Billy Wilson (allegedly), at age seventeen
Billy Wilson is a controversial figure. He is mysterious and there are two versions of his life before he became acquainted with Billy the Kid, and after he escaped from jail. All that is known for sure is that he met Dirty Dave Rudabaugh in Dodge City around 1878 or 1879, and began getting into trouble with him. It's also believed that around this time he acquired his "Buffalo Billy" nickname. When Dave and several of his outlaw friends went to Las Vegas, New Mexico, Wilson followed. While Dave and the rest of his friends joined the Dodge City Gang of robbers and killers in Vegas, Wilson continued south to the newly sprung up boomtown of White Oaks. There, Wilson opened a livery stable. In late 1879 or early 1880, Wilson sold his stable to Sam Dedrick and William H. "Harvey" West for $400. However, Dedrick and West gave Wilson $400 in counterfeit bills. Wilson then traveled south to Lincoln, where he unknowingly began spending the bogus cash. At some point shortly thereafter, Wilson began riding regularly with Rustlers, a gang led by Billy the Kid that he had merely assisted earlier on. A few months after Wilson joined, his old friend Dave Rudabaugh, on the run from the law in Las Vegas after a recent murder, joined as well. After word of the counterfeit bills in Lincoln County reached Washington, D. C., a special agent from the U. S. Treasury Department, Azariah Wild, was sent to New Mexcio to investigate. Wild determined that Wilson, West, and the Dedrick brothers were the prime men of the counterfeit ring. On Nov. 27, 1880, Wilson was involved in the killing of Deputy James Carlyle, along with Billy the Kid and Rudabaugh at the ranch of Jim Greathouse and Fred Kuch, forty miles north of White Oaks. With the murder of Carlyle, and with the Wild investigation's discoveries, more pressure than ever was put on the local law enforcement to catch the Rustlers. On Dec. 19, 1880, six members of the Rustlers, including Wilson, were riding into Fort Sumner, the gang's main hideout, when Sheriff-elect Pat Garrett and his posse opened fire on them from ambush. Rustler Tom Folliard was killed, but the rest escaped. Then, on Dec. 23, at a rock house at Stinking Springs, Wilson, Billy the Kid, Dave Rudabaugh, and Tom Pickett of the Rustlers were captured by Garrett's posse and Rustler Charlie Bowdre was killed. At Santa Fe, Wilson went to trial for counterfeiting and robbing the U.S. Mail, the latter a crime he committed with the Rustlers when they held up a stagecoach. He was convicted of the counterfeiting charge and sentenced to serve seven years in prison. However, he managed to escape in Sept. 1882 and soon after fell in with another rustling gang, which also included Tom Pickett. In Jan. 1884, the gang killed four unsuspecting Mexicans near Seven Rivers, and Wilson shortly thereafter quit the gang. And that is all that is definite about Billy Wilson. His early life is debatable. Some researchers say he was born William Harrison Wilson on October 30, 1859 in Arkansas. His parents were Levi and Helen Wilson. Billy had seven brothers and sisters. He had a fight with his father and ran away from home in his mid-teens. He hung out with some badmen after this and ended up killing a man in a bar fight, causing him to flee Arkansas. Billy traveled through Mississippi, Missouri, and Indian Territory, getting many jobs on the way. He later killed a friend by accident in a hunting trip. He then traveled to Dodge City, Kansas, and met up with men like Dirty Dave Rudabaugh, Tom Pickett, J. J. Webb, Mysterious Dave Mather, and more, as stated above in the definite history of him. He then went to New Mexico, started passing counterfeit bills, became involved with Billy the Kid, etc. After his escape from jail in Santa Fe, he became a rustler once again in Mexico and along the Mexican border. He even killed a few more men. He eventually settled down and changed his ways, having gone back to Missouri, getting married, and having a child. He took up the name Robert Levi Martin and died on September 30, 1935. However, the Billy Wilson written about before he became involved with Rudabaugh and after fleeing jail might not be the same that rode as a Rustler. Other researchers say THE Billy Wilson was born David L. Anderson in Ohio on Nov. 23, 1861. He moved with his family to Texas when he was still a child. He became a cowboy and it was then that he began rustling. He changed his name to Billy Wilson and traveled to Dodge City, meeting Rudabaugh, eventually getting hooked up with Billy the Kid, passing counterfeit money, and fleeing from jail. Anderson fled to Sanderson, Texas, where he took a wife, had a child, and opened up a bar. In 1895, by pure chance he ran into Pat Garrett in the town of Uvalde, where Garrett was living. The two talked and Garrett became convinced that Wilson was now a decent, law-abiding citizen. He elected to try to use his influence to procure a pardon for Wilson. Sometime in 1906, Garrett achieved this and Pres. Grover Cleveland issued a full pardon for "Dave Anderson, alias Billy Wilson." In 1905, Wilson was elected sheriff of Terrell County, encompassing Sanderson, and was much beloved by the townsfolk. On June 14, 1918, Anderson had to go to the Sanderson depot to silence a disturbance. A drunk ranchhand named Ed Valentine, who Wilson knew and had been on friendly terms with, was causing trouble. Anderson tried to talk Valentine down, but Valentine shot him in the chest, killing him. Valentine was then lynched by townsfolk. Now, the question is, was the first Billy Wilson mentioned, William Harrison Wilson/Robert Martin from Arkansas, THE Billy Wilson, or was Dave Anderson? This is unknown. Both the Wilson from Arkansas and Anderson having missing time in the time frame that THE Billy Wilson rode with the Kid. Both also refused to speak of their past. Both also have separate families, both maintaining their relative was THE Billy Wilson. Also, if Anderson wasn't THE Wilson, why would Garrett get a pardon for him? Garrett would surely realize whether Anderson was or wasn't THE Wilson. Or did he get him a pardon at all? The Anderson family has no pardon in their records. Anderson never mentioned a pardon either. Maybe Garrett never did give him a pardon, but why would he go through the trouble of getting the president to issue one? These questions will remain unanswered forever probably. The photo of the man above, as well as the other two on this page, are of the Arkansas Billy Wilson/Robert Levi Martin.
Billy Wilson (allegedly)
This photo was taken when Wilson/Martin was thirty. He was rustling cattle in Mexico at this time.
Billy Wilson (allegedly) and family
This photo was taken in Missouri in 1902. The man standing on the left is Billy Wilson/Robert Levi Martin. The other man is his brother, Frank. The ladies (from left to right) are sisters, Caldonia, Fredonia, and Euldoria.
