THE SURPRISING HISTORY OF THE FIRST FEMALE FBI SPECIAL AGENTS

Did you know the FBI had its FIRST FEMALE SPECIAL AGENTS way back in the 1920s?

But here's the shocking twist: once these pioneering women resigned, the FBI wouldn't see another female Special Agent for nearly HALF A CENTURY!

Intrigued by the little-known legacy of the first female Special Agents in the FBI, I embarked on a journey to tell the stories of the first five female Special Agents. This seemingly arbitrary number, however, holds immense significance. It encompasses the ENTIRE period where women defied expectations and carved their place in FBI history.

Three trailblazers broke barriers in the 1920s, only to be followed by a decades-long hiatus. The next female Special Agent wouldn't be hired until after FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover's death in the 1970s.

This gap wasn't a coincidence – it reflected the iron grip of the legendary Director himself. Hoover, while building the FBI into a powerhouse, held a resolute view as demonstrated in this quote from his letter (shown in full below): “our Special Agent position must be limited to males.”

These first five women, however, stand as evidence to Hoover’s misplaced beliefs, their stories a testament to resilience and the power to rewrite the narrative.

J. Edgar Hoover and Female Special Agents, AKA HOOVER V. HERSTORY

In 1971, a year before his death, Hoover declared females should not be FBI Special Agents because women "could never gunfight, and all our agents must know how to do that.” Official and Confidential: The Secret Life of J. Edgar Hoover, by Anthony Summers

In a letter dated March 4, 1971, Keith H. Asplin, Ph.D., Director of the Placement Office, Colorado State University, accused the FBI of violating equal employment opportunity regulations by not hiring females as FBI Special Agents. Because the FBI refused to hire female Special Agents, Colorado State University banned the FBI from recruiting on their campus.

In a letter dated March 11, 1971, Hoover sent the below response. A quote from the letter is highlighted here:

“Experience has demonstrated very clearly to us that our Special Agent position must be limited to males and our stand on this is inalterable.”

History suggests J. Edgar Hoover barred women from becoming Special Agents. But is the truth more nuanced?

The Trailblazing Twenties

J. Edgar Hoover, 29 years-old, became the Acting Director of the FBI on May 10, 1924.

Sixteen days later, on May 26, 1924, Hoover requested Davidson’s resignation because of a “reduction in the workforce.” He accepted her resignation on June 10, 1924. Hoover also requested Duckstein’s resignation which he accepted on May 31, 1924.

Much of the information on Davidson and Duckstein was obtained from an article by Lynn Vine named The First Female Agents which was originally published in the FBI’s The Investigator magazine. Read the entire article here.

Spill the tea, history buffs! Believe it or not, the FBI (back then called the Bureau of Investigation) actually had three pioneering female Special Agents way back in the 1920s. But here's the plot twist: J. Edgar Hoover came on the scene at the same time. Let's see how he interacted with these trailblazers!

Alaska P. Davidson and Jessie B. Duckstein

The first two female Special Agents, Alaska P. Davidson and Jessie B. Duckstein, were hired by Hoover’s predecessor, Director William J. Burns. Alaska Davidson was appointed to the position of Special Investigator/Special Agent on October 11, 1922. Her duties included the detection and prosecution of crimes. Jessie Duckstein initially worked at the FBI as a stenographer/typist. She went on to become the confidential secretary to Director Burns. She then began her training as a Special Agent in November of 1923.

Lenore Houston

Along Came Lenore Houston: History remembers her as the ONLY female EVER appointed to the position of Special Agent by Hoover. But why? What made her different? What special skills or circumstances led Hoover to break his own mold and appoint her as a Special Agent? Let's crack the code on this FBI enigma.

Most of the information about Lenore Houston was extracted from the results of an FBI FOIA request I made several years ago. Please read it here!

A little background. Houston was born on August 12, 1878 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, to Joseph and Esther (née Rakemore) Houston. Joseph was a doctor and Esther was a housewife from a large German family that had been settled in the area since the early 1700’s. Lenore was one of four children and was well-educated having spent three years studying at Swarthmore College. Although Lenore came from some degree of privilege, the amount of land her eldest brother inherited was not enough to entice him to stay in Pennsylvania. There is not much information about her middle brother and her youngest brother died when he was a toddler.

William Cameron Sproul served as the 27th Governor of Pennsylvania from January 21, 1919 to January 16, 1923. Governor Sproul was born and spent much of his life in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. In addition to the geographical connection, Governor Sproul also attended Swarthmore College, Lenore's alma mater.

George Scott Graham was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania from 1913 until his death in 1931. Lenore was Graham’s secretery when he was an attorney, prior to his election to Congress.

In July of 1922, at the age of 44, Lenore applied for the position of Special Agent.

Both Pennsylvania Governor William Cameron Sproul and U.S. Congressman from Pennsylvania, George Scott Graham, recommended her for this position on several occasions. She was initially hired as a Special Employee of the FBI by Director Burns on January 14th, 1924.

She was assigned to investigate Mann Act (white slave trafficking) violations in the Philadelphia FBI office.

As an example of his influence, here is a letter, dated October 30, 1924, from Graham to Warren F. Martin, Special Assistant to the Attorney General.

Graham also contacted Hoover to ensure that Lenore held the position of Special Agent. Here is a letter from the Acting Director to Graham which references their conversation about this subject.

Here is another letter from Hoover to Graham in which Hoover apologizes for any misunderstandings.

On November 8, 1924, Hoover sent a letter to Warren F. Martin, Special Assistant to the Attorney General, recommending Lenore to the position of Special Agent and referencing his call with Congressman Graham.

Below is the one and only female Special Agent set of credentials ever approved by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.

Special Agent Lenore Houston’s credentials signed by Director J. Edgar Hoover in 1925

Lenore thrived for several years in the FBI. Her personnel records indicate that she had some health issues and this was reflected in her performance appraisals. In 1928, as with Alaska Davidson and Jesse Duckstein, Hoover asked for Lenore’s resignation which she submitted effective November 7, 1928.

At that point, there were no female FBI employees with the official title Special Agent.

It would be almost half a century until another female was appointed to the position of Special Agent at the FBI.

A New Dawn for the FBI

The tide began to turn: On May 2nd, 1972, Hoover died of heart disease at the age of 77. On May 12, 1972, just ten days later, a seismic shift occurred within the FBI. Acting Director Patrick Gray made a groundbreaking announcement: the Bureau would finally begin accepting applications from female Special Agent candidates! This decision shattered a decades-old barrier and paved the way for a new era at the FBI.

On July 17, 1972, Susan Lynn Roley, a former U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant, and Joanne Pierce, a former nun, were sworn in as FBI Special Agents.

**Special Agent Pierce is depicted wearing red**
**Photo courtesy of fbi.gov**

Joanne Pierce was from Niagara Falls, New York and earned advanced degrees in History. After college, she became a Roman Catholic nun with the Sisters of Mercy in Buffalo, New York, where she taught middle school and high school for 11 years.

Joanne Pierce began working at the FBI on March 23, 1970 as a researcher. She was appointed a Special Agent on July 17, 1972.

Special Agent Pierce worked in St. Louis, Pittsburgh, and South Dakota at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and held several supervisory positions.

Susan Lynn Roley was born in Long Beach, California and served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1969 through 1972 at which time she was a first lieutenant. She was appointed a Special Agent of the FBI on July 17, 1979. During her time at the FBI, Special Agent Roley worked on kidnapping and bank robbery cases.

The FBI Today

According to FBI Director Christopher Wray in his speech to the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives on April 13, 2023, more than 3,200 women serve as FBI special agents across the country and around the world. According to an article from wavy.com, where Supervisory Special Agent Stacy Sullivan as well as several other FBI employees are quoted, the percentage of Special Agents that are female is approximately 23.5%.

A heartfelt thank you to all the remarkable women who have paved the way for others. Your courage and determination inspire us all. And a special round of applause for the pioneering female FBI Special Agents who defied the odds!

Your legacy lives on!

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