Female Pinkerton Agents

I've talked a little about what I've learned from researching female Pinkerton Agents, but I'm going to focus this blog mainly on the one woman who made Allan Pinkerton sit up and take notice.  (previous article about Pinkerton Agents)

Kate Warne was born in New York and was widowed at the age of 23.  She was described as having clear cut, expressive features. She had an honest face, which helped those in distress look upon her as their confidant.

According to the article I read about Kate, she responded to a newspaper ad from Allan Pinkerton who was trying to recruit more detectives. She walked into the Pinkerton office and wanted a job. They first thought she wanted an office, job, but when she stated she wanted to be an agent, they were shocked.

Pinkerton decided to test Kate to see what she could do, so in 1858, Kate Warne was assigned to the case of Adams Express Company and embezzlements. She quickly became a close acquaintance of the wife of Pinkerton's prime suspect, Mr. Maroney. By becoming Maroney's wife's friend, Kate was able to collect evidence that eventually led to his conviction.  Maroney had stolen $50,000 from the Adams Express Company, and with Kate's help, $39,515 of that was returned.

In 1860, Allan Pinkerton put Kate in charge of his new Female Detective Bureau.

I'd mentioned in some of my previous blog posts, that I had written a female Pinkerton romance that is part of a multi-author series. "An Agent for Cecily" has been released and it's receiving RAVING reviews!!  I fashioned my character after Kate Marne, because Cecily is headstrong, and she does what she feels is right in ANY situation.

There’s only one way to escape Cecily Sheldon’s insane family – take on someone else’s identity. Along with this new identity comes a new job. Of course, to become a Pinkerton Agent, she must marry a male agent who will train her. Now she needs to keep her true identity hidden from Broderick Tanner for fear he’ll arrest her along with her father and brothers. Perhaps living a double life wasn’t a good choice after all.

Available on KINDLE and on Kindle Unlimited. Click here
To read an excerpt click here.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marie Higgins is a best-selling author of Christian and sweet romance novels; from refined bad-boy heroes who make your heart melt to the feisty heroines who somehow manage to love them regardless of their faults. She has over 50 heartwarming on-the-edge-of-your-seat stories, and broadened her readership by writing mystery/suspense, humor, time-travel, paranormal, along with her love for historical romances. Her readers have dubbed her "Queen of Tease", because of all her twists and unexpected endings.

Website – https://authormariehiggins.wixsite.com/romance

Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/marie.higgins.7543

Twitter – https://twitter.com/mariehigginsXOX

Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/mariehigginsxox/

Bookbub - https://www.bookbub.com/authors/marie-higgins 

Phone reading apps - https://www.ficfun.com  AND  https://www.dreame.com AND https://www.radishfiction.com/

 

Pinkerton Agents - America 1800's

What does it take to be a Pinkerton Agent in the late 1800’s?  These agents need to be brave, strong, tender, and true. They were relentless, incorruptible, driven, persistent, dedicated, and trusted. They were responsible for catching many outlaws like Jesse James, the James-Younger Gang, the Dalton Brothers, Butch Cassidy & The Wild Bunch, to name a few. They were the ones who started detective agencies in the USA.

Kate Warne was the first female agent that Allan Pinkerton hired. In 1856, there was no such thing as a woman detective.  Allan Pinkerton almost didn’t hire her, but she argued her point, stating that women could be “most useful in worming out secrets in many places which would be impossible for a male detective.”  (quote from Wikipedia) Kate reasoned that women would be able to make friends with wives, daughters, girlfriends of suspected criminals and get information better than a man could.

This is NOT Kate Warne. Just another Pinkerton Agent.

Learning about Kate Warne has opened several plot ideas about women detectives in 1800's America, and my mind is spinning with excitement. If you’ve read some of my books, you’ll know how I love a good suspense / mystery. 

Just recently, I have joined with 11 other authors who have formed a group about Pinkerton Agents. The series is called, “The Pinkerton Matchmaker”. The stories in this series will be released starting in October 2018.  So far I have two stories in this series: An Agent for Cecily, and An Agent for Evelyn. The authors who are part of this series are awesome writers and fun to work with.  If you love reading a good historical suspense / mystery romance, you'll need to join our reader's group on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/207869190071542/ 

Author’s Bio

 Marie Higgins is a best-selling author of Christian and sweet romance novels; from refined bad-boy heroes who make your heart melt to the feisty heroines who somehow manage to love them regardless of their faults. She has 51 heartwarming on-the-edge-of-your-seat stories and has broadened her readership by writing mystery/suspense, humor, time-travel, paranormal, along with her love for historical romances. Her readers have dubbed her "Queen of Tease", because of all her twists and unexpected endings.

Visit her website to discover more about her – https://authormariehiggins.wixsite.com/romance

Find her on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/marie.higgins.7543

And Twitter – https://twitter.com/mariehigginsXOX

REFERENCES USED:

·        Wikipedia / Kate Warne - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Warne

·        The History of Pinkerton - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8FQoc0Bg0o&feature=youtu.be