Kate Warne, the first female private detective,…
1858 CE
Very little is known about Kate Warne prior to her working for Allan Pinkerton, except that she was born in Erin, Chemung County, New York and was a widow by age twenty-three.
Warne had walked into the Pinkerton Detective Agency in response to an advertisement in a local newspaper.
Warne's arguments swayed Pinkerton, who employed Warne as the first female detective.
Pinkerton soon has a chance to put Warne to the test.
In 1858, Warne is involved in the case of Adams Express Company embezzlements, where she is successfully able to bring herself into the confidence of the wife of the prime suspect, Mr. Maroney.
She thereby acquires valuable evidence leading to the husband's conviction.
Mr. Maroney is an expressman living in Montgomery, Alabama.
The Maroneys had stolen $50,000 from the Adams Express Company.
With Warne's help, $39,515 is returned.
Mr. Maroney is convicted and sentenced to ten years in Montgomery, Alabama.
In 1860, Allan Pinkerton will put Warne in charge of his new Female Detective Bureau.