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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]
- The Abuse of Mary Ellen Wilson
- Etta Wheeler Takes Notice of Mary Ellen Wilson
- Animal Rights Advocates Fight For Mary Ellen Wilson
- The Mary Ellen Wilson Trial
- The Movement to Protect Children
Tragedy marked Mary Ellen Wilson from birth. Born in 1864, the Civil War would kill Mary Ellen’s father before her second birthday. Her mother, Frances Wilson, had to take a job to support her daughter. Wilson hired a woman to watch young Mary Ellen so she could work double shifts in the laundry room of a hotel. And when Wilson couldn’t pay, the wo...
A worried neighbor reported the abuse of Mary Ellen Wilson to authorities. Etta Wheeler, a caseworker and Methodist missionary, investigated. When she knocked on the door in December 1873, Wheeler was horrified when she saw a “pale, thin child, barefoot, in a thin, scanty dress.” Mary Ellen Wilson, 9 years old at the time, was the size of a 5-year-...
Around the same time that Mary Ellen Wilson’s foster parents began abusing her, activists began pushing for laws against animal cruelty. Activist Henry Bergh founded the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) in 1866. Horrified by the treatment of animals, Bergh declaredhimself the voice for the “mute servants of mankind....
On April 9, 1874, police took Mary Ellen Wilson from the Connolly home and brought her to court. Because Mary Ellen wore tattered clothes, she walked into court wearing a carriage blanket. Reporter Jacob Riis described the scene. “I saw a child brought in … at the sight of which men wept aloud, and I heard the story of little Mary Ellen told … that...
After the trial, Etta Wheeler even adopted Mary Ellen Wilson herself, according to the New York Times. Mary Ellen left the tenements of New York City behind, moving to a Rochester suburb. “Here began a new life,” wrote Wheeler. “The child was an interesting study, so long shut within four walls and now in a new world … But in this home there were o...
Jun 29, 2018 · There is a photograph dated to 1874, depicting a little girl with visible injuries and bruises all over her body. Even 143 years later, the sight of it will probably leave the observer feeling bit uneasy. On the picture is a girl by the name of Mary Ellen Wilson–a victim of child abuse.
Nov 9, 2016 · Mrs McCormac was given a one year sentence and Mary Ellen was placed in a juvenile home. The story got its happy ending when Etta Wheeler obtained custody of her. The case of Mary Ellen attracted great public attention, resulting in a revolutionary alteration in the American legal system.
Mary Flora Bell (born 26 May 1957) [ 3 ] is an English woman who, as a juvenile, killed two preschool-age boys in Scotswood, an inner suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne, in 1968. [ 4 ] Bell committed her first killing when she was ten years old.
Aug 1, 2006 · Mary Ellen’s story began when she was born to Irish immigrants and her father was killed in the Civil War. Her mother surrendered the 18-month-old to New York City’s Department of Charities. Mary and Thomas McCormack falsely claimed that Mary Ellen was his illegitimate child and the couple was awarded guardianship of the toddler.
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Mar 29, 2021 · Lester Eubanks, then 22 years old, was convicted of the murder of Mary Ellen Deener in 1966. She was 14. Authorities also alleged that he tried to rape her.
