History Facts | Crystal Caudill

A Brief History of the Secret Service: Part 7 – A Real Case

Crystal Caudill — Thu, 24 Sep 2026 02:48:12 +0000

A Brief History of the Secret Service

“The detection of crime, when entered upon with an honest purpose to discover the haunts of criminals and protect society from their depredations by bringing them to justice, is held to be an honorable calling and worthy of commendation of all good men.”

– Hiram C. Whitley, Chief of the Secret Service, May 1869 – September 1874

Welcome to my series of blog posts revisiting my research on the Secret Service for my Hidden Hearts of the Gilded Age series. For the next few months, I’ll be posting about their history. At the end of each post, I’ll include my resources and links to the other posts. As each post goes live, the links will be updated.

Part 7: A Real Case – Going to Jail to Make a Capture

One of my favorite research resources was the serialized newspaper articles compiled into a book by former Secret Service Chief Andrew. L. Drummond. He was my favorite operative to read, though I read about and from many. Andrew Drummond was smart, innovative, and got the job done. I really admired him and the inside look at how he conducted his cases.

In one of my original versions of Counterfeit Love, Broderick used the following story’s scheme to insert himself into the counterfeit ring. As usual, the story took on a life of its own and lost the details from this case. Since I couldn’t use it in my story, you can read the full riveting tale in Drummond’s own words here: Going to Prison to Make a Capture.

“In the latter part of 1872 a particularly dangerous counterfeit $50 Treasury note was put into circulation. . . . In May 1873, the chief of the secret service ordered me to go to Atlanta, Ga. He said he had nothing tangible to turn over to me for investigation, but a good many of the counterfeit notes had recently appeared in the South, and he wanted me to go down and see what I could find.

I made up my mind I would hang around the resorts frequented by crooks and learn what I could hear. I was dressed shabbily and had no difficulty in mingling with those with whom I came in contact without attracting attention. And gradually, I let it become known I was a burglar. . . . I went to Penora to investigate [Hanford’s] statements. I found that they were all true except the one referring to his respectability. He owned a farm, but he also dealt in counterfeit money. . . .

When I returned to Holly Springs, I laid this information before District Attorney G. Wiley Wells, who later became Minister to China. I asked Mr. Wells to co-operate with me in the execution of a plan I had devised to catch the string of men down through which the counterfeit passed from the makers to Hanford.

“Mr. Wells,” said I, “I believe the information I have obtained about Hanford will be sufficient if he be confronted with it to wring a confession from him. IF so, I would like to be arrested for counterfeiting, put in jail with him, and then both of us permitted to break out together. Immunity can be promised him if he will do what I want him to do.”

“What do you want to be sent to prison and then break jail for?” asked Mr. Wells.

“So that all of the counterfeiters in the country will read about it,” I replied. “They all know Hanford, and if they read that he has broken jail with another counterfeiter, they will be ready to sell me counterfeit money if Hanford introduces me to them. When we get loose, I want him to take me to his friends.”

. . .

A few days later, the District Attorney provided me with a genuine fifty-dollar note, which I wet and rubbed together until it looked like a piece of canton flannel. Then I sauntered into Frank’s story and asked for a paper collar. A clerk handed me what I asked for, and I gave him the rumpled fifty-dollar note, which, by the way, was not only good but was marked with the initials of both the District Attorney and myself.

I shall never forget how the clerk looked at me. It was as if he were saying to himself, “here’s the man who is passing all of this counterfeit money, and now he is trying to do me.” . . . and said he could not change the bill. So I gave back the collar and went out.

But before I had even left the store the cashier had reported the attempted “fraud” to Mr. Frank, and both had gone to the District Attorney’s office to tell him what had happened.

. . .

The United States Marshal at that time was Colonel Pierce, who had also been a Northern army officer during the war. He was known far and wide as a bad man to impose upon. . . . It was this kind of man who was selected to arrest me. . . .

From here on out, I’m going to summarize what happened. If you want to continue to read it in his words, you’ll have to check out the Going to Prison to Make a Capture Google scan of the book.

Those involved concocted a plan for Drummond to be arrested the next day by the U.S. Marshal. Drummond set up his rented room with the necessary evidence to implicate him as a counterfeiter. There was some arrest drama because the Marshal wasn’t aware of who Drummond really was, but Drummond survived unscathed. He was then arrested and sent to the jail at Oxford “owing to the overcrowded conditions” of Holly Springs. This was just a setup because Holly Springs was too strong to break out of, but Oxford was weak.

After six days in jail, he and Hanford made a break and took the train to Louisville, where they were arrested because the local police recognized them as the escapees. Drummond explained to the local chief what he was doing, and they were released under the guise of using a bribe. Drummond and Hanford went straight to Cincinnati, which at the time was a hotbed of counterfeiters, and he was introduced to all the connections necessary. Things went so well that additional Secret Service men were sent from New York to help him, “as it was not desired to arrest one until we could arrest all against whom we could get evidence.” At one point, his cover was almost ruined. Several weeks later, they successfully arrested fifteen counterfeiters. All but one or two were sent to the penitentiary.

With Drummond providing inside information, four other operatives built cases against a large network that served customers in Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Carolinas. Their investigation occupied the summer and fall of 1873, culminating in a sweep that ensnared seventy-two dealers and shovers in October and another twenty in December.

Check out the Hidden Hearts of the Gilded Age Series

Can these four Secret Service Operatives catch the counterfeiters … without losing their hearts?

A Gilded Age Secret Service historical romance series, with mystery and suspense

Resources

While I’m not going to list all the resources I used in research for this story, I will leave you with a few of my favorites in case you want to research further.

Books

Illegal Tender by David R Johnson* (My personal favorite. It gives you a look at counterfeiters AND the Secret Service.)

The United States Secret Service by Walter S. Bowen and Harry Edward Neal

Freedom’s Detective: The Secret Service, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Man Who Masterminded America’s First War on Terror by Charles Lane

True Detective Stories by Andrew L. Drummond (Digital)

Excerpts from the History of the United States Secret Service, 1865-1975 by the United States Secret Service (Digital)

Digital Resources

The Secret Service’s Webiste

Secret Service Museum Tour (Closed to the Public – video)

The U.S. Secret Service: History and Missions by Shawn Reese Analyst in Emergency Management and Homeland Security Policy

ABOUT CRYSTAL CAUDILL

Crystal Caudill is the author of “dangerously good historical romance.” Her debut novel, Counterfeit Love, was a 2023 Carol Award finalist, and her novella, “Star of Wonder,” won the 2024 Christy Award for short form. She loves history, hot tea, all things bookish, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. She is a stay-at-home mom, caregiver, and chaos organizer. When she isn’t writing, Crystal can be found hanging with her family and playing board games at her home outside Cincinnati, Ohio. Find out more at crystalcaudill.com.

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A Brief History of the Secret Service: Part 6 – Working Undercover

Crystal Caudill — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 09:00:59 +0000

A Brief History of the Secret Service

– Hiram C. Whitley, Chief of the Secret Service, May 1869 – September 1874

Part 6: Working Undercover

“To meet and thwart [crime] requires the most subtle ingenuity, incessant vigilance, and unflagging energy upon the part of officers of the law.” – Herman C. Whitley, Chief of the Secret Service from May 1869 to September 1874

Investigating

Sometimes, before working undercover or while another operative worked undercover, an operative would conduct interviews. Victims would report the passing or “shoving” of counterfeit bills, and, through an interview, describe the alleged criminal.

Once located, another interview would be conducted with the suspect to determine whether the “shover” had knowingly committed the crime. In such situations, the operative had to appear honest and sincere to gain the trust of those he interviewed. He also needed keen observational skills and the ability to recognize a lie when he heard it.

While these investigative skills were great for lower-level criminal activity, they were practically useless for coping with the sophisticated criminals who financed, manufactured, and distributed counterfeit notes. That is where working undercover came into play.

Working within the Criminal Network

To enter a counterfeiting ring, an operative had to conceal his identity and cultivate contacts within the underworld, usually with the help of their informants. By playing a role, he was able to participate in discussions about criminal activities and hopefully induce suspects to commit a crime when and where he could observe them.

Operatives, or their assistants, frequently purchased counterfeit money from underworld criminals, carefully marking the bills with the date of purchase and the purchaser’s initials.

Although observing a transaction was an important objective, it was only a small part of a long-term strategy to identify all the criminals involved with a particular note. Operatives had to ignore minor crimes to build cases against major criminals. Small-time criminals were offered inducements to betray the higher-up criminals.

By spurning immediate arrest, the operative hoped to delve deeper into the counterfeiting ring and develop evidence against each individual. Like the Pinkertons, the Secret Service had a cataloging system for each forger’s name, age, aliases, physical description, dates of arrests and releases, criminal methods, counterfeiting specialties, and a photo of him and/or his cohorts. Ideally, arrests would occur only after all the guilty parties had been identified.

Cases required both investigating and instigating skills.

Check out the Hidden Hearts of the Gilded Age Series

Can these four Secret Service Operatives catch the counterfeiters … without losing their hearts?

A Gilded Age Secret Service historical romance series, with mystery and suspense

Resources

While I’m not going to list all the resources I used in research for this story, I will leave you with a few of my favorites in case you want to research further.

Books

Illegal Tender by David R Johnson* (My personal favorite. It gives you a look at counterfeiters AND the Secret Service.)

The United States Secret Service by Walter S. Bowen and Harry Edward Neal

Freedom’s Detective: The Secret Service, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Man Who Masterminded America’s First War on Terror by Charles Lane

True Detective Stories by Andrew L. Drummond (Digital)

Excerpts from the History of the United States Secret Service, 1865-1975 by the United States Secret Service (Digital)

Digital Resources

The Secret Service’s Webiste

Secret Service Museum Tour (Closed to the Public – video)

The U.S. Secret Service: History and Missions by Shawn Reese Analyst in Emergency Management and Homeland Security Policy

ABOUT CRYSTAL CAUDILL

Connect with the author:

A Question for You:

What was your favorite fact shared today?

A Brief History of the Secret Service: Part 5 Using Informants

Crystal Caudill — Sun, 23 Aug 2026 12:00:23 +0000

A Brief History of the Secret Service

– Hiram C. Whitley, Chief of the Secret Service, May 1869 – September 1874

Part 5: Using Informants

Have you ever been an outsider trying to get into a tight-knit group? Our church has small groups where close-knit relationships develop. While fantastic, being an outsider is initially difficult. You are either joining a new group that takes time to develop trust with, or someone from a tight-knit group invites you in.

Now flip that innocent example on its head and pretend you are a Secret Service operative trying to infiltrate a tight-knit, highly suspicious network of counterfeiters. There is no way you can get in on your own. You are a stranger. They suspect you. They might allow you to have a drink with them, but no vital communication will occur in your presence—unless you have an “in,” someone who can vouch for you.

Enter the informant.

The use of informants was crucial for the success of a Secret Service operative. Thus, an operative’s relationship with his informant was highly personal. They were not friends, but the operative had to know whether they could trust the information, as it dictated their tactics and whether they committed their limited resources to an investigation.

Some informants were voluntary while others were coerced, meaning they were under arrest and possibly facing trial and prison.

Voluntary informants were often self-seeking in their desire to share information. Rewards were given by the Secret Service to any person who gave information “not already in the possession of the chief” that led to the “detection, arrest, and conviction” of counterfeiters or the “capture of their implements and materials.” Counterfeiters offered information as a way to supplement their income when they were down on their luck.

My favorite type of informant was the vengeful one. These informants used the Secret Service to exact revenge on their peers for real or imagined grievances, or to drive competitors out of business. These make the best kind of villain in a story. I read a story that former Chief Andrew Drummond published in the early 1900s about one such Italian counterfeiter. You can read about it here: What Jealousy Did in Little Italy.

A new informant initially had to build a case on his or her own to present his or her results to the operative. Then the Chief of the Secret Service would determine if there should be a reward for their services.

When a rumor was substantiated, the local operative kept the chief informed of developments while simultaneously working with his source to infiltrate the new network. Ideally, the operative sought to identify and arrest all the participants before they could complete and distribute the counterfeited banknotes. However, if it had already entered the distribution network, the chief acted to limit the damage by disrupting the market.

This could be done by providing descriptions of the banknote imperfections to each operative, lawman, and newspaper. Operatives and police officers would spread the word to as many business owners as they could. By spreading the knowledge of the counterfeit to the community, the risk of using the note became too great.

(See links to Resources and previous posts below.)

Check out the Hidden Hearts of the Gilded Age Series

Can these four Secret Service Operatives catch the counterfeiters … without losing their hearts?

A Gilded Age Secret Service historical romance series, with mystery and suspense

Resources

While I’m not going to list all the resources I used in research for this story, I will leave you with a few of my favorites in case you want to research further.

Books

Illegal Tender by David R Johnson* (My personal favorite. It gives you a look at counterfeiters AND the Secret Service.)

The United States Secret Service by Walter S. Bowen and Harry Edward Neal

Freedom’s Detective: The Secret Service, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Man Who Masterminded America’s First War on Terror by Charles Lane

True Detective Stories by Andrew L. Drummond (Digital)

Excerpts from the History of the United States Secret Service, 1865-1975 by the United States Secret Service (Digital)

Digital Resources

The Secret Service’s Webiste

Secret Service Museum Tour (Closed to the Public – video)

The U.S. Secret Service: History and Missions by Shawn Reese Analyst in Emergency Management and Homeland Security Policy

ABOUT CRYSTAL CAUDILL

Connect with the author:

A Question for You:

What was your favorite fact shared today?

A Brief History of the Secret Service: Part 4: Bringing Criminals to Justice

Crystal Caudill — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 16:30:56 +0000

A Brief History of the Secret Service

– Hiram C. Whitley, Chief of the Secret Service, May 1869 – September 1874

Part 4: Bringing Criminals to Justice

The Secret Service adopted a long-term strategy for suppressing counterfeiting. While the country was split into 11 districts, covering multiple states and territories, the first step of this plan was to concentrate its operatives in the largest urban centers: New York City, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, and St. Louis.

There, they sought to penetrate the criminal networks by starting at the lowest level and gradually working their way upward to identify and arrest the manufacturers. Informants were crucial to their success, providing information and introductions into these secretive gangs of counterfeiters.

Good cases took weeks, even months, to develop and required enormous amounts of patience and dedication. Although not usually dangerous (the first operative to lose their life on the job was not until 1907), operatives stayed in peak condition to contend with criminals who did not wish to be caught.

Operatives were scrutinized by their superiors and were required to write extensive daily reports. Expenses were itemized, including the purchase of counterfeit notes, travel expenses, and personal expenses. In 1875, Chief Washburn demanded that field operative Andrew Drummond obtain a refund from a Philadelphia telegraph operator who had overcharged him one cent. Ever dutiful, he obtained the refund.

Not only were their expenditures itemized, but their days were also detailed from waking moment until slumber. A typical report might say: “I got up at 5:30 AM, ate my breakfast, left home at 7 AM, arrived at the office at 8 AM, at 8:30 I went to First National Bank…., I returned home at 10 PM and went to bed at 11 PM.”

Though they faced internal and external challenges, through the use of informants, undercover work, and both investigative and instigative techniques, the Secret Service reduced counterfeiting from the most prominent criminal activity in the pre-Civil War United States to a spattering of successful occurrences by 1900.

Fun Fact:

Long before the Miranda Rights were established in 1966, the Secret Service had its own version. It was common practice for law enforcement agencies to grant freedom to criminals who spouted information at their arrests. However, Chief of the Secret Service Elmer Washburn (1874–1876) enacted a policy for the Secret Service which required operatives to inform arrested criminals that anything they did must be done “voluntarily and without any promises whatever.” (See reports by Secret Service operatives as quoted in Illegal Tender by David R. Johnson [1995]). This policy was further emphasized by Chief James Brooks (1876–1888) in 1879. Operatives were instructed to warn suspects of their rights. Everything a suspect said would be documented and used against them in court, and they did not have to answer any questions until they had consulted a lawyer. Nearly ninety years before the rest of law enforcement agencies required it, Secret Service operatives were reading suspects their rights.

Resources

While I’m not going to list all the resources I used in research for this story, I will leave you with a few of my favorites in case you want to research further.

Books

Illegal Tender by David R Johnson* (My personal favorite. It gives you a look at counterfeiters AND the Secret Service.)

The United States Secret Service by Walter S. Bowen and Harry Edward Neal

Freedom’s Detective: The Secret Service, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Man Who Masterminded America’s First War on Terror by Charles Lane

True Detective Stories by Andrew L. Drummond (Digital)

Excerpts from the History of the United States Secret Service, 1865-1975 by the United States Secret Service (Digital)

Digital Resources

The Secret Service’s Webiste

Secret Service Museum Tour (Closed to the Public – video)

The U.S. Secret Service: History and Missions by Shawn Reese Analyst in Emergency Management and Homeland Security Policy

Check out the Hidden Hearts of the Gilded Age Series

Can these four Secret Service Operatives catch the counterfeiters … without losing their hearts?

A Gilded Age Secret Service historical romance series, with mystery and suspense

ABOUT CRYSTAL CAUDILL

Connect with the author:

A Question for You:

What was your favorite fact shared today?

A Brief History of the Secret Service: Part 3 – The Challenges They Faced

Crystal Caudill — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 18:54:32 +0000

A Brief History of the Secret Service

– Hiram C. Whitley, Chief of the Secret Service, May 1869 – September 1874

Part 3: The Challenges They Faced

INTERNAL CHALLENGES:

The Secret Service was a federal organization, meaning its jurisdiction spread across the entire country. However, between 1875 and 1910, the division never employed more than 47 men, and the average was only 25. Between 1878 and 1893, when my stories takes place, the average number of servicemen was well below that.

In addition to being stretched thin, Secret Service operatives were subordinate to policing institutions. They did not have the authority to search for evidence or even arrest criminals without the cooperation of the local police authorities.

These two major issues, along with insufficient funds, could have crippled lesser men, but Secret Service Operatives were resourceful, determined, and loyal to their country.

EXTERNAL CHALLENGES

Counterfeiting was no accidental crime. It was committed purposefully, requiring skill, equipment, and a network of like-minded criminals. Like all criminals, counterfeiters did not want to be caught and did whatever they could to protect their criminal network. It wasn’t uncommon for them to grease the wheels of corrupt police officers, making it difficult as a Secret Service operative to determine who could be trusted.

Counterfeiters had fully developed criminal subcultures that were difficult to break into, and anyone could be a counterfeiter, from the lowly street peddler all the way up to the upper crusts of society. No income level was exempt from potential involvement. Even a sweet old grandma down the street could be the ring leader. Networks could stretch the width of the United States and relied on a decentralized underworld structure that transcended community boundaries.

Check out the Hidden Hearts of the Gilded Age Series

Can these four Secret Service Operatives catch the counterfeiters … without losing their hearts?

A Gilded Age Secret Service historical romance series, with mystery and suspense

Resources

While I’m not going to list all the resources I used in research for this story, I will leave you with a few of my favorites in case you want to research further.

Books

Illegal Tender by David R Johnson* (My personal favorite. It gives you a look at counterfeiters AND the Secret Service.)

The United States Secret Service by Walter S. Bowen and Harry Edward Neal

Freedom’s Detective: The Secret Service, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Man Who Masterminded America’s First War on Terror by Charles Lane

True Detective Stories by Andrew L. Drummond (Digital)

Excerpts from the History of the United States Secret Service, 1865-1975 by the United States Secret Service (Digital)

Digital Resources

The Secret Service’s Webiste

Secret Service Museum Tour (Closed to the Public – video)

The U.S. Secret Service: History and Missions by Shawn Reese Analyst in Emergency Management and Homeland Security Policy

ABOUT CRYSTAL CAUDILL

Connect with the author:

A Question for You:

What was your favorite fact shared today?

A Brief History of the Secret Service: Part 2 – The Making of an Operative

Crystal Caudill — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 12:00:03 +0000

A Brief History of the Secret Service

– Hiram C. Whitley, Chief of the Secret Service, May 1869 – September 1874

Part 2: The Making of an Operative

Operatives tended to have military, police, or detective experience and come from a law-abiding middle-class background. These men were successful in life prior to being appointed and often had a job history that indicated an ambition to do more.

Unlike their predecessors, they adapted their behavior to bureaucratic routines, followed orders, and obeyed rules. They were talented detectives, highly tolerant of paperwork, and committed to organizational goals.

They were a tough, capable, and honorable breed, with high standards of personal integrity, who felt it their duty to interact with criminals for the greater good of society.

THE DO’S AND DON’TS OF BEING AN OPERATIVE IN THE 1880S

“Employees will be judged by the character they sustain, by the results they accomplish, and by the manner in which they accomplish them.” – Elmer Washburn, Chief of the Secret Service 1874-1876

Avoid “any appearance of impropriety or disgraceful behavior.”

Criminals are not personal acquaintances; they are enemies of the social order.

Submit weekly reports to the director. They must include accounts of your actions and expenses every hour of every day.

Do not accept gifts or gratuities to perform or forgo official duties.

Do not deliver or give permission to use counterfeit money to any unauthorized person.

All arrests must be in strict conformity to civil law and with the cooperation of the local policing institution.

All financial transactions must be reported, even those involving criminals.

Report all criminal transactions: what was paid for counterfeit money, from whom it was purchased, where the deal was made, the kind of bogus money purchased, and how much counterfeit was obtained.

Record “all charges for information and assistance,” including names and residences of each person receiving these sums.

Purchasing counterfeit money must be done for the smallest, practical amount.

“Authority must be had from this Office before any bargain is made for information or assistance, unless the operative can clearly make it appear that the interest of the service would have suffered materially by the delay necessary, in order to obtain such authority.”

“Operatives will neither promise, either by word or implication, immunity from punishment, nor anything in mitigation of sentence, to any person for any offense he may have committed.”

Suspects must be warned about their rights – everything they say will be documented and used against them in court. Suspects needn’t answer any questions until a lawyer is obtained. (This was long before the Miranda Rights became required in 1966.)

Check out the Hidden Hearts of the Gilded Age Series

Can these four Secret Service Operatives catch the counterfeiters … without losing their hearts?

A Gilded Age Secret Service historical romance series, with mystery and suspense

Resources

While I’m not going to list all the resources I used in research for this story, I will leave you with a few of my favorites in case you want to research further.

Books

Illegal Tender by David R Johnson* (My personal favorite. It gives you a look at counterfeiters AND the Secret Service.)

The United States Secret Service by Walter S. Bowen and Harry Edward Neal

Freedom’s Detective: The Secret Service, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Man Who Masterminded America’s First War on Terror by Charles Lane

True Detective Stories by Andrew L. Drummond (Digital)

Excerpts from the History of the United States Secret Service, 1865-1975 by the United States Secret Service (Digital)

Digital Resources

The Secret Service’s Webiste

Secret Service Museum Tour (Closed to the Public – video)

The U.S. Secret Service: History and Missions by Shawn Reese Analyst in Emergency Management and Homeland Security Policy

ABOUT CRYSTAL CAUDILL

Connect with the author:

A Question for You:

What was your favorite fact shared today?

A Brief History of the Secret Service: Part 1 – The Early Days

Crystal Caudill — Sun, 14 Jun 2026 23:25:15 +0000

A Brief History of the Secret Service

– Hiram C. Whitley, Chief of the Secret Service, May 1869 – September 1874

Part 1: The Early Days

While many people today think of the Secret Service as primarily protecting the President, that duty did not actually become a part of their repertoire until 1894. Until 1902* it was conducted only informally and part-time, and even then, only two operatives were assigned full-time to the White House. So what did they do from their creation in 1865 until 1902, and beyond?

*Taken from the Secret Service’s website, as there are conflicting dates.

Counterfeiters Beware

It is estimated that one-third of the circulating U.S. currency was counterfeit during the Civil War. Until 1863, there was no national currency. Each state and bank had its own banknote design, making it an easy world for counterfeiters to thrive. Public confidence in a nation’s currency is critical to the health of the country’s economy, and the United States was in serious trouble. Even after the installation of a national currency in 1863, counterfeiters thrived. Only local police and occasional investigations by the War Department hampered counterfeiters.

On April 14th, 1865, Secretary of the Treasury Hugh McCullough brought attention to the growing trouble of counterfeiting and insisted that a permanent, continuous, aggressive, organized effort was needed to thwart this menace to the economy. Abraham Lincoln agreed and authorized him to move forward. That same night, Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth. Despite the turmoil in the government that followed, on July 5, 1865, William P. Wood was sworn in as the first Chief of the U.S. Secret Service.

About 30 men made up this first group of Secret Service operatives. Headquarters were set up in Washington, and 11 field offices were established in cities throughout the country. A guide list of six “general orders” was issued*:

Each man must recognize that his service belongs to the government through 24 hours of every day.
All must agree to assignment to the locations chosen by the Chief and respond to whatever mobility of movement the work might require.
All must exercise such careful saving of money spent for travel, subsistence, and payments for information as can be self-evidently justified.
Continuing employment in the Service will depend upon demonstrated fitness, ability as investigators, and honesty and fidelity in all transactions.
The title of regular employees will be Operative, Secret Service. Temporary employees will be Assistant Operatives or Informants.
All employment will be at a daily pay rate; accounts submitted monthly. Each operative will be expected to keep on hand enough personal reserve funds to carry on Service business between paydays.

Taken from The United States Secret Service* by Warren S. Bowen and Harry Edward Neal.

Credentials were handwritten letters of appointment until an incident in 1871 forced them to reconsider an alternative. Ira W. Raymond waltzed into a field office posing as an operative and demanded all contraband be turned over to him. The operative on duty felt it odd that he wasn’t notified, and he telegrammed headquarters. Raymond was arrested, but this prompted Chief Whitley (the second Chief) to design and issue distinctive badges and printed credentials to all members of the Secret Service.

These badges were five-pointed, silver stars with lacework engraved into each point. “U.S. Secret Service” was stamped into the center of each. Operatives had $25 deducted from their paycheck for the badges, with the promise that it would be returned upon retirement when they turned in their badge. Each operative carried engraved and printed credentials called commissions from that point forward.

Unfortunately, the first two administrations of the Secret Service were fraught with scandal. As a result, a cloud hung over the division’s public image. Chief Washburn made some repairs to their reputation, but it was Chief James J. Brooks who really turned things around.

One of Chief Brooks’s first acts was to compile and issue the first formal manual of instructions for operatives. These were called “General Orders No. 4.” Under his reformation, the Secret Service was officially recognized as a division of the Treasury Department with its own budget, as limited as it was. Chief Brooks was a hard man and did not believe in vacations for his men. Any leave of absence was given without pay. But through his leadership, public opinion began to shift in a positive direction toward the Secret Service.

Check out the Hidden Hearts of the Gilded Age Series

Can these four Secret Service Operatives catch the counterfeiters … without losing their hearts?

A Gilded Age Secret Service historical romance series, with mystery and suspense

Resources

While I’m not going to list all the resources I used in research for this story, I will leave you with a few of my favorites in case you want to research further.

Books

Illegal Tender by David R Johnson* (My personal favorite. It gives you a look at counterfeiters AND the Secret Service.)

The United States Secret Service by Walter S. Bowen and Harry Edward Neal

Freedom’s Detective: The Secret Service, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Man Who Masterminded America’s First War on Terror by Charles Lane

True Detective Stories by Andrew L. Drummond (Digital)

Excerpts from the History of the United States Secret Service, 1865-1975 by the United States Secret Service (Digital)

Digital Resources

The Secret Service’s Webiste

Secret Service Museum Tour (Closed to the Public – video)

The U.S. Secret Service: History and Missions by Shawn Reese Analyst in Emergency Management and Homeland Security Policy

ABOUT CRYSTAL CAUDILL

Connect with the author:

A Question for You:

What was your favorite fact shared today?

Longview Asylum

Crystal Caudill — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 17:46:46 +0000

I totally missed my own release date for Sung in the Shadows, but I figure better late than never! I have a few posts I’m hoping to get together and tossed up over the next couple of weeks about the history of Longview Insane Asylum, my cast of characters, behind-the-scenes fun, and a fun playbill I created to go with the opera Ezekiel composes in the book.

So I’m a TOTAL history nerd–thus my writing HISTORICAL romantic suspense/mystery–and when I discovered Longview Asylum in some research for another book, I knew one day I would have to set a story there. I never knew how hard it would be to research. When I talked to the historical societies and local museums, the most they could provide was a few pictures and some old board of directors reports. I was able to find general history information online, but little to nothing about the actual building.

At least until I visited the Ohio Book Store, where the owner had a single page from a poster-sized atlas with a written walking tour of the asylum from around 1869. That beauty set me back $30, but it was worth every penny to have this rare piece of research. For posterity’s sake, I’ve included the entirety of the article at the end of this blog post. (I have since found a digitized copy here, so if you’re someone who needs to cite the article, here is the link to the digitized copy.)

For my dear readers, everything you read in Sung in the Shadows is as factual as I could make it–from the dome over the rotunda to the glass floors beneath it that provided light to the basement below. Of course, I have no way of knowing if the visitor’s room had a piano, but there could have been, given the other details of the building. And yes! Tours were given to the public once a week so they could observe the patients, much like they would observe animals in a zoo. The treatments in the story weren’t necessarily from Longview specifically. However, I read around 20 books and articles from doctors of the time for their treatments, descriptions of ailments, and descriptions of staff practices.

For those interested in learning more about the Longview Asylum for the Insane, I have the history of the asylum and that article typed up beneath the description of Sung in the Shadows—a story of family secrets, danger, mental illness, and a hope that shines bright in the darkness.

When past darkness prowls, will stepping into the light lead to a brighter future?

In nineteenth-century Cincinnati, fear keeps Nora Davis caged with secrets and lies. Her true identity as the daughter of a famous opera singer is too dangerous to reveal with her former captors still on the loose. But weekly singing lessons at Longview Asylum—her paranoid mother’s permanent residence—light a flame in Nora, and it’s one she can avoid fanning for only so long.

With his suicidal ma in the asylum, Ezekiel Beaumont’s soul is weary, but Nora’s presence at the asylum intrigues him. As a Pike’s Opera House employee, Ezekiel thinks Nora might be cut out for the stage. He also begins to wonder if Nora’s ma is really the famed Constanza Brisbane, who went missing mid-performance. He’s determined to find out.

Though Ezekiel brings the performance world a little too close for comfort, Nora is drawn to his warm personality all the same. The two of them steadily grow closer, but then Nora begins to fear she’s being watched, and her own paranoia blooms.

As the line between what’s real and false grows fainter, will Ezekiel’s and Nora’s faith and love overcome?

“From the haunting halls of Longview Asylum to the dangerous secrets of Nora’s past, Sung in the Shadows delivers a riveting blend of romance, mystery, and redemption.” —Misty M. Beller, USA TODAY best-selling author of the Sisters of the Rockies series

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Longview Asylum for the Insane: A Brief History

In 1860, the Longview Asylum opened on Paddock Road in Carthage, OH, along the banks of the Miami & Erie Canal. It was established with a guiding philosophy of maintaining a humane institution that cared for its patients’ physical well-being as well as their mental state. For a time, Longview was much better at keeping with that philosophy than its predecessors. In a 1861 report, it was recorded that the hospital offered entertainment and amusements, including a bowling alley, dancing parties, singing birds, and other activities for patient enjoyment. It was also claimed that scourging and tormenting of patients was not as prevalent at Longview as at other institutions. I cringe at the phrase “as prevalent,” meaning abuse did occur, even in the beginning.

Over time, underfunding and understaffing led to more frequent occurrences of patient mistreatment. The Cincinnati Enquirer published several articles in 1879 describing incidents in the hospital laundry, where female patients who drew the wrath of an employee would either be repeatedly submerged in a tub of water or have a wet towel wrapped around their faces, preventing them from breathing. Beatings were often administered, then later reported by the former employees who witnessed them and resigned from the hospital.

Initially, the building housed 400 patients, but within three decades, the population had grown to 800. The facility was overpopulated. New wards were constructed in the 1890s, increasing the capacity to 955. In 1927, additional buildings were added to house another 500 patients. However, by 1953, there were 3,568 patients and only 1,831 beds. Add to that a massive staffing shortage, and you have the nightmares that have lived well into the minds of future generations.

With a change in treatment philosophies—including medication, outpatient treatment, community support strategies, etc—a vast state hospital complex was no longer required. The resident population dwindled and moved to a new building. In 1978, the original Longview building was razed after years of disuse.

Some Resources

Longview Article from 1869 Atlas

Longview Article

Longview

Longview Colored

(Text from Article – Typed up by Crystal Caudill from her physical copy. All spellings and phrasing orginial to article.)

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
_____________
Judge JOHN BURGOYNE, President.
Hon. JNO. F. TORRENCE
JOSEPH SEIFERT, Esq.,
Hon. HENRY KESSLER,
Hon. JNO. K. GREEN
Hon. JOSHUA H. BATES, Secretary.
_____________

OFFICERS
______
SUPERINTENDENT AND PHYSICIAN,
O.M. LANGDON, M.D.
ASSISTANT PHYSICIAN,
A.P. COURTRIGHT, M.D.
STEWARD,
R.T. THOURBURN, Esq.
MATRON,
MRS. LOUISA W. JONES.

This edifice, which is built of brick, is six hundred and twelve feet long, and consists of a centre building, five stories high, surmounted by a dome and two wings, three stories high, each intersected by three cross-buildings, two of which are four stories high, one of them surmounted by a dome, smaller, however, than the one on the main building. The front of the centre is but three stories high, and somewhat narrower than the rest of the building. The front of the centre is but three stories high, and somewhat narrower than the rest of the building. In front of this is a brick portico, also three stories high. The portico is reached by a flight of four steps, and from this, three more steps lead up to the main entrance. From the entrance, a hall ten feet wide runs back to the rotunda, which is in the centre of the building, and is forty-four feet in diameter and eighty-eight feet high, with five corridors around it, communicating with the different stories; the floor, as well as the dome, is of glass, for the purpose of giving light to the basement. On one side of the hall is the office, apothecaries’, and reception-room for visitors to female patients; on the other side are two public reception-rooms and reception-room for visitors to male patients. At the sides of the rotunda are the entrances to the main stairways. Directly in the rear of the rotunda is a hall running back to a stairway, which ascends to the third story, and descends to the basement. On one side of this hall is the dining-room for the first ward, double bed-room water closet, bath and lumber-rooms; on the other side, ward dining-room, steward’s office, and bed-room. In the second story, passing from front to rear, there is one side of the front hall the trustees’ room, parlor, and room for the assistant physician; on the other side, sitting and dining-rooms, then the first corridor around the rotunda, with entrances to the stairways on each side; then a hall running back as on the first floor, and on either side of this hall store-rooms and matron’s room and ward dining-rooms. In the third story, there are on one side of the front hall reading, library, and bed-rooms; on the other side the Superintendent’s rooms, then the corridor around the rotunda, with entrances to main stairways, and on each side of the rear hall three bed-rooms and ward dining-room.

The number, size, and arrangement of the rooms in these three stories are precisely the same, with the exception of the space devoted to water-closet and bath-room, on the first floor, being devoted to a bed-room in the floors above.

The fourth story is devoted to wards for pay-patients, dining-rooms, water-closets, &c, except the space immediately in the rear or the rotunda, which is occupied by the chapel, a room sixty-three feet by thirty feet, and twenty-eight feet high, and which is reached by an iron starqay on either side, for the use of the patients, as well as by the main stairways.

In the fifth story are the servants’ sleeping rooms, and four large iron tanks, which contain the supply of water for the house. In the basement are the washing, drying, ironing, bake, and flour rooms, kitchens and general store-rooms. In that portion of the basement under the wings are the workshops, clothing-rooms, elevators, chamgers for heating air to warm the wards, dead-room, dust holes, drop for soiled clothes, bowling alleys, &c. Underneath the basement are the cellars, air duct for ventilation, coal pits, boiler-room, an d gas-house. The basement and cellar are continued back in the rear of the main building about one hundred and seventy feet, forming a low building of that length, and as the ground gradually recedes in that direction, the boiler-room which is at the extremity of this building is almost entirely above ground. This arrangement removes from the immediate neighborhood of the main building all those processes which wuld be liable to cause discomfort by heat, smell, &c, and also allows the smoke stack, which is also the ventilating flue for the whole house, to be at such a distance as to insure the delivery of the impure air so far from the house that there cannot be the slightest danger of its being returned to it, no matter what the direction of the wind may be.

Four boilers have been put in, 50 inches diameter, 26 feet long, with six flues in each, two of 10 1/2 diameter, and four of 8 1/2. They are all made of the best Hillman iron, the shell 15/16 iron. The flues of the same iron, 1/4 inch thick. The boilers are set in two batteries, two in each with steam-drum 24 inches in diameter, and mud-drum 20 inches in diameter. The steam and mud-drums are made of 5/16 iron, the supply-stands of 1/4 inch. The drums and stands are all riveted on.

The wards for inmates who are not pay patientes are all located in the wings, and the two wings are precisely alike, and the different stories are also on the same plan, so that a description of one floor of one wing will answer for all the rest.

Leaving the rotunda by the entrance to the main stairway, and passing the foot of the latter a short passage leads to a door opening into a small apratment or lobby, in which is a door opening into an iron stairway etending fromf the ground to the chapel in the fourth story; from this lobby also a door opens into the main hall of the first ward; the iron stairway also has a door opening directly into the ward. The hall is one hundred and twenty-four feet long, twelve wide, and thirteen feet high. Immediately on entering it, threre is on one side, toward the rear of the building, a door opening into the ward dining-room; farther along, on the same side, there are four windows for lighting this end of the hall; on the otherside, opposite these windows, is the sitting or day-room of the ward, sixteen feet by thirty-two; then follow, on either side of the hall, teh dormitories of which there are fifteen, each eight by twelve feet six inches, and each having a ventilating flue opening out from it. The windows are provided with solid sliding shutters, which can be locked either when entirely closed or when elevated about five inches. Just beyond the small dormitories on the rear side of the hall is a large iron stairway leading from the basement to the fourth story; next to the stairway where is an associate dormitory sixteen feet six inches by thirty feet, and an attendant’s room ten feet by eight. Here the hall terminates, and is lighted by three windows at the extreme end. Opposite the associate dormitory is a small hall or passage way at right angles with the main hall, and running toward the front of the building and opening into the main hall of the second ward. About the middle of this small hall are double doors shutting off the first from the second ward. Just before reaching the division a door opens into the space on one side of this hall containing the water-closet, and bath-room and wash stand, clothing-room, dry-room, elevator and drop for soiled clothes belonging to the first ward. After passing the double doors, we have a door opening out of the other side of the hall into the space containing the water-closet, bath-room, &c., of the second ward. Passing on into the main hall of the second ward, which is 108 feet long by ten feet wide, haivng three windows at each extremity for lighting and centilation, we have just opposite the small hall or entry the water-closets, bath-rooms, &c.; on either side of it there are two associate dormitories, one ten by twenty-two feet, the other twelve feet six inches by seventeen feet, with an attendant’s room nine by sixteen feet; between them, on the sides of the main hall are twelve dormitories, the same size as in teh first ward; then in front, a day-room, twenty-two by twenty-seven feet, or rahter two, with folding doors bewteen them. Opposite is the dining-room, sixteen feet six inches by thirty feet, with a pantry five feet by seven feet, elevator, &c., also an iron stairway reaching from the basement to the fourth story. Here the ward terminates. A hall or corridor, seven feet wide by forty-four long continues along the front of the remainder of the wing until it reaches the last or terminating cross building, where it turns at right angles and continues toward the rear about forty-two feet more. Opening out from that portion of this corridor which runs along the front, is an attendant’s room, eight feet six inches by eleven feet, a bath-room, six feet by eleven, clothe-sroom, five by eleven feet, two water-closets, four by four feet, drying-room, four feet six inches by eight feet, and drop for soiled clothes, wash-stand, and entrance to another iron stairway four feet wide, running from teh ground to the third story. In that portion of the hall which passes back toward the rear are the entrances to five strong rooms, intended for very violent patients.

The cross buildings of the wings are all, except the two at the extreme ends in which the strong rooms are located, one story higher than the rest of the wings, and the two next the main building are surmounted by domes. The upper stories of these are devoted principally to convalescents, and contain the amusement and reading-rooms. We have chess, dominoes, draughts, backgammon, quoits, ball, bowling alleys, billiards and bagatelle tables, &c., &c. Many of the inmates have some proficiency in music, and there are various instruments in the house which are used by them.

One of the first necessities of an establishment of this kind is an abudant supply of water, and this has been provided for by the location of a scmall steam pump on the bank of the canal, which forces the water up into a reservoir on a level with the basement and anotehr pump, or rather pari, for there are two of them in the rear of the basement, which forces it up into the tanks in the fifth story of the mian building. In the pipe which leads to the tanks there is a stopcock and opening to which hose can be attached, so that in case of fire the whole force of the engine, which is thrity horse-power, can be employed to throw water directly upon the flames. This engine, besides working the pumps, furnishes power for operating a large pashing machine, wringer, and mangle. The boilers supply steam not only for the engine, but for heating water, cooking, and warming the house. The house is warmed partly by radiators located in different apartments, and partly from air heated by passing over coils of steam pipe, the hall of each ward having registers conveying hot air. The sitting-rooms most remote from the bain building each contain an independent coil of steam pipe.

The building is lighted by gas manufactured on the premises, the words being in the rear of the main building, and at one side of the boiler and pump-room. The gasometer is thirty-three feet in diameter and twelve feet high, and has a capacity of about twelve thousand cubic feet.

Ventilation is insured by means of a large air duct located in the cellar and traversing the whole length of the house, and terminating in the chimney stack, which is thirteen feet in diameter, on hundred and twenty0five feet high, octagonal in shape, having the flue from the boilers running up the centre, and the flues from the kitchens, wash-house, and gas-works in the angles. These flues heat the air around them sufficiently to cause a strong upward current in the chimney stack, and consequently an efficient draught in the air duct and ventilation flues. The height of the stack and its distance from the ouse insure the delivery of the foul air at a distance sufficient to prevent its return.

Drainage is effected by means of an eight-inch pipe in the bottom of the air-duct, and in which all the sewerage pipes of the house terminate. This pipe terminates at the chimney stack in an egg-shaped sewer two feet by sixteen inches, which extends eight hundred feet in the rear of the building.

To give some idea of the size and capacity of the building and the extent to which it is supplied with gas and water, I will state that there are in the house nearly six hundred rooms, fifty-six water-closets, six thousand one hundred and seventy-eight feet of water pipe, three hundred and fifty-six cocks, and five hundred gas-burners.

Between six and seven millions of bricks were used in erecting the building, and its entire cost was four hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

The lower cut represents a handsome and convenient edifice which stands on the Carthage Pike, about forty rods west and opposite the main building, and is used for teh accomodations of colored patients.

My question for YOU:

Wow, thanks for making it this far! What was the most interesting thing you learned from all this?

ABOUT CRYSTAL CAUDILL

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Behind-the-Scenes and Research Peek

Crystal Caudill — Tue, 01 Apr 2025 18:26:46 +0000

It’s always fun to take a peek at the behind-the-scenes creation of a book and a peek at the research too!

Story Inspiration

The story spark for this story came from a variety of places. The political/judicial corruption and city rioting came from an event in 1884 that I discovered while researching Counterfeit Love. Two men were responsible for the violent death of their employer, William Berner and Joe Palmer. William Berner had connections, while Joe was a black man. Berner received a conviction of manslaughter with a maximum 20-year sentence, while his partner received a murder conviction and death sentence. The city felt someone had bought the jury in Berner’s favor and rioted. In the end, fifty-four men died, an estimated two hundred were wounded, and Berner escaped safely to the State Penitentiary to serve eleven years of his twenty-year sentence before being released for good behavior.

A Bit About Dime Novels

Dime novels were the first novel type to make books and reading available to the common man. On a wage of $5 to $8 a week, traditional books that cost $2 to $3 were cost-prohibitive to anyone below the middle class. Dime novels were cheaply printed, much smaller in length and size, and cost only a nickel to twenty-five cents.

In addition to being cheap, dime novels were the precursor to genre fiction. Searching for crime, suspense, mystery, romance, thrillers, westerns, etc? Thank Dime Novels. These stories became wildly popular and spurred other variations and genres. Are you a fan of subscription fiction services like Love Inspired or Guidepost? Yep, dime novels were their start.

Personal Behind-the-Scenes Facts

I wrote this story during one of my life’s most challenging caregiving seasons. Generally, a novel takes me about 6 months to draft, with another month or two for self-editing. However, due to lots of stops and starts as I dealt with multiple significant health crises for my mother-in-law (including a broken neck), this book took 14 months to draft, and I had to squeeze edits down to two weeks. This book was such a disjointed mess that I never thought it would come together, but by God’s grace and mercy (and a fantastic editing team), it is the book you read now.

Writing a “spin-off” series from Counterfeit Love brought challenges I hadn’t expected. In the first draft, the characters didn’t closely enough resemble their portrayal in Counterfeit Love, so I had to do some serious reworking of characters–especially Abraham Hall and Dr. Pelton. Although I swore I would never reread one of my books once published, I did indeed have to reread Counterfeit Love. I created a detailed document of information from Counterfeit Love that had to be kept the same in Written in Secret. Even more challenging, the characters had to stay similar to what they were in Counterfeit Love while being different enough to show how they grew between 1880 and 1884.

Each “Guardian” has flavors of my core group of girls and critique partners, The Mayhemmers. I am the one most like Theresa, Liz the one most like Lydia, Angela the most like Nora, and Voni the most like Flossie. However, each character is still their own person and not directly based on a Mayhemmer.

Written in Secret by Crystal Caudill

In the heart of nineteenth-century Cincinnati one woman holds the power to rewrite history.

What happens when fiction becomes reality? In the corruption-infested Queen City, danger lurks in every shadow, but Lydia Pelton refuses to stay silent. She writes under a pseudonym, E. A. Dupin, crafting crime novels to exact justice and right the wrongs she sees in society. When a serial killer decides to be the sword to her pen, Lydia is confronted with the consequences of her words. Four men are dead, and the city blames her.

With murders on the rise, Officer Abraham Hall’s only lead is Lydia’s fiction, and he is thrust into an investigation with the “Killer Queen of Romance.” Despite his misgivings about the woman, he realizes that even with his reputation for catching elusive criminals, he needs her help. But his unexpected attraction to Lydia proves as difficult to manage as the woman herself.

As the mystery unfolds, Abraham and Lydia race to rewrite the ending, not only for Cincinnati’s citizens, but for their own hearts too.

Month-Long Blog Giveaway #1

Help me celebrate the release of Written in Secret and get the word out about the new series. From March 4 to April 1, this giveaway will be open to those legally allowed to enter both domestically and internationally. International winners will be given a prize of equal value as shipping costs are prohibitive. See my giveaway policies for more details.

Prize: homemade book cozy, fuzzy socks, journal, reader mug mat, bookmarks, stickers, tea, and chapstick.

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Month-Long Giveaway #2

Already have the book?? This giveaway is for you. Somewhere in the first fifty pages of Written in Secret is the answer to “What attacked Lydia and Abraham inside the circus tent?” Fill out the below Google Form to be entered for your chance to win a $25 gift card to Amazon or Baker Book House. The giveaway runs until April 11, 2024. The winner will be selected the week of April 12 and notified by email.

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What is something you’d like to know about my research or behind the scenes that maybe I didn’t answer?

Houses of Refuge

Crystal Caudill — Tue, 06 Jun 2023 09:00:52 +0000

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Initially, in my research for Counterfeit Faith, I began my studies looking at the history of orphanages intending for my story to be set there. However, during my research, I stumbled upon the concept of a House of Refuge. Having worked a summer during college at a camp for at-risk youth, my heart was immediately drawn to this setting and the stories of the children who were deemed juvenile delinquents. I had to know more, and you can read the results of that study in the story. However, like any historical novel, I couldn’t include everything I learned. So this is blog post is an attempt to give a brief overview of Houses of Refuge.

“To accomplish the work of reformation, it is essential that depraved children should be removed from the contaminating contact with wicked associates, both adult and juvenile, and transplanted to a purer and more health-inspiring moral atmosphere. Many of them have been roughly treated by the world, and should be looked upon ‘with a countenance more in sorrow than in anger.’ The light which guided them was not that of virtue, but the lurid glare springing from the polluted and deathly quagmires or society. If any man proud of his integrity and high social position should be tempted to look sternly on erring youth, he should reflect on what he might have been, if penury and ignorance had been the only endowments of his childhood.”

Thomas Budd upon the opening of the new White Female Department Building, January 20th, 1872

Why They Were Created

Prior to the early 1800s, convicted youths were confined to jails and penitentiaries with hardened criminals, regardless of the crimes or noncriminal behavior that placed them there. A child who had been picked up off the street for vagrancy may have been in the same cell as a man who had brutally murdered someone. Not only were they housed with adults, but the institutions were also overcrowded, many of them decrepit. It was a terrible situation that came under the notice of a social welfare movement.

Thomas Eddy and John Griscom organized the Society for the Prevention of Pauperism, establishing the first House of Refuge in 1825. It was located in Manhattan, New York, and remained open until 1935. Many other institutions throughout the country followed suit, creating their our state or privately ran Houses of Refuge. These institutes were designed to house poor, destitute, and vagrant youth who were deemed by authorities to be on the path toward delinquency. In other words, Houses of Refuge were the predecessors to today’s juvenile justice system.

How Did a House of Refuge Work?

There were some varying differences from institution to institution, but in general, youths under the age of 21 who had been abandoned, convicted of a crime, or homeless could be referred to the institution through a judge or mayor for at least one year. Many of those children actually spent an indefinite amount of time in these institutions before being placed into indenture agreements, where the inmates would work and train under the supervision of their employer until they reached the age of 21. If a child could not be indentured in cases of mental physical infirmity or otherwise, they could be returned to friends (as they believed the parents were generally a bad influence on the children), sent to the almshouse (poorhouse), or otherwise “placed out.” Girls were trained in housewifery, sewing, washing, and cooking. Anything that went along with managing a house or serving in a house that could afford paid help. Boys were apprenticed sed to apprentice as farmers, printers, tanners, carpenters, blacksmiths, and shoemakers.

Indentured Locations May 1834

However, before children could reach this position of indentured service, they had to earn the right of relative freedom granted through such an agreement. When children were brought into the institutions, they were divided up by sex and then advanced through the following classes. (*This was the class system of the Philadelphia House of Refuge, but each institution had its own variant.)

About Division of Inmates

“The children shall be divided into eleven classes, class No. 10 being the lowest–advancing to No. 1–and the eleventh being the Class of Honor. When admitted, they shall be placed in Class No. 10, and be promoted (when deserving) monthly, until they have gone through the first ten classes, when they shall be placed in the Class of Honor. After they have been two months in that class, they shall be placed in charge of the Indenturing Committee: Provided, that nothing in this rule shall prevent the Board of Managers from discharging a child when it is obviously to the advantage of the child that he or she should not be longer retained.” – By-laws, Rules, & Regulations of the Board of Managers of the House of Refuge: Adopted 1876 (Philadelphia, PA)

An Inmate’s Day

The children’s days were highly regimented with a focus on moral, intellectual, and physical improvement. Days began at 5 am and went until an 8 pm bedtime. The children would labor for six to seven hours, have schooling for three hours, have 30 minutes for each meal, 30 minutes of devotional time, and three hours of recreational time–all of which was strictly supervised. The concept was that idle hands are the devil’s workshop. The children’s labor supported the operating expenses for the reformatory. You can see the items produced in 1834 by the Philadelphia House of Refuge below, as well as a sample schedule.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

The goal of a House of Refuge was to reform, educate, and provide a Christian moral foundation for inmates so that they could become productive and desired members of society. Unfortunately, like many institutions, Houses of Refuges had the best intentions but suffered from the same issues that plagued the adult facilities. Houses of Refuge quickly outgrew their capacity and became overcrowded, suffered from deteriorating conditions, and staff abuse. In 1876, the Philadelphia House of Refuge underwent a nine-day investigation into abuse. Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives “found that the board punished children by banning play, sending them to bed without supper, placing them in solitary confinement, and even imposing lashings. The board forced children to labor in institutional workshops six days a week without pay and, to make matters worse, thousands of dollars in profits from the goods produced went directly to the board. Despite the prevalence of punishments, the House committee deemed that the board’s actions were not abusive.” (The Encylopedia of Greater Philadelphia, “House of Refuge” by James Kopaczewski.)

By WWII, most, if not all, Houses of Refuge had either closed or restructured and changed their names or taken on the new concept of juvenile jails. You can still find private and state-ran boarding school situations for at-risk youth all over the country. While they hold many similarities to the Houses of Refuge of old, it is my hope they do not suffer from the same issues that plagued their predecessor.

So what are your thoughts on Houses of Refuge, reader? What questions do you have?

RESOURCES: (A Small sampling)

Budd, T. A. (n.d.). An address delivered at the opening of the new building of the White Female Department of the House of Refuge, January 20th, 1872. HathiTrust. https://hdl.handle.net/2027/hvd.rslvjr (Address given on January 20th, 1872.)

Henry, A., & Barclay, J. J. (1835, May 1). Annual report of the House of Refuge of Philadelphia. 7th. HathiTrust. https://hdl.handle.net/2027/umn.31951002246474k

Juvenile Justice History. Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice. (n.d.). https://www.cjcj.org/history-education/juvenile-justice-history

Kopaczewski, J. (2022, March 28). House of Refuge. Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/essays/house-of-refuge/

New York State Archives. (1989). The Greatest Reform School in the world: A guide to the records of the New York House of Refuge. The Greatest Reform School in the World. https://www.archives.nysed.gov/sites/archives/files/res_topics_ed_reform.pdf

Philadelphia : Edmund Deacon’s Frankling Printing House. (1876, January 1). By-laws, rules and regulations of the Board of Managers of the House of Refuge : Adopted, January, 1876. Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/bylawsrulesregul00hous/mode/2up

Pickett, R. S. (1969). House of Refuge: Origins of Juvenile Reform in New York State, 1815-1857. Syracuse University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv64h7hd

Teerters, N. K. (n.d.). The Early Days of the Philadelphia House of Refuge. https://journals.psu.edu/phj/article/view/22729/22498

History Facts | Crystal Caudill

A Brief History of the Secret Service: Part 7 – A Real Case

A Brief History of the Secret Service

Part 7: A Real Case – Going to Jail to Make a Capture

Check out the Hidden Hearts of the Gilded Age Series

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Read more about the Secret Service’s History

Resources

Books

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ABOUT CRYSTAL CAUDILL

A Question for You:

What was your favorite fact shared today?

A Brief History of the Secret Service: Part 6 – Working Undercover

A Brief History of the Secret Service

Part 6: Working Undercover

Investigating

Working within the Criminal Network

Check out the Hidden Hearts of the Gilded Age Series

Can these four Secret Service Operatives catch the counterfeiters … without losing their hearts?

Read more about the Secret Service’s History

Resources

Books

Digital Resources

ABOUT CRYSTAL CAUDILL

A Question for You:

What was your favorite fact shared today?

A Brief History of the Secret Service: Part 5 Using Informants

A Brief History of the Secret Service

Part 5: Using Informants

Check out the Hidden Hearts of the Gilded Age Series

Can these four Secret Service Operatives catch the counterfeiters … without losing their hearts?

Read more about the Secret Service’s History

Resources

Books

Digital Resources

ABOUT CRYSTAL CAUDILL

A Question for You:

What was your favorite fact shared today?

A Brief History of the Secret Service: Part 4: Bringing Criminals to Justice

A Brief History of the Secret Service

Part 4: Bringing Criminals to Justice

Read more about the Secret Service’s History

Resources

Books

Digital Resources

Check out the Hidden Hearts of the Gilded Age Series

Can these four Secret Service Operatives catch the counterfeiters … without losing their hearts?

ABOUT CRYSTAL CAUDILL

A Question for You:

What was your favorite fact shared today?

A Brief History of the Secret Service: Part 3 – The Challenges They Faced

A Brief History of the Secret Service

Part 3: The Challenges They Faced

INTERNAL CHALLENGES:

EXTERNAL CHALLENGES

Check out the Hidden Hearts of the Gilded Age Series

Can these four Secret Service Operatives catch the counterfeiters … without losing their hearts?

Read more about the Secret Service’s History

Resources

Books

Digital Resources

ABOUT CRYSTAL CAUDILL

A Question for You:

What was your favorite fact shared today?

A Brief History of the Secret Service: Part 2 – The Making of an Operative

A Brief History of the Secret Service

Part 2: The Making of an Operative

THE DO’S AND DON’TS OF BEING AN OPERATIVE IN THE 1880S

Check out the Hidden Hearts of the Gilded Age Series

Can these four Secret Service Operatives catch the counterfeiters … without losing their hearts?

Read more about the Secret Service’s History

Resources

Books

Digital Resources

ABOUT CRYSTAL CAUDILL

A Question for You:

What was your favorite fact shared today?

A Brief History of the Secret Service: Part 1 – The Early Days

A Brief History of the Secret Service

Taken from The United States Secret Service* by Warren S. Bowen and Harry Edward Neal.