Collections
Nellie Marie Miller signs a two-year Near East Relief contract. 1921.
Location
New York, United States
Year
1921
Item Detail
The agreement set the terms of Near East Relief field service: two years from the date of reporting to the director on the field, fifty dollars a month, housing, board and laundry found, and total abstinence from alcohol for the duration. NER reserved the right to assign its personnel to any district or station and to dismiss for cause. Miller reported at Beirut on 20 September 1921 and left at the end of August 1923, so she served the full term and a little beyond. She signed before she had seen the field or been told where she would work.
Context
Nellie Marie Miller Mann (1897–1997) was a member of Prairie Street Mennonite Church in Elkhart, Indiana, and a graduate of Goshen College. The Mennonite Relief Commission placed her with Near East Relief in 1921, one of two Mennonite women it sent to the Near East in these years. She was appointed on 20 August 1921, sailed the same day aboard the S.S. Patria, and reached Beirut on 20 September. At the Syria-Palestine headquarters she was secretary to the treasurer and, by April 1923, in charge of the individual remittance department. She left Beirut at the end of August 1923.
The collection holds her letters to her family and to her fiancé Cleo Mann, her appointment papers and contract, and the Near East Relief reports, rosters and field accounts she kept. Together they document the Beirut office through the movement of orphans out of Anatolia and Cilicia into Syria and Lebanon in 1922, the Greek deportations of the following winter, and the deaths of two NER workers, Menno Shellenberger at Diarbekir and Lester James Wright on the Aleppo road. David W. Mann published his mother's writings as Letters from Syria, 1921–1923 (2013) and gave the originals to the Near East Foundation.
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Holding Institution
Rockefeller Archive Center
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External Link
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Attribution
Rockefeller Archive Center. Near East Foundation records, FA406. Nellie Miller-Mann, Series 14.
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Rights
This material is protected by copyright. Permission has been granted for its non-commercial research and educational display by NERHS. Uses beyond this permission may require permission from the rights holder. Users are responsible for determining rights status and compliance with applicable law. If you believe you hold rights in this material or have information about rights holders not currently reflected, please contact [email protected].
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Notes
Typed on the agreement: "Name .. Miller, Nellie Marie" / "Name Next-of-kin .. Mr. & Mrs. A. R. Miller" / "Address ... 145 Indiana Ave." / "City Elkhart .......... State Indiana"
Typed at the foot: "Date of departure — August 20, 1921 S.S. PATRIA For Naples" / "Transportation provided to — Beirut" / "Money advanced for traveling expenses — None"
Signed in ink: "Nellie Marie Miller." / "For Near East Relief C. M. Fowle."
Sources for the Item Detail:
• Nellie Miller to her family, Beirut, October 1921 ("Mr. McAlpin, the Treasurer for whom I am secretary, was host"). Nellie Miller-Mann, Series 14, Rockefeller Archive Center.
• Near East Relief, Syria-Palestine Area, Organization and Personnel, 28 April 1923, sheet I. Nellie Miller-Mann, Series 14, Rockefeller Archive Center.
About this group
• Nellie Miller-Mann, Series 14, Near East Foundation records (FA406), Rockefeller Archive Center.
• Near East Relief appointment certificate, 20 August 1921, signed C. V. Vickrey and C. M. Fowle ("Miss Nellie M. Miller has been duly appointed a member of the relief expedition"). Nellie Miller-Mann, Series 14, Rockefeller Archive Center.
• Near East Relief, Syria-Palestine Area, Organization and Personnel, 28 April 1923, sheet I ("Secretary to Treasurer & in charge of Individual Remittance Dept. — Miss Nellie M. Miller"). Nellie Miller-Mann, Series 14, Rockefeller Archive Center.
• Nellie Miller Mann, Letters from Syria, 1921–1923, transcribed and edited by David W. Mann (Morgantown, Pa.: Masthof Press, 2013).
• Rockefeller Archive Center finding aid, Near East Foundation records: https://dimes.rockarch.org/collections/Ahi2i3M7wcFTbQuXZgxDib
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Document Contents
Printed and typed personnel agreement marked "Duplicate" at the head, between Near East Relief, 1 Madison Avenue, New York, and Nellie Marie Miller, with Mr. and Mrs. A. R. Miller of 145 Indiana Avenue, Elkhart, Indiana, as next of kin. Terms cover a two-year field service dated from reporting to the director on the field, salary of $50.00 a month running from signature to one month after release, maintenance including housing, board and laundry, transportation out and home, and total abstinence from alcoholic beverages. NER reserves the right to assign personnel to any district or station and to dismiss for just cause recorded in writing. Signed in ink by Nellie Marie Miller and by C. M. Fowle for Near East Relief. A typed slip at the foot records departure on 20 August 1921 aboard the S.S. Patria for Naples, transportation provided to Beirut, and no money advanced for traveling expenses.