Stephan Lazoritz

In 1874, an amazing event took place--the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) initiated the rescue of a severely abused child named Mary Ellen Wilson. Her rescue initiated the beginning of true child protection in this country, and eventually, the first child protection agency in America was formed.

Shelman and Lazoritz have penned the only book that tells the story of the first known child to be rescued from an abusive home in America. It was April of 1874 in New York City--and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals came to her rescue.