Henry Bergh

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Henry Bergh crypt, Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn
Henry Bergh crypt, Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn

Henry Bergh (August 29, 1811 - March 12, 1888) founded the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) in April, 1866, three days after the first effective legislation against animal cruelty in the United States was passed into law by the New York State Legislature. A Unitarian minister, Bergh also prompted the formation, in 1874, of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (MSPCC).

Contents

[edit] Early life and education

Bergh studied at Columbia College in New York, New York, after which he worked in his father's shipyard. After the shipyard was sold, Bergh received a share of the inheritance and set forth on a lengthy journey throughout Western Europe with his young bride, Catherine Matilda Taylor.

[edit] Career

Bergh was appointed to the American Legation in Russia by then President Abraham Lincoln.

[edit] New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children

In 1874, Bergh was approached by a Methodist missionary named Etta Wheeler, who sought help rescuing a child named Mary Ellen Wilson from her cruel abuser, Mary Connolly. After Mary Ellen's story was heard, and she was subsequently rescued through Bergh's efforts, other complaints came in to Bergh. In response, Bergh himself, along with Elbridge T. Gerry and John D. Wright, formed the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NYSPCC) in 1875. Over the coming years, other SPCC organizations were formed, such as the Massachusetts organization in 1888, the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (MSPCC). Two books on the case include Out of the Darkness: The Story of Mary Ellen Wilson c1999, Dolphin Moon Publishing, Authors Eric A. Shelman & Stephen Lazoritz, M.D., and The Mary Ellen Wilson Child Abuse Case and the Beginning of Children's Rights in 19th Century America., c2005, McFarland, Authors, Eric A. Shelman & Stephen Lazoritz, M.D.

[edit] References

  • Friend of Animals: The Story of Henry Bergh, Mildred Mastin Pace, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons (1942)
  • "The Child-Saving Movement", J. Riis, (1982), Childhood in America, P. Fass and M.A. Mason (eds.). New York: New York University Press, p 539-542 (2000).
  • Out of the Darkness: The Story of Mary Ellen Wilson, Eric A. Shelman & Stephen Lazoritz, M.D., Lake Forest, CA, Dolphin Moon Publishing (1999) ISBN 0966940008
  • The Mary Ellen Wilson Child Abuse Case and the Beginning of Children's Rights in 19th Century America, Eric A. Shelman & Stephen Lazoritz, M.D., New York, McFarland & Company Publishers, 2005. ISBN 0786420391
  • Angel in Top Hat, Zulma Steele, (1942). New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers.

[edit] External links

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