Marshall Ashmun "Ash" Upson (1828–1894) was a newspaper journalist for several years, postmaster, justice of the peace, and author. He is notable for having ghostwritten the book ''

The Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid ''The Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid, The Noted Desperado of the Southwest'' is a biography and partly first-hand account written by Pat Garrett, sheriff of Lincoln County, New Mexico, in collaboration with a ghostwriter, Marshall Ashmun "As ...

'', by

Pat F. Garrett Patrick Floyd Jarvis Garrett (June 5, 1850February 29, 1908) was an American Old West lawman, bartender and customs agent known for killing Billy the Kid. He was the sheriff of Lincoln County, New Mexico, as well as Doña Ana County, New Mexico ...

, 1882.

Early life

Marshall Ashmun Upson was born November 23, 1828, the son of Samuel Wheeler Upson and Sally Maria Stevens of Waterbury Township,

New Haven County, Connecticut New Haven County is a county (United States), county in the south central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 864,835, making it the third-most populous county in Connectic ...

. Upson had married once, but later divorced. He then drifted West during the Civil War after working as a reporter for the

New York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' (from 1914: ''New York Tribune'') was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s ...

. Afterwards, he established the Albuquerque Press in 1867.

Career

He gained his reputation as a writer while employed as the city editor of ''

The Cincinnati Enquirer ''The Cincinnati Enquirer'' is a morning daily newspaper published by Gannett in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. First published in 1841, the ''Enquirer'' is the last remaining daily newspaper in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, altho ...

''. From

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, he went to

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, then

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

and published a paper there for several years. Upson then drifted to

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

where he was a writer for the Denver News. He was later engaged in the newspaper business in

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...

Ghostwriter

After Sheriff

Pat Garrett Patrick Floyd Jarvis Garrett (June 5, 1850February 29, 1908) was an American Old West lawman, bartender and U.S. Customs, customs agent known for killing Billy the Kid. He was the Sheriffs in the United States, sheriff of Lincoln County, New Me ...

gunned down

Billy the Kid Henry McCarty (September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), alias William H. Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid, was an American outlaw and gunfighter of the Old West who was linked to nine murders: four for which he was solely res ...

in July 1881, he asked Marshall "Ash" Upson to

ghostwrite A ghostwriter is a person hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often hir ...

his version of the story. ''The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid'' came out in early 1882, but failed to sell until years later. Upson and Garrett formed a real estate company in 1889, which failed. Although not many copies of ''The Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid'' were sold, it had a decisive impact on the Kid's image. More than any other single influence, the book fed the legend of Billy the Kid. As the legend grew, writers turned to this book for authentic details. For more than a century, only a few researchers questioned the wild tales contained within Upson's book.

Later years

Marshall "Ash" Upson was the postmaster at

Roswell, New Mexico Roswell () is a city in and the county seat of Chaves County, New Mexico, Chaves County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 48,422 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fi ...

, and served as a justice of the peace in eastern

Lincoln County, New Mexico Lincoln County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,269. Its county seat is Carrizozo, while its largest community is Ruidoso. History Prior to the creation of Lincoln County, the Mescal ...

. Some claimed that Sheriff Pat Garrett was almost illiterate and he employed Upson as his clerk to maintain the records of the sheriff's office. Garrett and Upson became close friends, which lasted until Upson's death on October 6, 1894. He was buried in a cemetery lot owned by Pat Garrett in

Uvalde, Texas Uvalde ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Uvalde County, Texas, United States. The population was 15,217 at the 2020 census, down from 15,751 in 2010. It is the principal city in the Uvalde, Texas Micropolitan Statistical Area. Uvalde is ...

.Garrett, Pat Floyd (1974). ''The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid'', University of Oklahoma Press

External links

''The Authentic Life of Billy, The Kid''
at Google Books

Marshall Ashmun Upson at ancestry.com

Googlebooks, The Fabulous Frontier, 1846-1912, by William A. Keleher, Sunstone Press, 2008, pg. 144

Ash Upson at New Mexico Statehood, University of New Mexico

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Upson, Ash 1828 births 1894 deaths 1882 books American writers Gilded Age People of the American Old West