Ollie P. "Brushy Bill" Roberts
a.k.a. "Billy the Kid?"

Oliver "Ollie" Pleasant "Brushy Bill" Roberts married Lou (Ballard) Isaac, daughter of Jesse & Samantha (Oglesby) (Stanbery) (Ballard) Price on 29 Jan. 1929 in Van Zandt County, Texas.

 Brushy Bill Roberts claimed to have been the infamous Billy the Kid. History records that Billy the Kid was born William H. Bonney in New York City in 1859. Billy became a cattle thief and a murderer, known to have killed 21 men, including Sheriff William Brady for which he received a death sentence. Billy the Kid fought against rich ranchers in the Lincoln County Cattle War. In 1881, Sheriff Pat Garrett tracked Billy down in Ft. Sumner, New Mexico where he supposedly shot and killed him during an ambush, collecting a $500 reward.

In 1950, at the age of 91, Brushy Bill Roberts came forward and publically claimed to be Billy the Kid, hoping to receive a full pardon before his death. Sources say that he had earlier sought forgiveness from God and had become a Christian. Brushy Bill claimed that in 1881 during Sheriff Garrett's ambush, his friend Billy Barlow had been shot and killed, and his body was being passed off as Billy the Kid's. Billy the Kid skipped town and Barlow's body was buried the next day in a simple grave.

In the early 1990's TV's "Unsolved Mysteries" did a story on Brushy Bill Roberts, revealing what appeared to be undeniable evidence that Brushy Bill's story may have indeed been true, regardless of what history has recorded. 

Homer Stanbery was Lou (Ballard) Roberts' nephew, and he knew Brushy Bill, but wasn't impressed. When asked about Brushy Bill's claim, Homer replied, "Oh, he was full of hot air!" Sometime in about the 1920's, Mintie Stanbery bought a mule from Brushy Bill who said it was ornery. Homer said "Daisy" was a gentle, obedient mule, and that it was Brushy Bill who was the ornery one!

 

The above original photos were given to me by my grandmother, Lillie Bell (Stanbery) Heddins, great-niece of Lou (Ballard) (Isaac) Roberts who married Brushy Bill Roberts in 1929.
As of Jan. 2024 they are still in my possesion. Click on the above image to view a higher resolution image. Please give attribution if used elsewhere.
-Roland Heddins