Marshall Ashmun "Ash" Upson (1828–1894) was a newspaper journalist for several years, postmaster, Justice of the Peace, and author. His claim to fame was as a ghostwriter of 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 "Ash" ...

'', by Pat F. Garrett, 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 in the south central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, the population was 864,835, making it the third-most populous county in Connecticut. Two of the state's top 5 largest cities, New ...

. 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'' 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 through the 1860s it was the domi ...

. 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, alth ...

''. From

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, he went to

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, then

Missouri Missouri 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 is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

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

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

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

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label=Tiwa language, Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. ...

Ghostwriter

After Sheriff Pat Garrett gunned down

Billy the Kid Billy the Kid (born Henry McCarty; September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), also known by the pseudonym William H. Bonney, was an outlaw and gunfighter of the American Old West, who killed eight men before he was shot and killed at t ...

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

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

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, seat of, Chaves County, New Mexico, Chaves County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Chaves County forms the entirety of the List of micropolitan areas in New Mexico, Roswell micropolitan area. As of ...

, 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 2010 census, the population was 20,497. Its county seat is Carrizozo, while its largest community is Ruidoso. History Lincoln County was named in honor of President Abrah ...

. 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 and the county seat of Uvalde County, Texas, United States. The population was 15,217 at the 2020 census. Uvalde is located in the Texas Hill Country, west of downtown San Antonio and east of the Mexico–United States bord ...

.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