Rev. McFarland performed a marriage ceremony for Catherine McCarty and William Antrim on March 1, 1873, in the sanctuary of the church. It was a second marriage for Catherine, who had been widowed nine years earlier. Her two sons, Henry and Joe, stood witness at the ceremony. After her first husband died in New York City, she had taken the boys west, where she met William Antrim. Catherine had severe, advanced tuberculosis and she knew that her new husband loved the boys and would care for them if anything happened to her.
Hope in Silver City
After the wedding they moved to the drier climate of Silver City. She prayed that her sons would lead a Christian life. She died a year later, when Henry was 15. Fort Bayard, located near Silver City, was established in 1866 and later served as an army hospital specializing in tuberculosis treatment.
He was close to his mother, and her death led him to a life of petty theft and pranks around town. After stealing clothes from a Chinese laundry, he was incarcerated but escaped through the jailhouse chimney. That was the beginning of his life as a criminal in New Mexico and Arizona, where he became known as Billy the Kid.
From the late 19th century until 1940, tuberculosis was the leading cause of death in the United States. Many people suffering from the disease came to the high-desert mountains of New Mexico in search of a cure. There were sanatoriums throughout the region that cared for the tuberculars. In the northeastern part of Santa Fe, Sunmount Sanitarium was nestled up against the Sangre de Cristo mountains where the Immaculate Heart of Mary Retreat and Conference Center is located today.