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Henry Bergh

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Henry Bergh
Henry Bergh by George Edward Perine
Born
Henry Bergh

(1813-08-29)August 29, 1813
New York City
DiedMarch 12, 1888(1888-03-12) (aged 74)
New York City
Occupation(s)Diplomat, activist for humane treatment of animals and children
Known forFounding the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, helping found the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children
SpouseCatherine Matilda Taylor
ParentChristian Bergh
Signature

Henry Bergh (August 29, 1813 – 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. Bergh also prompted the formation, in 1874, of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (MSPCC).

Biography

Early years

Henry Bergh was born August 29, 1813, in New York City. His father, Christian Bergh, an ethnic German was a successful shipbuilder who had completed a series of contracts for the government.[1] Upon his death in 1843, a significant estate was left to the benefit of the three Bergh children, including Henry.[1]

Bergh attended Columbia College in New York City, but left before completing his degree, deciding instead to tour Europe.[1] He would remain in Europe for a total of five years.[1]

In 1862 Bergh entered government service, being appointed by President Abraham Lincoln as secretary of the American legation in Tsarist Russia.[1] He would serve time in St. Petersburg, acting vice-consul, before resigning his position in 1864 due to Russia's severe winter weather.[1]

Animal welfare work

During his stay in Europe, Bergh witnessed various cruelties committed upon animals, which impacted him greatly.[1] In England Bergh met Lord Harrowby, president of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, who impressed upon Bergh the importance of his mission, leading Bergh to dedicate the rest of his life to the cause of ending animal cruelty.[1]

On April 10, 1866, an act of incorporation of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) was granted by the New York state legislature, with Bergh assuming the role of president of the new association, for which he received no financial compensation.[1] Bergh and his wife provided initial funding for the private organization, but after some time Bergh was requested to meet an old man in a hospital, Louis Bonard a rich Frenchman who had earned a fortune trading animal furs. Bonard was full of praise for Bergh's work. He wanted to leave a fortune of $100,000 to the society. He said to Bergh, "I shall help you! Only if you promise that if ever you have the power, you will extend your protection to the wild things of forest and plain." Bergh promised and took the $100,000 from him.[1] Branches of the ASPCA were subsequently established throughout the United States and Canada.[1]

Under Bergh's leadership, the early ASPCA involved itself in a wide variety of issues, including slaughterhouse practices, animal transportation, care of horses, elimination of vivisection, cock fighting, and dog fighting, and the abolition of use of live pigeons in shooting matches.[1] Bergh and the ASPCA are particularly credited for the use of clay pigeons in trap shooting.[1]

In 1873, Bergh conducted a national lecture tour taking him across the American West.[1] He was also able to speak on the animal welfare cause before the Evangelical Alliance and the Episcopal convention, with the latter passing a resolution giving its clergy express permission to preach an annual sermon against cruelty to animals.[1]

Child welfare work

In 1874, Bergh was approached by a Methodist missionary named Etta Agnell 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).[2]

Death and Legacy

Bergh died on March 12, 1888, in New York City. Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow eulogized Bergh as "among the noblest in the land...friend to every friendless beast."[3][4][5] Henry Bergh is interred at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.[6]

A 1982 children's book about Bergh, The Man Who Loved Animals, was written by Syd Hoff.

In the spring of 2006 at Green-Wood Cemetery, while making preparations to honor Bergh, the ASPCA discovered that his wife was also in that mausoleum. On May 6, substantive ceremonies were held before a large audience which was allowed to bring their pets into the cemetery - including dogs, for the first time in over a century. [7] The NYPD Emerald Society bagpipers and ASPCA HLE Agents were there also. After a walk to Bergh's tomb, the bas-relief statue was revealed that now rests in front. At the same time as these ceremonies, in the cemetery's large chapel building an exhibit was opened celebrating the history of the ASPCA and Henry Bergh. [citation needed]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o National Cyclopedia of American Biography: Volume 3. New York: James White and Co., 1893; pg. 106.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth (1893). "Tales of a Wayside Inn, Part Second: Interlude". In Scudder, Horace Elisha (ed.). The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. New York: Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin & Co. Retrieved 2015-07-12. Thus spake the Poet with a sigh;/ Then added, with impassioned cry,/ As one who feels the words he speaks,/The color flushing in his cheeks,/ The fervor burning in his eye:/ "Among the noblest in the land,/ Though he may count himself the least,/ That man I honor and revere/ Who without favor, without fear,/ In the great city dares to stand/ The friend of every friendless beast...
  4. ^ Millspaugh, John Gibb (2011-08-01). "Henry Bergh: 'The great meddler'". UU World Magazine (Summer 2011). Retrieved 2015-07-12.
  5. ^ O'Reilly, Edward (2012-03-21). "Henry Bergh: Angel in Top Hat or the Great Meddler?". From the Stacks. New-York Historical Society Museum and Library. Retrieved 2015-07-12. Among his supporters were a number of well-known literary figures, including Louisa May Alcott (alluding to him in her short story, Rosa's Tale), Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who presented Bergh's eulogy in 1888.
  6. ^ "Death Of Henry Bergh. Helpless Animals Losing Their Protector. Career Of The Man Whose Monument Is The Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals". New York Times. March 13, 1888. Retrieved 2010-03-30. The death of Henry Bergh, who has been so long and universally known as the defender of abused animals, occurred yesterday morning at about 5 o'clock at his residence, 429 Fifth Avenue. For several months, in fact since the death of his wife in June last, Mr. Bergh has been gradually failing. He suffered from chronic bronchitis and enlargement of the heart, and although he was out last Tuesday for a ... {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |authors= (help)
  7. ^ "Bergh Mausoleum | Classic Mausoleum Images and Information". Mausoleums.com. Retrieved 2019-10-21.

Works

  • The Streets of New York, a volume of tales and sketches
  • Love's Alternative
  • The Portentous Telegram
  • The Ocean Paragon
  • Married Off, a poem (London, 1859)

Further reading

  • Sydney H. Coleman. (1924). Henry Bergh: Founders of the Anticruelty Cause in America. In Humane Society Leaders in America. The American Humane Association, 1924.
  • Nancy Furstinger, Mercy: The Incredible Story of Henry Bergh, Founder of the ASPCA and Friend of Animals. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016.
  • Gary Kaskel, Monsters and Miracles: Henry Bergh's America. Infinity Publications, 2013.
  • Mildred Mastin Pace, Friend of Animals: The Story of Henry Bergh. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1942.
  • J. Riis, "The Child-Saving Movement," in P. Fass and M.A. Mason (eds.), Childhood in America. New York: New York University Press, 2000; pp. 539–542.
  • Eric A. Shelman & Stephen Lazoritz, The Mary Ellen Wilson Child Abuse Case and the Beginning of Children's Rights in 19th Century America. New York, McFarland & Company, 2005.
  • Eric A. Shelman and Stephen Lazoritz, Out of the Darkness: The Story of Mary Ellen Wilson. Lake Forest, CA, Dolphin Moon Publishing, 1999.
  • Zulma Steele, Angel in Top Hat. New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1942.
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