There are excellent foster parents who provide children with love and care and then there are those who beat and abuse the innocent lives placed in their charge. Here are some of the stories of abuse from the early 1900s.
1. Fourteen Years of Brutality
In 1921, twenty-year-old Julia Hector stepped into a Pennsylvania police station with a story that would sicken the hardest of hearts. She had spent the last fourteen years of her life as a prisoner.
“The girl reached the police station in an almost exhausted condition and only partly clothed. The police had her examined by a surgeon, who reported that her body was literally covered with scars, some of which, the girl said, were marks where she had been stabbed with scissors. Her ears were torn and eyes nearly closed. Her nose, which, she said, had been broken several times years ago with a club, had never been set and lies flat on her face.”
Julia claimed that she received beatings almost on a daily basis from her foster mother. Sometimes the cruel woman would strap the girl down to a chair and shower her with scalding water.
The police were quick to act. The foster mother was arrested and charged with inhuman cruelty. [1]
2. Died From a Criminal Operation
No one knew that Pearl McMillen was living in her foster father’s home until she died in 1914. Her foster father’s son, age 17 at the time, said that he had not seen the girl for several months and that she refused to leave her squalid bedroom unless the foster father was home.
Hidden away, her existence unknown to neighbors, the girl had a terrible secret. She was pregnant.
In the spring, Pearl passed away. After the coroner examined her, it was found that the had girl died from peritonitis after having a “criminal operation” (an abortion).
The foster father was arrested and charged with neglect. [2]
3. Sued Her Foster Mother
In 1916, foster parents were allowed to physical punish their foster children as long as the punishment was not too severe.
Mrs. Martin of Kansas City knew that she could beat her temporary foster child, but she went beyond the norms for those times. The beating she gave the eleven-year-old Lucile Dix was so severe that the child’s back did not fully heal for several months.
Little Lucile took Mrs. Martin to court and sued her for damages. The child won and the judge declared that Mrs. Martin had to pay the child $1,000 for the beating. [3]
4. Beaten to Death
Seven-year-old Frances Crockett did not even get a chance to live life to its fullest. Instead, she had been taken in by cruel foster parents who beat her until she died.
The year was 1920. An undertaker was called to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Stewart who said that their foster daughter fell over dead while she was playing. When the undertaker wanted to examine the child’s body, the foster parents objected.
Naturally suspicious, the undertaker contacted the local coroner and an investigation was launched into the child’s cause of death.
“When the clothing was removed the child’s body was found to be covered with sores and bruises. Neighbors testified they had frequently heard the girl screaming.”
In a statement made by the coroner:
“In found the body of Frances Crockett covered with sores and scars, some fresh and some old. The fresh ones showed evidence of blood stains. I believe the child died from abuse at the hands of some one who used, perhaps, sticks or heavy switches.” [4]
