Born in New York City in 1881, Edward L. Du Bois, Sr. was the first generation in the Du Bois family to become a specialist in the field of investigation and security. At the age of 16, Du Bois, Sr. joined the US Army and served in the Spanish American War. Upon his return, his brother Percy Maltby Du Bois, a famed Captain with the New York Police Department, urged his younger brother to join the NYPD.

Du Bois, Sr. retired from the New York City Police Department in 1924 and moved his family to Miami Beach, FL where he became the Head of Security at the Rooney Hotel & Casino. He instilled a life-long interest in security and investigation in his son, Edward L. Du Bois, Jr., who became an attorney, judge and FBI agent and formed Investigators, Inc. This dedication to security and investigations continues today through Ed Du Bois, III and Ed Du Bois, IV.