Mary Ellen Wilson (March 1864 – October 30, 1956), also called Mary Ellen McCormack, was an American victim of child abuse whose case led to the creation of the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, the first child protection agency in the world.[1] At the age of eight, she was severely abused by her foster parents, Francis and Mary Connolly.[2] Because she was assisted by Henry Bergh, then the head of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, some sources incorrectly state that statutes against cruelty to animals had to be used to remove her from the home.[3] Hers was the first documented case of child abuse in the United States.[4]
^Markel, Howard (December 14, 2009). "Case Shined First Light on Abuse of Children". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-12-15. In fact, though, the quotation is from the 1874 case of Mary Ellen McCormack, below, a self-possessed 10-year-old who lived on West 41st Street, in the Hell's Kitchen section of Manhattan. It was Mary Ellen who finally put a human face on child abuse — and prompted a reformers' crusade to prevent it and to protect its victims, an effort that continues to this day.
^"How One Girl's Plight Started the Child-Protection Movement". American Humane Association. Archived from the original on 2011-05-19. Retrieved 2009-05-18.
^Unti, Bernard (2008). "Cruelty Indivisible: Historical Perspectives on the Link Between Cruelty to Animals and Interpersonal Violence". In Frank R. Ascione (ed.). The International Handbook of Animal Abuse and Cruelty: Theory, Research, and Application. Purdue University Press. p. 12. ISBN 9781557534637. Although scholarly and public confusion continues on this point, Bergh and Gerry did not intervene in Mary Ellen's case under an animal protection statute.
^Regoli, Hewitt, DeLisi, Robert M., John D., Matt (2014). Delinquency in Society (9th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. p. 7. ISBN 978-1-4496-4549-6. The 1874 case of Mary Ellen Wilson is generally regarded as the first documented child abuse case in the United States.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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