Since he first learned that a rut across his family land was the route of a historic road to early Texas, Pinkerton’s passion for research and writing about the history of East Texas has resulted in the publication of two works of history published in 2016 and 2017, with another out last year and a new one this year.
Pinkerton has a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from the University of Houston and a bachelor’s degree in social work and psychology from East Texas A&M University. As an independent researcher he contributes to diverse projects, and is a web designer focusing on non-profit organizations. He is a member of the board of directors and a fellow of the East Texas Historical Association. His work also appears in the online Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture, the online Handbook of Texas, The Texas Historic Sites Atlas of the Texas Historical Commission, and The Portal to Texas History. He has published book reviews for both the East Texas Historical Journal, and the Southwest Historical Quarterly.
His first book, Trammel’s Trace—The First Road to Texas from the North was published in 2016. It tells the history of a 200-year-old road and its role in early smuggling and migration into Texas beginning in the early 1800s. Read more from Pinkerton on Trammel’s Trace in this County Line Magazine archive article, Ancient Road Leaves Modern Tracks.
His second book, True Believers— Treasure Hunters at Hendricks Lake, is the story of people who believed a Texas treasure legend enough to search for it. Houston oilmen, a Carthage TV repairman, some tough Texas lawmen, and an MIT-educated electrical engineer are just some of the men who believed the treasure legend of Hendricks Lake in East Texas enough to search for silver there.
In 2024, he released Paper Diver: How the World’s Greatest Underwater Treasure Hunter Never Got Wet. It’s a biography of Harry E. Riesberg who made claims of being attacked by a giant octopus while recovering sunken treasure, defending himself from an attack by a 15-foot shark with only a diving knife, and surviving a hurricane and a severely broken leg while at sea These were captivating tales for audiences in the 1940s and 1950s he claimed as fact but where actually fantasy Despite the often-obvious facts of his fabrication, his books influenced a generation of legitimate divers and underwater archaeologists like Sir Robert Marx and Robert Stenuit. Thoroughly researched, this book uses sources including his personal records and letters to his agents to provide deep insight into the nature of his life and the way he created a false persona for popular consumption..
His latest, Bridles & Biscuits: The Contraband Culture of Spanish East Texas, focuses on the “last act of the Spanish drama in East Texas,” and the culture of contraband trade that avoided all attempts to control it. The years of control of that trade around Nacogdoches by Antonio Gil Ibarvo (Ybarbo) ultimately led to his removal, but failed to abate the trade in items of personal importance to the residents.
Pinkerton is presenting a program at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 13, at the Jefferson Carnegie Library, 301 W. Lafayette Street in downtown Jefferson. Call (903) 665-8911 for more information. He’s at the Marshall Public Library at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, March 27. Contact Harrison County Historical Museum for more information or send an email to [email protected] for reservations.
