This is one of a series of narrated Power points on problems with families and the resulting bad out comes for children as the grow to adulthood.

1. Families, Law and Society
Introduction
Session One
Start by
clicking
here:

2. Families and Children
• The family should be a source of
encouragement, learning, and safety.
However, there are cases where children are
neglected and abused. An excellent book to
read about this is A Child Called It by Dave
Pelzer. The problem here was a very abusive
mother. He eventually joined the Air Force and
overcame his abusive life. Dave went on to
write several books. He is a featured speaker on
this topic.

3. This is an inspirational story:

4. History of families
• There is a historical perspective to child abuse. It has been
documented as early as 1700 that fathers had the right to kill their
child if he/she could not behave or perform work around the home
adequately. The singer Marvin Gaye was killed by his father. His
father said he brought him into the world and he could take him
out. Physical, sexual, and mental abuse are outside of normal
family behavior. Even non abusive parents were very remote and
did not express their love to children. Their fear was children
would die and if parents got too attached they would be heart
broken.
• Marvin Gaye: http://youtu.be/0WxgeYXCjM8

5. Mary Ellen Wilson circa 1870

6. A turning point:
• Mary McCormack Connolly badly mistreated Mary Ellen, and
neighbors in the apartment building were aware of the child’s
plight. The Connollys soon moved to another tenement, but in
1874, one of their original neighbors asked Etta Angell Wheeler, a
caring Methodist mission worker who visited the impoverished
residents of the tenements regularly, to check on the child. At the
new address, Etta encountered a chronically ill and homebound
tenant, Mary Smitt, who confirmed that she often heard the cries
of a child across the hall.

7. ASPCA intervenes!

8. ASPCA to the rescue!
• New York City authorities were reluctant to intervene.
Etta Wheeler continued her efforts to rescue Mary Ellen
and, after much deliberation, turned to Henry Bergh, a
leader of the animal humane movement in the United
States and founder of the American Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). It was Ms.
Wheeler’s niece who convinced her to contact Mr. Bergh
by stating, “You are so troubled over that abused
child, why not go to Mr. Bergh? She is a little animal
surely”
• (p. 3 Wheeler in Watkins, 1990).

9. “Out of the Darkness”

10. ASPCA Lawyer represents Mary Ellen
Recognizing the value of public opinion and awareness in
furthering the cause of the humane movement, Henry Bergh
contacted New York Times reporters who took an interest in the
case and attended the hearings. Thus, there were detailed
newspaper accounts that described Mary Ellen’s appalling physical
condition. When she was taken before Judge Lawrence, she was
dressed in ragged clothing, was bruised all over her body and had
a gash over her left eye and on her cheek where Mary Connelly
had struck her with a pair of scissors. On April 10, 1874, Mary Ellen
testified….

11. Conclusion
• The history of families is often idealized. But, it is not always so.
Sadly many children suffer at the hands of their own family.
Further, some children saved from being an orphan are soon
placed in a nightmare scenario with abusive foster parents.
• Hopefully, overtime we are beginning to understand the dynamics
of the family relationships and how they are so important to the
positive development of a child. As we proceed we will look at
many different aspects of these Prent, child and social dynamics.

12. REFERENCES
American Humane Organization retrieved from: http://www.americanhumane.org/aboutus/who-we-are/history/mary-ellen-wilson.html
Pelzer, D. (1990), A child called it, Deerfield Beach, Fl. Health Communications, Inc.
Gaye, M. (1970), “Mercy Mercy Me,” http://youtu.be/0WxgeYXCjM8
Shelman, E., Lazaritz, (1999), Out Of The Darkness: The Story of Mary Ellen
Wilson, Boston, Dolphin Moon Books Publishing.
Watkins, S.A. (1990). The Mary Ellen myth: Correcting child welfare history. Social Work, 35(6),
pp. 500-503.