1077:
386:
for the O.B. Crittenden
Company to confess to questionable labor practices that implicated Percy himself in the bad conditions for workers at Sunnyside. While at Sunnyside Percy arranged for her notes to be stolen from her hotel room and then "recovered" by a close associate â sending the message to Quackenbos that she could not touch him. She responded by having his partner, O.B. Crittenden, arrested and also worked to have stories planted in the press nationwide deploring the conditions at the plantation. One headline blared "Millionaire Has Slaves".
44:
693:
711:
858:
565:
833:
458:
gather and disseminate facts which will impress the public with the dangers to women and girls throughout the United States...and to investigate and report to the authorities for prosecution complaints regarding immoral conditions which may exist throughout New York and the United States and urge the
411:
Mrs. Quackenbos is young and pretty, with jet black eyes and hair, a vivacious manner, and a glance of keen penetration. Her figure is tall, slender, and girlish. She always wears well-made black gowns, with touches of white at the neck and sleeves. Her hat is the most distinctive part of her attire,
402:
Quackenbos met fierce resistance to her work to expose peonage. Plantation owners such as LeRoy Percy deliberately worked to thwart her investigations, often using the fact that she was a woman to belittle her work. One southern newspaper, reporting on her investigations, referred to her as "busybody
385:
During the course of the investigation, Quackenbos spent nights in the shacks that the immigrants lived in, drank the "red, iron-laden" water, and dispatched an investigator undercover to sneak onto the plantation at night. She also, through threats of imprisonment, convinced one of the labor agents
243:
after a successful case that she started it to provide working people with "St. Regis law at Mills Hotel Prices, and such other assistance as they may need in the redressing of wrongs at a cost within their means." She went on to say, "My idea in establishing the firm was to demonstrate that a legal
255:
as woman for woman." On March 9, three days before Mrs. Tolla was to hang, Quackenbos, after a week's effort, induced the board of pardons of New Jersey to commute the death sentence to seven and one-half years imprisonment. She demonstrated that Tolla had killed Sonta in self-defense, and that the
416:
Others criticized her efforts as having a chilling effect on immigration that was at the time beneficial to parts of the South experiencing labor shortages. To these critics in one
Louisiana newspaper she responded, "One thing which I am compelled to fight against is the fact that few persons yet
428:
Cruger disappeared on
February 13, 1917. The police investigated, but the case went cold quickly. Press coverage of the case was intense, as Cruger was the daughter of a well-to-do family, her father being a public accountant. Her disappearance became wrapped up in national concerns about white
393:
to have
Quackenbos removed from the investigation at Sunnyside. Ultimately though, her report was released, and the investigation resulted in a slowing of Italian laborers to the Mississippi Delta, as the Italian government began to warn immigrants away from settlement there.
417:
realize my motive and purpose. With proper support I believe I can completely wipe out peonage in the south within the next year." Quackenbos believed that immigration would actually increase if the conditions for the workers in the South were improved.
251:, who was accused of murdering Joseph Sonta and sentenced to death. At the request of the Italian Consul-General, Count Massiglla, Quackenbos agreed to take the case and refused to take a fee, saying she "would prefer to take the case without
264:
During the early years of the People's Law Firm, Quackenbos was approached by several clients that wanted assistance finding relatives or friends that had gone South and then disappeared completely. Upon investigation she discovered rampant
450:
scheme between Cocchi and the local police. Because of the case and the resulting public criticism, Humiston was named a special investigator to the New York City Police
Department, charged with tracing missing girls, in July 1917.
221:. Dean Ashley of the law school was impressed with her abilities and urged her to attend evening sessions, so that she completed the three-year course in two years and graduated ranked seventh in her class. She graduated with a
429:
slavery that were sweeping the country at the time. Suspecting the police had not fully investigated his daughter's disappearance, Henry Cruger posted a $ 1,000 reward and hired
Humiston to investigate. She took the case
295:
59:
213:
in New York and graduated in 1888. She also taught for a short time at the
Collegiate School on West 77th Street. With an independent fortune she entered the study of law at the Law School of
198:
Quackenbos
Humiston was born Mary Grace Winterton on September 17, 1869 in New York City. Her father was Adoniram Judson Winterton, a well-to-do merchant and prominent in the laywork of the
325:â investigating the systems by which immigrants were lured into peonism. She became one of the first to make public the organized attempts to entice foreigners to America and into peonism.
425:
Later in her career
Quackenbos, now better known by the name Mrs. Grace Humiston, was given the moniker "Mrs. Sherlock Holmes" after solving the disappearance of 18-year-old Ruth Cruger.
412:
for it is rather wide and flat, and from it, in the back, hang short folds of mourning veiling. Mrs. Quackenbos assumed this dress at the time of the death of her parents a few years ago.
635:
Honeyman, Abraham Van Doren; Keasbey, Edward
Quinton; Keasbey, George Macculloch; Borgmeyer, Charles Louis; Holmwood, William Ernest (July 1917). "A Woman Lawyer As Mystery Expert".
479:
Quackenbos Humiston was married twice, the first time to Maj. Henry Forrest Quackenbos in New York city on June 5, 1895. Her second marriage was to Howard Donald Humiston in
439:
residents and deciphering a blurred message on a blotter, Humiston determined to search the basement of suspect Alfredo Cocchi. There Humiston found the body of Ruth Cruger.
1101:
298:. That appointment was then extended to cover peonage matters throughout the country. She was the first woman to attain a senior position in the Department of Justice.
694:"Woman's Fight Against Big Odds for Mrs. Tolla; Mrs. Mary Grace Quackenbos, Though Comparatively Unknown to the Legal Profession, Shows Remarkable Skill in her Work"
536:
produced an episode, "Brad Ricca: Mrs. Sherlock Holmes," about Ricca's book detailing the events of the Ruth Cruger case. The episode was released on June 13, 2022.
1131:
280:
to enter a camp; at another she slipped inside on wagons that carried supplies. She also posed as a magazine writer in order to gain access to the camps.
1121:
276:
Quackenbos traveled south at great personal risk to investigate the conditions in the camps. She once disguised herself as an old native woman selling
244:
bureau for the aid of the poor could be operated at a scale of prices within their reach and to their great benefit, and I think this has been done."
237:
Quackenbos founded the People's Law Firm in 1905. The firm focused primarily on the cases of the working poor and immigrants. Quackenbos explained in
226:
974:
594:
1111:
403:
Quackenbos". Articles sometimes focused on the fact that she was a woman and her dress rather than on the results of her investigations. A
1054:
Mrs. Sherlock Holmes: The True Story of New York City's Greatest Female Detective and the 1917 Missing Girl Case That Captivated a Nation
288:
762:
Boehm, Randolph H. (Spring 1991). "Mary Grace Quackenbos and the Federal Campaign against Peonage: The Case of Sunnyside Plantation".
378:
in July 1907 to investigate the allegations. Sunnyside was owned by the O.B. Crittenden Company. Among the firm's senior partners was
1106:
1061:
817:
360:
175:
595:"Woman Will Help in War Against Trusts; Mrs. Quackenbos, Attorney General's Assistant, a Lawyer and Member of Old New York Family"
171:
1116:
533:
921:
273:
camps in the South, as well as a network of agents that operated in New York City to lure workers to the southern camps.
487:
301:
As part of her investigations into peonism while at the Department of Justice she traveled extensively abroad, to the
454:
As a result of the case Humiston incorporated the Morality League of America, an organization that was founded to
495:
291:
and a trip by Assistant Attorney General Charles Wells Russell through the South to investigate the charges.
880:
371:
407:
article on her appointment to the Department of Justice included the following description of Quackenbos:
375:
203:
669:
283:
After her first trip to the South investigating the camps in 1906, she returned with a fever but also 46
1028:
340:
248:
43:
1126:
1096:
1007:
926:
512:
334:
186:. She was also known for a short time as "Mrs. Sherlock Holmes", starting with her work solving the
348:
214:
139:
744:"Peonage Inquiry Started by Moody; Assistant Attorney General Russell Will Go Through the South".
670:"Woman Gets Thieves After Police Give Up; Two Arrests for Robbery of a Spanish Legation Secretary"
1033:
779:
599:
525:
447:
390:
239:
294:
Due to these investigations the Department of Justice ultimately hired her as Special Assistant
202:. She was a great-niece of Admiral Hull, and her grandfather, Henry S. Hull, was the partner of
529:
produced an episode, "Mrs. Sherlock Holmes," about Grace and her work on the Ruth Cruger case.
1057:
982:
888:
813:
356:
1081:
771:
222:
841:
517:
287:
against actors in the peonage system. This prompted an investigation to be opened by the
367:
requesting that Quackenbos investigate the conditions of Italian laborers in the Delta.
866:
210:
199:
183:
134:
1090:
491:
101:
84:
1008:"Obituary Record of Graduates of Yale University Deceased During the Year 1943â1944"
959:"Forms Morality League; Mrs. Humiston Starts Country-Wide Movement to Save Girls".
218:
359:
to investigate complaints of mistreatment of Italians who were laboring on cotton
252:
834:"Millionaire Has Slaves; Arkansas Man is Arraigned in Court on Charge of Peonage"
379:
443:
364:
270:
126:
986:
892:
459:
passage of legislation necessary to promote the purposes of the organization.
446:, and a subsequent investigation revealed that there had been a longstanding
499:
302:
284:
247:
One of her best-known cases was that of Mrs. Antoinette Tolla, a woman from
187:
810:
Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America
490:
in New York City. During the time leading up to her death she lived at the
343:, Quackenbos continued to investigate cases of immigrant laborers held in
17:
431:
355:
ambassador to the United States, Baron Edmondo Des Planches, visited the
277:
783:
464:
344:
318:
775:
436:
314:
310:
296:
United States District Attorney for the Southern District of New York
225:
in 1903 and, after spending one year with the Legal Aid Society, was
468:
352:
322:
306:
256:
evidence she presented at trial had not been properly translated.
143:
370:
Quackenbos arrived at Sunnyside Plantation across the river from
712:"Sentence Commuted; Mrs. Tolla to Serve Imprisonment for Murder"
480:
266:
229:
in 1904 and eventually made the decision to practice regularly.
179:
859:"Peonage Matter: Lady Assistant Attorney General Investigating"
170:(nÊe Winterton) (1869–1948) was the first female Special
60:
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York
382:, a lawyer, cotton planter, and Delta political leader.
389:
Percy used his personal friendship with then-President
363:
there. On June 4, 1907, he wrote to Secretary of State
486:
Mary Grace Humiston died in 1948 at the age of 77, in
190:
of Ruth Cruger who disappeared in New York in 1917.
115:
Henry Forrest Quackenbos (m. 1895; div. before 1911)
153:
125:
108:
91:
74:
69:
57:
34:
510:In the season 2 episode "Mrs. Sherlock Holmes" of
881:"Girl Kidnapped, Father Fears As Wide Hunt Fails"
8:
853:
851:
729:"Woman Lawyer Hears of Peonage in Florida".
654:"New York University Confers its Degrees".
118:Howard Donald Humiston (m. 1911; died 1943)
630:
628:
626:
624:
622:
620:
618:
42:
31:
944:"Mrs. Humiston, 77, Crime Lawyer, Dies".
915:
913:
911:
909:
688:
686:
589:
587:
585:
583:
581:
579:
534:Tenfold More Wicked Presents Wicked Words
1102:New York University School of Law alumni
922:"Mrs. Sherlock Holmes Takes on the NYPD"
803:
801:
799:
797:
795:
793:
757:
755:
560:
558:
556:
554:
1078:Works by or about Mary Grace Quackenbos
1056:(First ed.). New York: Macmillan.
939:
937:
550:
471:, and sentenced to 27 years in prison.
572:. Kansas City, MO. November 22, 1906.
566:"High Federal Place For Woman Lawyer"
7:
339:In the spring of 1907, while at the
1132:20th-century American women lawyers
25:
1122:Assistant United States Attorneys
975:"COCCHI CONVICTED, GETS 27 YEARS"
920:Abbott, Karen (August 23, 2011).
764:The Arkansas Historical Quarterly
700:. New York, NY. January 13, 1906.
435:, and after interviewing several
176:New York University School of Law
718:. Washington, DC. March 9, 1906.
442:Cruger then accused the NYPD of
172:Assistant United States Attorney
844:. October 28, 1907. p. 1.
351:states. During this time, the
217:in order to better manage her
168:Mary Grace Quackenbos Humiston
36:Mary Grace Quackenbos Humiston
1:
1112:20th-century American lawyers
637:The New Jersey Journal of Law
178:and was a leader in exposing
174:. She was a graduate of the
1015:Bulletin of Yale University
1148:
332:
483:, Peru, on June 8, 1911.
161:
65:
53:
41:
1107:New York (state) lawyers
398:Criticism and resistance
232:
194:Early life and education
808:Barry, John M. (2007).
463:Cocchi was arrested in
372:Greenville, Mississippi
1029:"Mrs. Sherlock Holmes"
812:. Simon and Schuster.
461:
421:"Mrs. Sherlock Holmes"
414:
376:Lake Village, Arkansas
206:of anti-slavery fame.
204:William Lloyd Garrison
27:United States Attorney
1117:Hunter College alumni
1037:. September 27, 2019.
887:. February 15, 1917.
456:
409:
341:Department of Justice
289:Department of Justice
249:Kingsland, New Jersey
1052:Ricca, Brad (2017).
981:. October 30, 1920.
927:Smithsonian Magazine
869:. November 24, 1907.
603:. September 15, 1907
494:. She is buried in
335:Sunnyside Plantation
329:Sunnyside Plantation
209:She was educated at
79:Mary Grace Winterton
748:. October 18, 1906.
227:admitted to the bar
215:New York University
140:New York University
979:The New York Times
961:The New York Times
946:The New York Times
746:The New York Times
731:The New York Times
679:. October 3, 1905.
677:The New York Times
656:The New York Times
600:The New York Times
506:Depiction in media
391:Theodore Roosevelt
240:The New York Times
82:September 17, 1869
58:Special Assistant
963:. August 8, 1917.
885:The Evening World
698:The Evening World
502:, New York City.
496:Woodlawn Cemetery
357:Mississippi Delta
233:People's Law Firm
165:
164:
16:(Redirected from
1139:
1082:Internet Archive
1067:
1039:
1038:
1025:
1019:
1018:
1012:
1004:
998:
997:
995:
993:
971:
965:
964:
956:
950:
949:
948:. July 18, 1948.
941:
932:
931:
917:
904:
903:
901:
899:
877:
871:
870:
855:
846:
845:
838:The Evening Star
830:
824:
823:
805:
788:
787:
776:10.2307/40022328
759:
750:
749:
741:
735:
734:
733:. July 23, 1903.
726:
720:
719:
716:The Evening Star
708:
702:
701:
690:
681:
680:
674:
666:
660:
659:
651:
645:
644:
632:
613:
612:
610:
608:
591:
574:
573:
562:
520:portrays Grace.
492:Vanderbilt Hotel
223:Bachelor of Laws
98:
70:Personal details
46:
32:
21:
1147:
1146:
1142:
1141:
1140:
1138:
1137:
1136:
1087:
1086:
1074:
1064:
1051:
1048:
1043:
1042:
1027:
1026:
1022:
1010:
1006:
1005:
1001:
991:
989:
973:
972:
968:
958:
957:
953:
943:
942:
935:
919:
918:
907:
897:
895:
879:
878:
874:
857:
856:
849:
842:Walla Walla, WA
832:
831:
827:
820:
807:
806:
791:
761:
760:
753:
743:
742:
738:
728:
727:
723:
710:
709:
705:
692:
691:
684:
672:
668:
667:
663:
658:. June 5, 1903.
653:
652:
648:
634:
633:
616:
606:
604:
593:
592:
577:
564:
563:
552:
547:
542:
518:Sarah Sokolovic
508:
488:French Hospital
477:
423:
400:
374:in the town of
337:
331:
262:
235:
196:
149:
121:
100:
96:
83:
81:
80:
49:
37:
28:
23:
22:
15:
12:
11:
5:
1145:
1143:
1135:
1134:
1129:
1124:
1119:
1114:
1109:
1104:
1099:
1089:
1088:
1085:
1084:
1073:
1072:External links
1070:
1069:
1068:
1062:
1047:
1044:
1041:
1040:
1020:
999:
966:
951:
933:
905:
872:
867:Shreveport, LA
847:
825:
818:
789:
751:
736:
721:
703:
682:
661:
646:
614:
575:
570:The Rising Son
549:
548:
546:
543:
541:
538:
507:
504:
476:
473:
422:
419:
405:New York Times
399:
396:
333:Main article:
330:
327:
261:
258:
234:
231:
211:Hunter College
200:Baptist church
195:
192:
184:American South
163:
162:
159:
158:
155:
151:
150:
148:
147:
137:
135:Hunter College
131:
129:
123:
122:
120:
119:
116:
112:
110:
106:
105:
99:(aged 78)
93:
89:
88:
78:
76:
72:
71:
67:
66:
63:
62:
55:
54:
51:
50:
47:
39:
38:
35:
26:
24:
14:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
1144:
1133:
1130:
1128:
1125:
1123:
1120:
1118:
1115:
1113:
1110:
1108:
1105:
1103:
1100:
1098:
1095:
1094:
1092:
1083:
1079:
1076:
1075:
1071:
1065:
1063:9781250072245
1059:
1055:
1050:
1049:
1045:
1036:
1035:
1030:
1024:
1021:
1016:
1009:
1003:
1000:
988:
984:
980:
976:
970:
967:
962:
955:
952:
947:
940:
938:
934:
929:
928:
923:
916:
914:
912:
910:
906:
894:
890:
886:
882:
876:
873:
868:
864:
863:The Caucasian
860:
854:
852:
848:
843:
839:
835:
829:
826:
821:
819:9781416563327
815:
811:
804:
802:
800:
798:
796:
794:
790:
785:
781:
777:
773:
769:
765:
758:
756:
752:
747:
740:
737:
732:
725:
722:
717:
713:
707:
704:
699:
695:
689:
687:
683:
678:
671:
665:
662:
657:
650:
647:
642:
638:
631:
629:
627:
625:
623:
621:
619:
615:
602:
601:
596:
590:
588:
586:
584:
582:
580:
576:
571:
567:
561:
559:
557:
555:
551:
544:
539:
537:
535:
530:
528:
527:
521:
519:
515:
514:
505:
503:
501:
497:
493:
489:
484:
482:
475:Personal life
474:
472:
470:
466:
460:
455:
452:
449:
445:
440:
438:
434:
433:
426:
420:
418:
413:
408:
406:
397:
395:
392:
387:
383:
381:
377:
373:
368:
366:
362:
358:
354:
350:
346:
342:
336:
328:
326:
324:
320:
316:
312:
308:
304:
299:
297:
292:
290:
286:
281:
279:
274:
272:
268:
259:
257:
254:
250:
245:
242:
241:
230:
228:
224:
220:
216:
212:
207:
205:
201:
193:
191:
189:
185:
181:
177:
173:
169:
160:
156:
152:
145:
141:
138:
136:
133:
132:
130:
128:
124:
117:
114:
113:
111:
107:
103:
102:New York City
95:July 15, 1948
94:
90:
86:
85:New York City
77:
73:
68:
64:
61:
56:
52:
45:
40:
33:
30:
19:
1053:
1032:
1023:
1014:
1002:
990:. Retrieved
978:
969:
960:
954:
945:
925:
896:. Retrieved
884:
875:
862:
837:
828:
809:
770:(1): 40â59.
767:
763:
745:
739:
730:
724:
715:
706:
697:
676:
664:
655:
649:
640:
636:
605:. Retrieved
598:
569:
532:The podcast
531:
524:
523:The podcast
522:
511:
509:
485:
478:
462:
457:
453:
441:
430:
427:
424:
415:
410:
404:
401:
388:
384:
369:
338:
300:
293:
282:
275:
263:
246:
238:
236:
208:
197:
167:
166:
97:(1948-07-15)
29:
1127:1869 births
1097:1948 deaths
1046:Works cited
380:LeRoy Percy
361:plantations
1091:Categories
540:References
444:negligence
365:Elihu Root
285:affidavits
271:turpentine
154:Profession
127:Alma mater
18:Quackenbos
992:March 30,
987:0362-4331
898:March 30,
893:1941-0654
643:(7): 204.
545:Footnotes
303:Holy Land
188:cold case
1034:Criminal
784:40022328
526:Criminal
513:Timeless
448:kickback
432:pro bono
349:Southern
278:scissors
253:remunera
1080:at the
498:in The
465:Bologna
353:Italian
347:across
345:peonage
319:Germany
267:peonage
260:Peonage
182:in the
180:peonage
109:Spouses
48:in 1917
1060:
985:
891:
816:
782:
607:May 1,
437:Harlem
315:Greece
311:Turkey
219:estate
157:Lawyer
1011:(PDF)
780:JSTOR
673:(PDF)
500:Bronx
469:Italy
323:Italy
307:Egypt
144:LL.B.
1058:ISBN
994:2022
983:ISSN
900:2022
889:ISSN
814:ISBN
609:2018
481:Lima
321:and
104:, US
92:Died
87:, US
75:Born
772:doi
269:in
1093::
1031:.
1013:.
977:.
936:^
924:.
908:^
883:.
865:.
861:.
850:^
840:.
836:.
792:^
778:.
768:50
766:.
754:^
714:.
696:.
685:^
675:.
641:40
639:.
617:^
597:.
578:^
568:.
553:^
516:,
467:,
317:,
313:,
309:,
305:,
1066:.
1017:.
996:.
930:.
902:.
822:.
786:.
774::
611:.
146:)
142:(
20:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
