Allan Pinkerton

Allan Pinkerton was born August 25, 1819 in Glasgow Scotland to parents William and Isabell Pinkerton. Twenty-three years later, on March 13, 1842, Pinkerton married Joan Carfrae and the newlyweds immediately set sail for the United States. The couple eventually found their way to Chicago, Illinois.

In 1846 the Pinkerton’s gave birth to their first child, a son they named William. Soon after William’s birth twins Robert and Joan were born.

Pinkerton wasted no time establishing himself in the Windy City, going on to become the first city detective appointed to the Chicago Police. In 1850, Pinkerton founded the Pinkerton Detective Agency. The company started out local, but soon grew in both size and reputation to become national entity.

In 1861 Pinkerton uncovered a plot to assassinate president-elect Abraham Lincoln in Baltimore, Maryland. Lincoln was alerted in time and the assassination attempt was foiled. Pinkerton was later named head of the Union Intelligence Service, the precursor to today’s Secret Service.

Allan Pinkerton continued to work for the Lincoln administration throughout the Civil War. When he was old enough, William Pinkerton joined his father and was trained in the family business.

Following the Civil War, Pinkerton returned to Chicago and resumed day-to-day operations of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. By now Pinkerton’s other son, Robert, had joined his father’s business as well. Robert found his niche as an administrator, helping his father develop a filing system used to track criminals. This system that was soon adopted by police forces nationwide. William Pinkerton preferred the life of a detective.

The agency opened satellite offices across the West, from Kansas to California and all points in between. As his father slowed with aged, William took on more responsibility with the company; often riding with fellow detectives on the hunt for criminals. The Pinkertons (Take that apostrophe!) pursued a virtual who’s who of outlaw history including Jesse James, Cole Younger, the Wild Bunch and the Ketchum Gang.

The hunt for the James brothers ended in a scandal for the Pinkertons when, in 1875, the detectives surrounded a Missouri cabin believing Jesse James was trapped inside. The detectives demanded James surrender. When they received no response, the detectives threw an explosive into the cabin injuring Jesse’s mother and killing his mentally handicapped stepbrother. Jesse James was nowhere near the cabin at the time of the confrontation and the incident proved an embarrassment for the agency.

At the request of the American Banker's Association and the railroads, the Pinkertons turned their famous eye towards the Wild Bunch. The agency dispatched their top men - including Charles Siringo and Joe LeFors - to track down the Wild Bunch. While they came close several times, the Pinkertons were unable to bring the outlaws to justice.

In 1884 Allan Pinkerton slipped in fell on a Chicago street. The fall caused the 64 year-old man to bite his tongue. Soon after, gangrene set in. Pinkerton died in Chicago, Illinois on July 1, 1884. He is buried in Graceland Cemetery in Chicago.

Since his death Pinkertons Inc. has grown into a $1.5 billion organization.

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