Kid had a brother—and while Billy became one of the most famous outlaws in American history, his brother Joseph “Josie” Antrim nearly disappeared from the story of the Old West. In this Western history documentary, we follow the remarkable life of Joseph Antrim, brother of Billy the Kid, from their childhood together through New Mexico and Colorado and into Joseph’s long, largely forgotten life after Billy’s death in 1881. Who was Joseph Antrim really? Was Billy the Kid’s brother also an outlaw, gambler or gunfighter—or was his actual life very different from the legends that grew around the McCarty family? Using surviving census records, city directories, marriage records, newspaper accounts and other historical evidence, we separate the documented life of Joseph Antrim from later Wild West folklore. His trail leads through Silver City, Silverton, Pueblo and Denver, revealing a man who worked around mining and gambling, lived in rented rooms, moved frequently and survived nearly half a century after his famous brother. We also examine the conflicting records surrounding Joseph’s age, the stories later told about his travels and encounters, his final years in Denver, his death in 1930, and the unusual story of what happened to his remains afterward. Billy the Kid—also known as Henry McCarty and William H. Bonney—became a legend. His brother became a paper trail. This is the forgotten story of Joseph “Josie” Antrim. Subscribe to Your Huckleberry for more thoroughly researched stories about Billy the Kid, Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp, Jesse James and the real men and women of the American Old West. #BillyTheKid #WesternHistory #WildWest #westerndocumentary Billy the Kid, Billy the Kid brother, Billy the Kid's brother, Joseph Antrim, Josie Antrim, Joe Antrim, Henry McCarty, William H Bonney, Billy the Kid history, Old West, Wild West history, Western history, New Mexico history, Colorado history, American Old West