Pinkertons National Detective Agency. - The Pinks: the first women detectives, operatives, and spies with the Pinkerton National Detective Agency

The

Pinks

The

Pinks

The First Women Detectives, Operatives, and Spies with the Pinkerton National Detective Agency

Chris Enss

Dedicated to Adelyne, Grace, and Avery

An imprint of Globe Pequot

An imprint and registered trademark of Rowman & Littlefield

Distributed by NATIONAL BOOK NETWORK

Copyright Chris Enss 2017

All rights reserved . No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Available

ISBN 978-1-4930-0833-9 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-4930-3066-8 (e-book)

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Contents

Acknowledgments

This study of Kate Warne and those who served as the first women operatives with the Pinkerton National Detective Agency benefited from the energy of many individuals. Librarian and historian Madelyn Helling inspired it, TwoDot editorial director Erin Turner encouraged it, and archivists at the Library of Congress and the Chicago Historical Society enriched it.

Special thanks to Rachel Dworkin, archivist at the Chemung County Historical Society, for supplying information about Kate Warnes early life.

Im grateful to Jennifer Brathovde, librarian at the Library of Congress, and archivist Charlotte Richards at the National Archives for their help with compiling information about the cases the lady Pinkerton agents investigated. John Moriarty, vice president and general counsel at the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, assisted in tracking down documents relating to Allan Pinkerton and the formation of the Secret Service; and Doug Cunningham, director of operations at the Agency, kindly offered advice on where to acquire employment records and aliases used.

Accomplished author Corey Recko was generous with his time and writing talent. I referred to his exceptional book A Spy for the Union: The Life and Execution of Timothy Webster often.

I greatly appreciate the sharp eye and diligent, fact-checking services of editor B. Keith Williams. His efforts go a long way toward helping me to be confident about the historical accuracy of the product I submit to the publisher.

Finally, to the gifted people at TwoDot, from the project managers to the artists who design the book covers, thank you very much for your efforts.

Foreword

When Allan Pinkerton founded the Pinkerton Detective Agency in 1850, he not only became the worlds first private eye, he also established an organization that would set the global standard for investigative and security excellence for generations to come.

But the agency had only just begun the process of setting that standard when Kate Warne walked into Allan Pinkertons office six years later and asked for a job. Her request was well timed. Pinkerton was keenly focused on new opportunities and was consciously looking to make bold choices that reinforced his vision of Pinkerton as an innovator and a disruptor.

Warnes confidence and persuasive skills were impressive, and Pinkertons flexibility and willingness to defy convention perhaps equally so. It is to his credit, and to the enduring credit of the Pinkerton Detective Agency, that it took Pinkerton less than twenty-four hours to inform Warne that he would hire hera decision that made her the nations first female detective. It was a remarkable turn of events at a time when only 15 percent of women held jobs outside of the home, and contemporary ideas about what constituted womens work severely limited employment opportunities for women.

Kate Warne, and the accomplished women who played such an important role in building the Pinkerton Detective Agency into an iconic global security and law enforcement institution, made it abundantly clear that the prevailing definition of womens work was not just inadequate, but wholly obsolete.

Kates story, and the stories of all of these remarkable female operativespresented so beautifully and in such rich detail here in this fascinating and important bookare not just a moving reminder of the achievements of a handful of bold pioneers, they are also a remarkable testament to the exemplary tradition of innovation that has distinguished the Pinkerton name over the course of more than a century and a half of dedicated service.

Portrait of Allan Pinkerton, founder of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency Courtesy of the Library of Congress

Allan Pinkerton was very clear about the fact that he wanted his company to be fearless and to have a reputation for using innovative methods to achieve its goals. What is remarkable is not just the aspiration, but the execution: This founding vision would grow into a long-standing tradition of innovation and a commitment to inspired service that became intricately woven into Pinkertons organizational DNA.

Pinkertons enduring legacy of bold moves, brave choices, and the relentless pursuit of excellence is much more than just an aging rsumit is the foundation for an organization that remains on the cutting edge. Today, the company that predates the Civil War not only remains relevant, but has continued to establish itself as a dynamic and innovative presence on the world stage. Pinkerton is a recognized industry leader in developing forward-looking security and risk management solutions for national and international corporations. Remarkably, an organization that once protected Midwestern railways and pursued famous outlaws like Jesse James and Butch Cassidy is now providing sophisticated corporate risk management strategies and high-level security services for clients across the globe, setting a twenty-first-century standard for corporate risk management.

Now, as then, Pinkerton understands that combating new and emerging threats and serving its clients require a willingness to challenge conventional wisdom, and embrace new assets and new ideaswhether they are the worlds first female detectives or new cybersecurity protocols. From investigative and private detective work to security and corporate risk consulting, Pinkerton prides itself on doing whatever it takes to keep its clients safe and to protect their assets and their interests. That resolve is one of the biggest reasons why an agency that was protecting Abraham Lincoln was also on the ground in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and why the principles and practices that were in place almost eighty years before the discovery of penicillin still apply to an organization that provides risk management services to some of the worlds most innovative enterprises in 2016.

As you read and enjoy these fascinating profiles of gifted Pinkerton operatives, you will readily see how their work and their character exemplified the agencys values of Integrity, Vigilance, and Excellence. Ultimately, those attributes are at the heart of these tales, and at the heart of the larger Pinkerton story. Its a history that spans three centuries, with compelling new chapters still being written each and every day.