Animals Had Rights Before Children: The First-Ever Reported Case of Child Abuse & Laws Protecting Kids

Animal shelters and laws against animal abuse existed in America well before laws were established protecting children from physical abuse from their parents. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals first recognized the need for this protection for children in 1874 after witnessing firsthand a child severely abused by her foster mother, 10-year-old Mary Ellen McCormack.

Mary Ellen lived on West 41st Street in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, New York. Orphaned as a baby, her father, Thomas Wilson, was a Union soldier who died in the Second Battle of Cold Harbor, while her mother, Frances, worked double shifts at the St. Nicholas Hotel, leaving Mary Ellen in the care of a woman on the Lower East Side.

Frances paid the woman $2 per week - the entire amount of her pension - until she lost her job. After that, she sent Mary Ellen to the city orphanage on Blackwell's Island.

Mary Ellen lived at the city orphanage for several years until a Manhattan couple, Thomas and Mary McCormack, adopted her. Thomas died shortly after the adoption, and Mary remarried Francis Connolly. Soon, Mary became physically abusive to Mary Ellen, often hitting her hard enough to leave her body black and blue with bruises.

At the time, parents often lived by the phrase, "Spare the rod, spoil the child," favoring severe physical punishment as a form of discipline. Neither Frances nor anyone else blinked an eye when Mary beat Mary Ellen.

That changed in 1873.

Neighbors witnessed Mary Ellen outside her house one day, and the severity of her neglect and abuse struck their hearts. They called the Department of Public Charities and Correction for help. When investigator Etta Angell Wheeler saw Mary Ellen, she was shocked and felt compelled to help her. But what could a single person do against God-fearing child abusers who felt righteous in their beatings?

Etta contacted the A.S.P.C.A. Its founder, Henry Bergh, envisioned the horses he had saved from violent owners when he looked at the battered child, deciding that, like vulnerable animals, children needed the same protection.

Bergh enlisted Elbridge Gerry, a prominent lawyer in NYC, to take the case to the New York State Supreme Court. He argued that Mary Ellen would be subjected to irreparable harm unless she was removed from her foster parents' home.

Mary Ellen testified in court regarding the abuse from her foster mother, and the case was featured in the New York Times the following day. Ms. Connolly was charged with and found guilty of assault and battery against Mary Ellen.

Mary Ellen was removed from the home and temporarily placed in a facility for delinquent teenagers until Etta Wheeler volunteered to raise her.

In December 1874, Bergh, Gerry, and philanthropist John D. Wright founded the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, becoming the first child protective agency in the world.

Mary Ellen went on to live a healthy, safe life with Etta.

At age 24, she married Louis Schut, a father of three. The couple had two children of their own and adopted an orphan girl. Mary Ellen advocated for children's rights. She passed away in 1956 at age 92.

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