Individual Details
Herbert David Henderson Jr.
(25 Dec 1891 - 6 Feb 1988)
Iola Register, Iola, Kansas, Monday, February 8, 1988, Page 1, Cols. 1-3 and Page 5, Cols. 1 & 2: One of first KBI agents dies. Herbert D. Henderson, 612 n. Vermont, one of the first three special agents to be hired by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, died Saturday, Feb. 6, at Allen County Hospital. He was 96 years old. Numerous cattle thefts and bank robberies in the 1930's prompted western Kansas cattlemen and the Kansas Banker's Association to trigger a movement which led to the Kansas Legislature passing a bill in 1939 creating the KBI. The KBI was to be staffed by 10 experienced law enforcement officers, including a director to operate under the direction of the attorney general. There were 500 applicants for the 10 positions. Henderson who was employed by the Pinkerton Agency before moving to a farm near Mildred, was one of the first three special agents to be hired. During his first meeting with the KBI director, Lou P. Richter, in Topeka on July 1, 1939, he was shown three vacant rooms in the attorney general's office, which was to be the KBI headquarters. He was told to report for duty on July 5 and to bring his typewriter. Henderson continued working for the KBI until he retired in July 1955. The appropriation for the KBI for the first year of operation was $48,000. At the end of the year about $200 remained in the budget.
Henderson's starting salary was $125 a month. Each agent was required to furnish his own car and the mileage allowed was five cents per mile, later raised to seven cents per mile. About a year later, KBI-owned cars were furnished. Some were equipped with a one-way radio, hooked with the Highway Patrol, and all were equipped with a 30-30 rifle, a sawed off 12 gauge shotgun, tear gas, camera, finger-print equipment and other items. At the start, an agent's authorized expenditures for subsistence while in the field was $4.50 a day, except in places like Wichita or Kansas City where $5 was allowed. The KBI's duty was to assist any sheriff, county attorney or police department in the investigation and prosecution of any crime constituting a felony. The KBI was not to initiate such an undertaking.
Henderson was born Nov. 25, 1891, in Virginia, Mo., the son of Herbert and Carrie Garner Henderson. He attended school at Stockton and Springfield, Mo. He married Gertrude Heider on Dec. 17, 1917, in Indianapolis, Ind., where Henderson was employed by the Pinkerton Agency. They moved to Mildred in 1919, then to a farm in the Elmore area in 1939 and to Iola in 1971. Mrs. Henderson survives. Henderson was a past master of the Kincaid Masonic Lodge and a charter member and past patron of the Oder of the Eastern Star at Kincaid. He later transferred his memberships to the Savonburg lodge. He also was a member of the Scottish Rite at Fort Scott and the Mirza Temple in Pittsburg. Services will be at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday in Waugh-Yokum and Fiskel Memorial Chapel, 16 N. Buckeye. The Rev. Jean Minnich will officiate. Burial will be in the Fairview Cemetery at Mildred. A memorial has been established with the American Heart Association.
Henderson's starting salary was $125 a month. Each agent was required to furnish his own car and the mileage allowed was five cents per mile, later raised to seven cents per mile. About a year later, KBI-owned cars were furnished. Some were equipped with a one-way radio, hooked with the Highway Patrol, and all were equipped with a 30-30 rifle, a sawed off 12 gauge shotgun, tear gas, camera, finger-print equipment and other items. At the start, an agent's authorized expenditures for subsistence while in the field was $4.50 a day, except in places like Wichita or Kansas City where $5 was allowed. The KBI's duty was to assist any sheriff, county attorney or police department in the investigation and prosecution of any crime constituting a felony. The KBI was not to initiate such an undertaking.
Henderson was born Nov. 25, 1891, in Virginia, Mo., the son of Herbert and Carrie Garner Henderson. He attended school at Stockton and Springfield, Mo. He married Gertrude Heider on Dec. 17, 1917, in Indianapolis, Ind., where Henderson was employed by the Pinkerton Agency. They moved to Mildred in 1919, then to a farm in the Elmore area in 1939 and to Iola in 1971. Mrs. Henderson survives. Henderson was a past master of the Kincaid Masonic Lodge and a charter member and past patron of the Oder of the Eastern Star at Kincaid. He later transferred his memberships to the Savonburg lodge. He also was a member of the Scottish Rite at Fort Scott and the Mirza Temple in Pittsburg. Services will be at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday in Waugh-Yokum and Fiskel Memorial Chapel, 16 N. Buckeye. The Rev. Jean Minnich will officiate. Burial will be in the Fairview Cemetery at Mildred. A memorial has been established with the American Heart Association.
Events
| Birth | 25 Dec 1891 | Virginia, Bates Co., Missouri |  | ||
| Marriage | 17 Dec 1917 | Indianapolis, Marion Co., Indiana - Gertrude Heider | | ||
| Death | 6 Feb 1988 | Iola, Allen Co., Kansas | | ||
| Burial | Fairview Cemetery, Mildred, Allen Co., Kansas | |
Families
| Spouse | Gertrude Heider (1897 - 1991) |
| Father | Herbert David Henderson Sr. (1866 - 1951) |
| Mother | Carrie M. Garner (1875 - 1964) |
| Sibling | Harry Clinton Henderson (1894 - 1981) |
Endnotes
1. Family Tree Maker CD-ROM Vol. 17, Tree 1476.
2. Find A Grave.
3. Family Tree Maker CD-ROM Vol. 17, Tree 1476.
4. Family Tree Maker CD-ROM Vol. 17, Tree 1476.
5. Find A Grave.