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Detective Badge
Detective Badge
Detective Badge

Detective Badge

Place
PeriodCirca 1890 - 1900
MediumBrass
Dimensions2.25 × 1.5 in. (5.7 × 3.8 cm)
ClassificationsBadges, Buttons, Medals, & Ribbons
Credit LineGift of William R. Conover, 1934
Object number2022.503
DescriptionA brass badge with black lettering across the top reading "M. & M.P. & D. Co," followed by "ORG. 1888 / N.J." An eagle is perched atop the shield featuring the seal of New Jersey.
Curatorial RemarksThe Millstone & Manalapan Pursuing and Detective Company was a quasi-professional law enforcement organization started in 1852 by citizens of Millstone (the Upper Freehold) and Manalapan townships in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Rural districts had few if any policemen. Legislation passed at various times through the nineteenth century provided for the formation of detective and pursuing societies on local and state levels. Most were formed to deal with widespread theft, often of valuable horses and other livestock. Millstone resident William P. Forman (1807-1886), successful farmer, surveyor, and Judge of Common Pleas from 1834 to 1867 founded the group which was originally named the Millstone & Manalapan Protective Society. Each detective was issued a badge and had full police powers, with expenses paid for by the society. At its peak, the Company included approximately thirty officers and detectives. The group held their annual meeting in February, for many years at the Manalapan Hotel, where new officers were elected. The tasks of the detectives were varied: an 1888 newspaper article noted that each member had the "authority to arrest tramps and all disorderly persons in the township," while an 1898 article described the theft of a "valuable horse, buggy, harness, whips, robes, &tc.," and declared that "The Manalapan and Millstone Detective Company are after the thieves." In 1898, the Millstone & Manalapan Pursuing Detective Company joined the larger Consolidated Vigilant Society of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, comprised of about thirteen smaller detective and pursuing agencies in both states. With the growth of modern law enforcement departments, local pursuing societies gradually fell dormant. The Millstone & Manalapan Pursuing and Detective Company ceased active operations in about 1915.NotesWilliam R. Conover was born in 1869, the son of Jacob B. and Mary V. Conover. Conover married Laura VanDerveer (1876-1964) in 1899, and the couple had four children. William Conover was a successful farmer and was a highly active citizen. In addition to joining the Millstone & Manalapan Pursuing and Detective Society in 1910, Conover was a member of Old Tennent Church, a member of the Millstone Board of Education, and a member of both the Englishtown and Freehold Grange organizations. Conover served as the Detective Society's secretary. He donated the badge, along with the Society's record books, to the Historical Association in 1934.
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