Etta Agnell Wheeler

Etta Angell Wheeler (June 14, 1834 – December 5, 1921) was the rescuer and advocate of Mary Ellen Wilson, whose infamous abuse story led to the creation of the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Wheeler was also influential in the society's creation because she convinced future founder of the society, Henry Bergh, who at the time was founder of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, to take on the issue and spearhead the case.

Background Marietta Angell was born in Spencerport, New York, a suburb area of Rochester. She resided with her mother, Sally Angell, and sister Elizabeth Spencer, and it was here she met Charles Wheeler, whom she married. Charles Wheeler later inherited a moderate home from his deceased father in New York, New York.

Career In New York City, Etta Wheeler was a Methodist missionary of St. Luke's Mission for the poor. Her work consisted of going to poor parishioners of her church and providing meals, supplies, and donations from the mission. She further added to her duties by checking in on individuals, conversing with them, and providing aid around their homes. She was assigned two routes; between West 38th Street and West 42nd Street and between 47th Street and 53rd Street. These areas that were later referred to as Hell's Kitchen. When able, Wheeler extended her care to those who were not part of the church.

Quotation|I saw a pale, thin child, barefoot, in a thin, scanty dress so tattered that I could see she wore but one garment besides. It was December and the weather bitterly cold. ……..Across the table lay a brutal whip of twisted leather strands and the child's meager arms and legs bore many marks of its use. The New York police told her that there was a law that prevented the removal of a child from their guardian without sufficient evidence.

Wheeler died December 5, 1921, in Coldwater, New York at the home of her niece, Miss Lille Thompson.

In preservation of her service and legacy, the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children constructed a memorial that was placed in the Society's Heckscher Foundation for Children's building located, on Fifth Avenue, from 104th Street to 105th Street.