Near East Relief worker Blanche S. Easton. Miss Easton married fellow relief worker Joseph W. Beach.
Archives
Dr. R.T. Uhls with trachoma patient at Alexandropol
Dr. R.T. Uhls attending to a trachoma patient at Alexandropol. Near East Relief started a trachoma hospital at Seversky Post Orphanage to combat the virulent eye disease, which often led to blindness if left untreated.
“America We Thank You”
Children at Seversky Post orphanage in Alexandropol spell out a message for their American benefactors. This iconic photograph was used in thank-you letters, brochures, and publications like The New Near East.
Children working in garden
Children working in the garden at Kazachi Post Orphanage.
Large group of children at Alexandropol
Large group of children on the grounds of the Alexandropol orphanage complex. Two large orphanage buildings are visible in the background.
Young women at grave
Young women lay laurel garlands on an unknown grave.
Barclay Acheson with children
Barclay Acheson with two relief workers and a group of young children sitting on steps. The building is marked “No. 24,” which helps to illustrate just how large the orphanage complex at Alexandropol was.
Refugee men in ragged clothing
Close-up of three refugee men in ragged clothing.
Girl hanging laundry
A young girl stands on a chair to hang a freshly laundered dress on a clothesline. Additional children in white dresses are visible in the background.
Barclay Acheson meeting with Charles V. Vickrey and two other men
Barclay Acheson (standing) meeting with Near East Relief General Secretary, Charles V. Vickrey (with hat in lap), and two other men.
Woman in Greece (possibly Louise Acheson)
A woman leaning against a pillar in Greece. This may be Louise Acheson, wife of Barclay Acheson.
Man and woman with children in courtyard
Two relief workers with a large group of children, mostly boys, lined up in front of an unknown orphanage.
Adults visiting Greek ruins
An unknown group of adults visiting Greek ruins.
Men with bundles at rail station
Men with bundles at an unnamed railway station. The men are most likely refugees.
Negative of relief worker in apron with children
A damaged negative plate showing a woman relief worker wearing an apron and standing with a large group of young children.
Group in front of elaborate building
Children and two adults, probably relief workers, in front of a building with an elaborate facade. The man is holding a baby.
Male refugees in caps and fezzes
Male refugees wearing caps and traditional fezzes.
Men with uniforms and rifles
Men in uniform pose with rifles in front of a train.
Women and children in front of wall
Women refugees and their children lined up in front of a wall. More women are visible over the wall. A man is visible in the background at right.
Boy with cross uniform in yard
Boy in an orphanage uniform with a cross on the chest in a yard, probably Greece or Syria.
Man with boys on stairs
Man with cane, possibly Christopher C. Thurber, with boys on an outdoor staircase. This is probably an orphanage or working boys’ home in Athens.
Children in courtyard with columns
Children and relief workers lined up in a courtyard. The building behind them has a distinctive colonnade.
Boys in caps working with wool
Boys in caps and uniforms working with wool
Boys reaching for an unknown object
Crowd of boys laughing and reaching for an unknown object
Men with trolley car
Men standing in front of a trolley car in an unknown city.
Children in outdoor pottery workshop
Children and two men, one in uniform, in an outdoor pottery workshop, probably in the Jerusalem area where pottery was extremely popular with tourists.
Small children with car
A large group of children gathered in front of a car. Cars were comparatively rare in the Near East, and were often no match for the rough terrain.
Children with one relief worker near church ruins
Children in uniforms and one relief worker play near the ruins of an Armenian church.
Louise and Julia Acheson
Louise Acheson, wife of Near East Relief associate general secretary Barclay Acheson, with their daughter Julia (called Judy). Judy later wrote a children’s travel book called Judy in Constantinople about her experiences overseas.
Men in front of a train
Group of men standing in and on a train. Trains were essential in the distribution of supplies to landlocked relief centers.
Woman with baby and unknown relief worker
Large group of refugees, probably in Greece. A woman with a baby and a man in a pith helmet stand at the center of the group. A large house is visible in the background.
Market with baskets
People at market with baskets of wares
Barclay Acheson on a ship
Barclay Acheson made frequent trips to the Near East Relief orphanages and relief stations throughout Asia Minor.
Holy Land souvenir stand
Souvenir stand in Jerusalem
Barclay Acheson in Jerusalem
Barclay Acheson in Jerusalem. Acheson conducted frequent tours of orphanages and relief stations in his role as Associate General Secretary, and later Director General of Overseas Operations.
Barclay Acheson with Babek and Lea
Barclay Acheson with orphans Babek and Lea. Acheson occupied many roles in his lengthy tenure with the organization. At the time of this photo, Acheson was most likely the Associate General Secretary of Near East Relief or the Director of Overseas Operations.
Near East Relief Service Medal
Near East Relief service medals were presented to workers upon their return to the United States. The medals contained the inscription “For Faithful and Unselfish Service to Humanity” with a laurel wreath on one side, and a shield with symbols corresponding to the lands where Near East Relief worked.
Mrs. Dorothy Sutton with children
Mrs. Dorothy Sutton with children
Two Armenian priests
Two Armenian priests
Marketplace stall
Refugees in an outdoor marketplace
Children sitting on ground
Boy and girl sitting on ground in front of hanging rug with more children in the background
Azadouhi with flower necklace
Azadouhi was an orphan from Zeitun. She was adopted by Dr. and Mrs. Gannaway, who brought her to Beirut when they were forced to leave the Turkish interior. Nellie Miller was very fond of Zadi.
Maria Jacobsen with a child at the fountain
Danish missionary and Near East Relief worker Maria Jacobsen holds a child up for a drink of water from the fountain on the terrace at the Birds’ Nest orphanage. Nellie Miller’s original caption reads: “Miss Yacobsen playing with the babies at the fountain on the porch.”
Nellie Miller in her office
Nellie Miller working in the Near East Relief office in Beirut.
Near East Relief magazine, July 1922
Near East Relief magazine produced for private circulation, July 1922, featuring a young woman making stoockings in the Near East Relief Armenian Girls’ Industrial Orphanage in Constantinople
Refugee woman indoors
Refugee woman seated on a bed
Children with relief worker
Large group of children in the courtyard at Kazachi Post. A woman relief worker stands in the middleground. Relief workers often oversaw dozens — if not hundreds — of children.
Children with American flag
Large group of children with one child holding an American flag at the center
Refugee tents in front of brick wall
Refugee tent community with woman standing at center. In addition to running orphanages, Near East Relief provided food and medical care to refugee communities.
Three young women embroidering
Three young women embroider together while seated on the ground. Sewing was a marketable skill for orphanage graduates.
Child with bundle
Refugee child holding a bundle
Barclay Acheson in train car
Barclay Acheson in Near East Relief train car. The sign reads “Executive Director American Committee” in Russian.
Man seated at desk with British flag
Man seated at a desk with portraits and a small British flag
Orphan girl in uniform posing for photographer
An orphan girl poses for a photographer in the yard at Alexandropol while other girls wait in line for their turn.
Woman sitting in a rocking chair
Unknown woman sitting in a rocking chair in a decorated room.
Girl in winter coat
Girl in winter clothes standing in front of truck with Near East Relief insignia on the door.
Children standing in rows
Children standing in long rows in the winter on the grounds at Alexandropol.
Children climbing over low wall
Children climbing over a low wall at Polygon Orphanage.
Group of men in suits
Group of men in suits, date and place unknown (possibly Greek Macedonia).
Woman standing in front of refugee tents
A woman stands in front of a row of refugee tents while a small child stands in the background.
Group of girls seated around a relief worker
Group of girls seated around a relief worker outdoors, possibly for class.
Group of girls at summer camp
Group of girls at summer camp
“Redeem the Children”
Flyer featuring a small boy named Dikran. Individual children were often used to put a human face on relief work.
Small children with shaved heads
Young orphanage residents with shaved heads. Children’s heads were often shaved to prevent lice, which carried disease.
Malnourished children in Diyarbekir
The original caption reads: “These are some of the small number saved from starvation. These little ones have not yet begun to gain flesh, but their digestion is recovered. I stood by the bedside of a dying girl with whom Dr. Little had worked for weeks exhausting all her meager facilities for recovering the health of the digestive organs.”
–H.B. McAfee, Managing Director, Beirut. Diyarbekir, c. 1922.
Children in receiving hospital beds
Children often slept four to a bed in the orphanage receiving hospitals. When they were healthy enough, they joined the other children in the dormitories. Caucasus region, c. 1920.
Children Leaving Anatolia By Donkey
Five thousand children were evacuated from Near East Relief orphanages in Harput alone. The children traveled 500 miles on foot and by donkey to Syria. Boys and girls take turns riding donkeys on the road to Syria, circa 1922.
Kemal Mustafa
General Kemal Mustafa led the Turkish Nationalism movement and became the first president of the Republic of Turkey.
Waiting at the gates of the “Orphan City” of Alexandropol
Two Refugee women
Two refugee women pack their major belongings into bundles.
Boys in Near East Relief boat
Boys in a Near East Relief boat, probably Greece. Based on their age, the boys may be graduating from the orphanage.
Girls with bandaged feet
Girls receive medical care for foot injuries after traveling on foot to a Near East Relief orphanage. Many children arrived with severe sunburn and frostbite, having nothing but scavenged rags to protect them from the elements.
Lesson in Girls’ Dormitory, Corinth
Near East Relief improvised classroom space with cloth room dividers.
View of Kazachi Post Orphanage
The Kazachi Post Orphanage at Alexandropol was a former Russian army base. At its peak the complex housed more than 20,000 orphans.
Children making pottery
Article on orphans making pottery
Bernice Everett
Bernice Everett in Brousa
“Armenia and The Wolf” by Maxim Seibold
Near East Relief postcard by Maxim Seibold
Fruit preservation
Girls preserving local fruits for consumption and sale
Traditional costumes
Young women dancing in traditional costumes
Children dancing
Alice meets happy and healthy children at a Near East Relief orphanage. She also meets children that have been turned away for lack of resources. Still image from ‘Alice in Hungerland’ showing orphans performing traditional dances for Alice.
The Great Fire of Smyrna
The Great Fire of Smyrna
The harbor at Smyrna
Ships in the harbor at Smyrna
Children at a Near East Relief garage
Near East Relief orphans originally from Aintab waiting at a garage in Beirut. According to Nellie Miller’s original notes, the children are preparing to leave for the orphanage at Ghazir, Syria.
Boys waiting in line to board ships bound for Greece
Near East Relief transported an estimated 15,000 children across the Aegean Sea in barges to new orphanages in Greece. Constantinople, c. 1922.
Arriving in Beirut
Children evacuated from the interior by boat arriving in Beirut
One day’s worth of flour
Relief workers haul the daily supply of flour by hand
Dr. Ruth Parmelee
Dr. Ruth Parmelee with Armenian babies at the American Hospital in Harput, Turkey. Dr. Parmelee joined Near East Relief through American Women’s Hospitals organization.
Dr. Elfie Richards Graff
Dr. Elfie Richards Graff
Dr. R.T. Uhls
Dr. R.T. Uhls and the Trachoma Hospital at Alexandropol
Mrs. Dorothy Sutton
Mrs. Dorothy Sutton, orphanage director at Erivan
Miss Bessie Murdoch
Miss Bessie Murdoch
Miss Bernice J. Everett
Miss Bernice J. Everett
R.M. Davidson and children
R.M. Davidson with orphans in Erivan, Armenia
Miss Annie T. Allen
Miss Annie T. Allen
Miss Nellie Miller
Miss Nellie Miller
Miss Margie Lin Caldwell
Miss Margie Lin Caldwell
Alexandropol soup kitchen
Refugees wait for food at an Alexandropol soup kitchen
Lesther Wright
Lesther Wright, who died in service
Assyrian survivors
Article about Assyrian survivors
New Near East, Jan. 1922: Alice in Hungerland
New Near East magazine cover featuring still from the Near East Relief film ‘Alice in Hungerland.’ Alice encounters children who are desperate for food, clothing, and shelter. The things that she takes for granted at home are luxuries to the children in Alexandropol, Batoum, and Erivan.
