"The little-known secrets behind the men & women who shaped America"

Scottish Immigrant Had His Eye on Foiled Lincoln Assassination Attempt

By Paul Niemann

[March 27, 2008]  In 1819 a red-haired boy named Allan was born in Glasgow, Scotland. He was the son of a police sergeant and homemaker. He was a barrel maker in his first career, but it was his next career that made him famous. Judging by his logo, one would think that he was an insomniac, but that has never been proven.

He made a pretty good living as a barrel maker in his native Scotland. He fell into his new career as a detective and spy by accident.

Fast forward to 1842, when he had joined a political group that demanded more of a voice in government. On the day he was married, he was run out of town by a group of soldiers, and he left on a ship for America the following day with his new bride in tow.

As the ship approached the Canadian coast, it was hit by bad weather, causing it to crash on the beaches outside of Nova Scotia. They arrived with nothing more than a little money, her wedding ring and the clothes on their backs. After they were met by hostile Indians when they arrived on land, they still had the clothes on their backs. And that was about it.

They eventually settled in Chicago and then moved to the small town of Dundee about 40 miles away, where Allan set up shop as a barrel maker. He would travel often to a nearby island to get the materials to make his barrels, and these trips to the island played a pivotal role that would change his life -- and the United States -- forever.

Everyone believed the island was deserted, but when Allan arrived he saw signs that there were people there. He had also heard that there were counterfeiters around Dundee, and he correctly figured that the island might be where the counterfeiters were hiding out.

Allan worked with the local sheriff to stake out the area and capture them. He was then asked to capture the ringleader, which he did. His ability to catch criminals led him right to his new career.

He went to work with local law enforcement; then, in 1850, he founded his own detective company. Allan's company made him a household name, but it wasn't the Allan Co. that bore his name.

He went on to achieve some pretty amazing feats that you probably didn't know about. For example, he foiled an assassination attempt on Abraham Lincoln in Baltimore when Lincoln was on the way to his presidential inauguration. Allan also searched for members of the Jesse James gang as well as Butch Cassidy.

He was also America's first private eye. He introduced the new surveillance technique known as shadowing, and he created the technique of assuming the role of a suspect, which Allan did when he worked undercover.

He also wrote 18 detective books, although it is possible that he may have employed a ghostwriter for some of his books.

He probably wasn't really an insomniac, but the detective agency that Allan Pinkerton founded was the Pinkerton Detective Agency. You know it as the one whose logo contains an eye with the caption, "We never sleep."

[By PAUL NIEMANN]

Paul Niemann may be reached at [e-mail].

Copyright Paul Niemann 2008

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