The Billings herald. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1882-1885, 1884-07-19
The End of His Strange and Romantic
Career.

Allan Pinkerton, the greatest de.
tective Of the United States, who
died in Chicago July 1st, was born
in Muirhead street, Ruglen Loan, in
the Gorbals of the city of Glasgow
Scotland, on the 25th day of August
1919. His parents were in humble
circumstances, his father, William
Pinkerton, being employed as a
police sergeant by the municipality
When Allan was but a small boy
his father died from injuries re-
ceiyed at the hands of a prisoner
whom he was .arresting, and the
family were thus deprived of their
means of support.
Before attaining his majority
young Pinkerton became imbued
with the sentiments of independence
and reform which were advocated
by those who put forth the "People's S
Charter" in Great Britain, and he
soon became identified with the
celebrated Chartist movement OF
the disaffected people. The govern
ment resolved to crush this revolu-
tionary movement and several of
the leaders were arrested and trans
ported. Fearful of his own safety,
Allan Pinkerton resolved to leave
the country and seek a refuge in
America. Accordingly in 1912 he
was married to Miss Jane Carfrae,
and on the following day the young
couple set sail for America, landing
at Quebec, after a perilous voyage,
in which their vessel was wrecked,
and the suffering passengers picked
up by passing vessel and carried
to that port. From Quebec Pinker-
ton and his young wife made their
way to Chicago by the Lake. The
young couple, owing to their mis-
fortunes, were nearly destitute, but
with stout heart he applied him
self to securing employment.
Meeting George Anderson, who was
then engaged in the tobacco bust
ness, he enlisted the services of that
gentleman in his behalf, and soon
succeeded in obtaining employment
at his trade, that of a cooper.
While employed afterward in his
business as cooper at Dundee. ILL.,,
he had frequent occasion to visit
some of the islands in Fox river to
procure materials for his stock, and
while on one Of these he discovered
the existence of a gang of counter
feiters, who made the island their
retreat and established their head
quarters. Having a natural love of
adventure, and being q stranger to
fear, he determined to thoroughly
investigate the entire operations Of
these counterieiters, which he
eventually succeeded in doing, ct-
fectually breaking up the existence
of the gang, and securing the arrest
and conviction of John Craig, the
leader and prime mover, together
with the most prominent and dan
gerous of his associates.
When Mr.. Boone was elected
mayor Of Chicago he appointed
Pinkerton as a detective of the city
force. This was the first appoint
ment of a detective in Chicago. In
1852 Pinkerton became impressed
with the Importance of establishing
a detective agency which would be
independent of political influence,
and by whose efforts the criminal
could be punished without fear or
personal favor. He accordingly
associated with him Mr.. Edward l..
Rucker, an attorney-at-law, and Sc
curing the patronage Of several
railroad companies, then in their
infancy, they started the "Pinker-
ton Defective Agency" the first in
of it's kind in the United
States. Rucker continued with
him only about a year, when Pink