Throw Back Thursday: Secret Service History

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“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

 

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?

 

Before the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) was given exclusive authorization of currency production in 1877, our  our government was in a precarious situation. Prior to the formation of said currency, one third to one half of all money in circulation was counterfeit. Determined to ensure the safety of the new national currency, the Secret Service was tasked with detecting and bringing to justice the counterfeiters whom were so talented at creating the illegal tender.

 

Enter the heroes of my series in progress. Each hero is a Secret Service operative from the early days when detecting counterfeiters was their man job and concern. My current hero is working a case in 1883. Researching the cases of these amazing heroes has been a revealing and enjoyable adventure.

 

More posts will be devoted to these amazing heroes of our early economic system, but for now here are few interesting facts gleaned from my research of the Secret Service prior to 1901:

  • The number of operatives in the Secret Service ranged between fifteen men in 1865 and a high of thirty-five in 1898 for the entire United States. A large portion of that time the number of operatives was well below thirty.

 

  • The badge below was issued in 1875 and was the first to feature the “Service Star” – the official emblem still used today. SecretServiceBadge1
  • The star’s five points each represent one of the agency’s five core values: justice, duty, courage, honesty, and loyalty.

 

  • Secret Service operatives not only located and shut down counterfeiters, they also investigated nonconforming distillers, smugglers, mail robbers, land frauds, and other infractions against the Federal government.

 

  • Secret Service operatives were not initially allowed to arrest criminals, therefore they had to work in conjunction with local police.

 

  • U.S. Marshall’s once earned extra income through the reward money granted for the capture of counterfeiters. When the Secret Service took over that duty, tension developed between the two agencies. Eventually this faded, but in those early days working together was not always done amicably.

 

TBT: A Prankster of Historical Proportions

This Throwback Thursday is of a humorous nature taken from Memoirs of Stephen Burroughs. Stephen Burroughs was a thief, a counterfeiter, and a master prankster who memoirsofstephenburrowslived during the American Revolution Era.

 

Considering the memoirs were written by him, a man of dubious character, scholars are somewhat doubtful of the 100% truthful nature of the book. However, truthful or not, as a reader I enjoyed the read.

 

Mr. Burrough’s antics were downright hilarious, especially those of his youth. Perhaps that is why the book was published in more than 30 editions over the time span of  more than 216 years!

 

Being full of vivacity, Joseph and I were almost perpetually prosecuting some scene of amusement or diversion. Some of those pastimes were graduated upon a scale of innocence, and some I am sorry to say, embraced for their object the vexation and detriment of the neighbors. Our chief force was aimed at a neighbor, commonly known by the name of, Tyger, on account of his morose misanthropic disposition.

 

One night we repaired to his house, and took logs from his wood pile, about two feet in length, and piled them up against his door, until they reached the top, laying them in such a manner as to incline into the house. After arranging matters in this order, we made a noise as if attempting to get into the old man’s garden, sufficiently loud for him to hear ; immediately upon this the old man crept softly to the door, and opening it suddenly, down came the logs so rapidly as to knock him to the floor, and cover him over.

 

The noise which this had made alarmed the family universally, with an idea that they felt the shock of an earthquake, and that the last judgment had arrived, which set some a screaming and some a praying, and for a long time these ideas so wholly occupied the minds of the family, that the old man could not get any assistance from the load of timber under which he was buried.

 

I admit, it takes a little bit to get accustomed to the language, but can you imagine pulling a prank like that? Keep a look out in my future books, it is very likely some of Mr. Burroughs antics may make an appearance.

 

If you are interested in reading The Memoirs of Stephen Burroughs, Google Books has a free e-copy available at: Memoirs of Stephen Burroughs.

 

Come back next Throwback Thursday for another a glimpse of my novel research.

TBT: Cincinnati’s Incline Planes

Welcome to my first ever Throwback Thursday, where I share gems from my research for my novel.

 

The setting of my current Work In Progress (WIP) is a city with a wealth of history to pull from, Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnati is known as the Queen City and more important to today’s post, the City of Seven Hills.

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Drawing by Geneva South, 1972

The terrain for Cincinnati is very hilly as you can guess by the name, but not the gentle rolling hill kind where kids spend all summer rolling down until they become too dizzy to stand. Cincinnati’s hills are of the variety where trees and ravines impede your progress, where semis turn their hazard lights on because the climb to the top reduces them to a crawl.

 

Now step back to the Industrial Revolution, about one hundred-fifty years ago. Factories clogged the air with soot and smoke. Tuberculosis was rampant. The stench of the Erie Canal was far from pleasant. People looked to the hills for relief.

 

Omnibuses drawn by horses were the first transit system devised to struggle up the hills. However, drivers often had to hop out, block the wheels, and allow the horses to stop and rest before proceeding to the pristine air above. An alternative was desperately needed.
Responding to the need, business partners, Joseph Stacy Hill and George Smith, opened Cincinnati’s first incline plane on May 12, 1872. Hill top resorts, like the Lookout House and Highland House, opened and regularly drew in crowds of up to 10,000.  (An upcoming post will describe the Highland House.)

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Mt. Adams Incline

 

By the time my novel opens in 1883, Cincinnati had 4 operating inclines: The Mt. Auburn Incline (leading to the Lookout House), the Mt. Adams Incline (leading to the Highland House), the Price Hill Incline (the only double incline – one for freight and one for passengers), and the Bellevue Incline.

 

Interesting Tidbits and Stories

 

  • In 1884, the price of a ride was 5¢.

 

  • A one-way trip took 2 minutes and 20 seconds. This was repeated six times every hour, 19 hours a day.

 

  • The Mt. Adams Incline made the trip in about 90 seconds.

 

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Mt. Adams Incline (1906): A car is lowering down the track and will eventually become flush with the ground.

  • All full crew consisted of an operator, an engineer, a fireman, two gatemen, and two carpenters. The gateman’s job was to take the tickets from the passengers in the waiting room and then escort them onto the lift.

 

  • A telegraphic system of signal bells between the operating engineer in the powerhouse at the top of the hill and the attendant at the bottom of the station. Two bells meant “ready,” one bell signaled the doors were closed and locked (“alarm”), and three bells rang for “start.”

 

  • The Bellevue Incline passed by McMicken Hall, the first college of the University of Cincinnati. A medical school shared a freezer for cadavers with a brewery down the hill, and young students often got a thrill from waving body parts at passengers who passed by on the incline, in particular passengers of the female variety.
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Bellevue Incline: You can see McMicken Hall in the background on the right.

 

 

Although the Cincinnati inclines are no longer around, the last one having closed its doors on July 25, 2008, they are still a fascinating part of history.

 

What was your favorite tidbit? Do you have any tidbits? How do you think inclines might play a part in my Work In Progress?

 

*All pictures were retrieved from: http://retro.cincinnati.com/Topics/Gallery/Cincinnati-Inclines#The Highland House. Visit there to see more pictures.

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