THE PINKERTON AGENCY By : Liese Sherwood-Fabre
Pinkerton : The Origins of the American Private Eye
While the concept of detectives and spies dates back to Biblical times , the Pinkerton Agency became the first true modern detective agency in the US . Created in 1847 , this organization gained a reputation for its effective military and criminal investigations that continue to this day .
Allan Pinkerton was born in Glasgow , Scotland in 1819 and worked as a barrel maker there until immigrating to the US in 1842 . He settled outside of Chicago and continued his trade until 1847 when he literally fell into his new profession . While out collecting materials for his barrels on a small island , he came across evidence of someone else using the area as well . He informed the sheriff , and the officer investigated , capturing a
large gang of counterfeiters . Later , local shopkeepers asked Pinkerton to help capture yet another counterfeiter . Based on these efforts , he was appointed as Chicago ’ s first — and , at the beginning , only — police detective . Shortly , he had five detectives working under him , and his reputation continued to grow . ( 1 )
In 1850 he left public service to form his own agency . Pinkerton ’ s National Detective Agency advertised “ We Never Sleep ” with an unblinking eye as its logo and is believed to have helped create the term “ private eye .” ( 2 ) The company included Allan ’ s brother Robert , who was a railroad contractor . The organization specialized in the capture of counterfeiters and train robbers , but also provided private military contractors and security guards . During an investigation of a railway case , they uncovered a plot to assassinate President-elect Abraham Lincoln in 1861 . Warned of the threat , Lincoln changed his itinerary and , under disguise , passed through the area at night unharmed . ( 3 )
When the Civil War broke out , Lincoln brought Pinkerton to Washington to head the first national police force — a secret service division of the army . Pinkerton agents provided information regarding the Confederacy ’ s military plans . ( 4 ) Following the war , the agency introduced a number of innovations , including photographing criminals after arrest and incorporating newspaper stories about them and their crimes in their files . As a result , by the 1870s , they had the country ’ s largest criminal database and were often consulted by local law enforcement for descriptions of possible suspects . ( 5 )
Despite several highly publicized incidents ( such as firebombing Jesse James ’ mother ’ s home ), the agency endured and has grown to a $ 1.5 billion organization . Its website boasts of operations in 100 countries and offers such services as security management , corporate investigations , and intelligence protection . To this day , they are the agency that never sleeps .
14 Continued on Page 15