Individual Details
William H. Bonney
(8 Jan 1838 - 31 Jul 1903)
The 1860 census said he was a farmer, 1870 census says he worked for Iron County, and the 1880 census said either "works in mill" or "works in mines".
There was reported to be an "an attempted mutiny by the Second Missouri Artillery at Pilot Knob", which was the unit William was part of. I have no details, though.
Now, this is definitely not the same William H. Bonney that became known as "Billy the Kid", but I wonder if there could be some relation. There are some interesting coincidences:
1) Billy the Kid's family is often said to have come from New York (and Billy generally believed to have been born there). P.F. Bonney may have come from New York.
2) According to a web site I found on the internet (www.angelfire.com/nm/boybanditking/page2.html), "Billy himself in an 1880 census gave Missouri as his birthplace." I've since seen the same information elsewhere, but still don't know what name he gave to the census taker.
3) Another article I found on the internet called "Ten Billy the Kid Myths" by Leon C. Metz (historynet.com/WildWest/articles/1998/0898_side2.htm) says "the Kid did tell an 1880 Fort Sumner census taker that he was 25-years-old and was born in Missouri." That would mean he was born in 1855 rather than 1859 (the year generally put forth by historians). The same source says Billy's older brother "...Joe died in Denver, Colo., on November 26, 1930, at 76 years of age." Assuming this to be correct, Joe wasn't much older than Billy. Our William H. Bonney would have been only about 16 when Joe was born, making him an unlikely candidate for being their father (although it is possible that they had different fathers). James Logan Bonney (William's half-brother) would have been about 24 in 1854, which happens to be right around the time that he and his father headed west. The only thing I know about James Logan Bonney is that he settled in California.
4) It is generally believed that Billy the Kid lived near Coffeeville (or Wichita), Kansas as a small child. Three sons of P.F. Bonney (Cowan, Henry, and Taylor) are known to have lived in the same area at various times. Henry had three children there in the early 1870's. In fact, Henry moved there about the same time that Catherine McCarty (supposedly Billy the Kid's mother) did and moved away about the same time as well (depending on whose version of the story you believe). Cowan and Taylor show up there on an 1880 census (assuming that my theories about Taylor are correct). All of William's children, however, were born in Missouri, and I don't know if he ever lived in Kansas.
5) Billy the Kid's mother was supposedly going by the name Catherine McCarty or Carty (and Billy was called Henry McCarty) when she lived in Kansas and up until she married William Antrim in New Mexico. I have found that there were Carty and McCarty families (I don't know if they are all related or not) in the area of Reynolds County, Missouri.
There was reported to be an "an attempted mutiny by the Second Missouri Artillery at Pilot Knob", which was the unit William was part of. I have no details, though.
Now, this is definitely not the same William H. Bonney that became known as "Billy the Kid", but I wonder if there could be some relation. There are some interesting coincidences:
1) Billy the Kid's family is often said to have come from New York (and Billy generally believed to have been born there). P.F. Bonney may have come from New York.
2) According to a web site I found on the internet (www.angelfire.com/nm/boybanditking/page2.html), "Billy himself in an 1880 census gave Missouri as his birthplace." I've since seen the same information elsewhere, but still don't know what name he gave to the census taker.
3) Another article I found on the internet called "Ten Billy the Kid Myths" by Leon C. Metz (historynet.com/WildWest/articles/1998/0898_side2.htm) says "the Kid did tell an 1880 Fort Sumner census taker that he was 25-years-old and was born in Missouri." That would mean he was born in 1855 rather than 1859 (the year generally put forth by historians). The same source says Billy's older brother "...Joe died in Denver, Colo., on November 26, 1930, at 76 years of age." Assuming this to be correct, Joe wasn't much older than Billy. Our William H. Bonney would have been only about 16 when Joe was born, making him an unlikely candidate for being their father (although it is possible that they had different fathers). James Logan Bonney (William's half-brother) would have been about 24 in 1854, which happens to be right around the time that he and his father headed west. The only thing I know about James Logan Bonney is that he settled in California.
4) It is generally believed that Billy the Kid lived near Coffeeville (or Wichita), Kansas as a small child. Three sons of P.F. Bonney (Cowan, Henry, and Taylor) are known to have lived in the same area at various times. Henry had three children there in the early 1870's. In fact, Henry moved there about the same time that Catherine McCarty (supposedly Billy the Kid's mother) did and moved away about the same time as well (depending on whose version of the story you believe). Cowan and Taylor show up there on an 1880 census (assuming that my theories about Taylor are correct). All of William's children, however, were born in Missouri, and I don't know if he ever lived in Kansas.
5) Billy the Kid's mother was supposedly going by the name Catherine McCarty or Carty (and Billy was called Henry McCarty) when she lived in Kansas and up until she married William Antrim in New Mexico. I have found that there were Carty and McCarty families (I don't know if they are all related or not) in the area of Reynolds County, Missouri.
Events
| Birth | 8 Jan 1838 | Arcadia, Missouri, United States | |||
| Census | 1850 | Washington Co., Missouri, USA | |||
| Census | 1860 | Iron Co., Missouri, USA | |||
| Military | From 1862 to 1865 | 2nd Missouri Artillery - Missouri, USA | |||
| Marriage | 15 Dec 1864 | Iron, Missouri, USA - Eliza Ranft |  | ||
| Census | 1870 | Liberty township, Iron Co., Missouri, USA | |||
| Census | 1880 | Liberty township, Iron Co., Missouri, USA | |||
| Death | 31 Jul 1903 | |
Families
| Spouse | Eliza Ranft (1842 - ) |
| Child | Emily Bonney (1866 - ) |
| Child | Buena Vista Bonney (1868 - ) |
| Child | Margaret S. Bonney (1871 - ) |
| Child | William F. Bonney (1874 - 1910) |
| Child | George H. Bonney (1875 - ) |
| Child | Thomas C. Bonney (1876 - 1931) |
| Child | Peter Omar Bonney (1885 - ) |
| Father | Prentiss Franklin Bonney (1805 - 1853) |
| Mother | Emmelia "Emily" Hayden ( - ) |
| Sibling | Donald Cowan Bonney (1839 - 1924) |
| Sibling | Henry Clay Bonney Sr. (1841 - ) |
| Sibling | Sophia E. Bonney (1843 - ) |
| Sibling | Margaret E. Bonney (1846 - ) |
| Sibling | Zacariah Taylor Bonney (1849 - 1908) |
| Sibling | Hardin R. Bonney (1850 - 1860) |
| Sibling | Buena Vista Bonney (1852 - ) |
| Sibling | Oscer Bonney (1854 - ) |
Endnotes
1. LDS International Genealogical Index internet.
2. Iron County register. (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.), 27 Aug. 1903. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.