Mrs. Sherlock Holmes: The real-life female equivalent of your favourite fictional sleuth
Who among you are aspiring detectives? The answer is, everyone! After all, who doesn’t like to go about solving mysteries and crimes and nurture their hidden Miss Marple or Sherlock Holmes? But have you ever imagined how would it be if any of these fictional sleuths turned out to be real? It would be simply amazing! Well, there’s an interesting piece of information for all you budding detectives out there! There was a Mrs. Sherlock Holmes fir real! No, we aren’t talking about the wife of your favourite fictional mystery hero. Instead, it was a person named Grace Humiston who was given the fond nickname of “Mrs. Sherlock Holmes” by people who knew her, for her exemplary detection skills. Are you intrigued to know more about her? Read on.
Meet Grace Humiston, the people’s advocate
Grace Humiston, as already mentioned, was not the spouse of the fictional Sherlock Holmes but a real person, deemed for being a great detective. But that’s not how she started. Turns out, Mary Grace Winterton was born to a New York based middle-class family and grew up in and out of courtrooms as she often accompanied her father, who was an insurance claims adjuster. However, instead of pursuing her passion for law, Grace graduated from Hunter College and took up teaching. Soon, she married a Dr. Humiston, but ended up divorcing him for his unlawful practices. This is when she was convinced that pursuing a career in law was the right fit for her.
She attended the New York University, the only law-studying institution for women in the region and graduated within 2 years with exemplary record. But unlike popular speculations that she would take care of her family’s estate, she opened her own legal clinic named ‘The People’s Law Firm.’ Her goal was simple, to serve the working-class people of the New York City and fulfil her girlhood dream of becoming a ‘people’s advocate.’ Guess what, she did live up to her dream and often took up pro-bono cases, meaning she represented clients for free when they couldn’t afford to pay her fees. But are you wondering what we are wondering? How did a lawyer end up becoming a detective? Well, that’s a story in itself.
Journey from Grace Humiston to Mrs. Sherlock Holmes
Earning the nickname of Mrs. Sherlock Holmes is no mean achievement. But how did it happen for Grace Humiston? Turns out that one day in the early 20th century (somewhere around 1906), as she was working in her law firm, a family came to seek her help, as their only male member had gone missing. Humiston was eager to help and soon tracked down the missing person in southern USA. When she went enquiring in person, she was shocked to find out that there were labour camps down south, where powerless men who couldn’t pay back debts were often forced into slavery. She soon realised that there were not just one but many such men who were wrongfully detained in those camps. To cut a long story short, Humiston managed to enter the camps and gather valuable evidence, in the disguise of an inspector. She then returned to New York and informed the police about her findings, who then quickly conducted a rescue mission. In fact, thanks to Humiston, all the slavery camps were also closed down, once and for all.
Fast forward to 1917, Humiston was now serving as the Special Assistant United States Attorney (the first woman in the role) and continued locating and shutting down any and all labour camps across the country. However, one fine day, she chanced upon the cold case of Ruth Cruger, an 18-year-old girl who disappeared without any trace, the news that had created a nationwide stir. Upon investigation, Humiston found out that the teenage girl had gone out to get her ice skates sharpened at a nearby motorcycle shop but never came back home. Not only that, the prime suspect, Alfredo Cocchi, who was the owner of the motorcycle shop was also exonerated due to lack of evidence. Even after a month-long investigation, when the police couldn’t track her, they informed the family that Miss Kruger might have herself run away. However, the family was not convinced and suspected foul play. This is when they directly sought Humiston’s help, as the entire New York Police Department had given up.
Once Humiston got involved in the case with her associate Julius J. Kron, she didn’t take long to realise that the case was multi-layered. As she navigated the dangerous web of secret boyfriends, corrupt cops, underground tunnels, and white slavery, she soon figured out that the prime suspect Alfredo Cocchi had fled to Italy right after the incident. As her suspicions grow stronger, she started looking into him actively. Earlier, the police had searched Cocchi’s basement twice, but they found no one. However, this time when Humiston re-searched, she was startled to find Ruth Cruger’s corpse buried deep under the basement floor in a hidden chamber.
As you can imagine, this rescue operation led by Grace Humiston was not only a success but also created a country-wide fame for her. And that’s the story of how she became known as Mrs. Sherlock Holmes. In fact, the New York Police honoured her by giving her the much-coveted position of special investigator in the department. But guess what? Ms. Humiston preferred to keep a low profile and thus often steered away from the public eye.