Nellie Miller Mann (1897–1997), a Mennonite relief worker from Elkhart, Indiana, served as secretary to the treasurer of Near East Relief’s headquarters in Beirut from 1921 to 1923. Dispatched through the Mennonite Relief Commission, she was one of only two Mennonite women sent to the Near East during this period. Working under treasurers including Ray F. Bender and Stanley Kerr, Mann managed administrative operations while regularly visiting orphanages and refugee camps across Syria and Lebanon, including the Birds’ Nest Orphanage in Sidon, where Maria Jacobsen’s young charges knew her as “Miss Nellie.” She served under her maiden name, Nellie Miller, which appears in the period captions; she married after her return.

This selection presents photographs from Mann’s personal collection — many developed in her own improvised darkroom — alongside images from her letters home documenting orphanage life, feeding programs, the refugee crisis in Beirut, and the children in NER’s care across facilities at Antilyas, Ghazir, Juniyeh, and Sidon. Her photographs form one of the most intimate visual records of NER’s operations in Lebanon in the early 1920s.

The collection is held at the Rockefeller Archive Center. Her papers are presented in a companion collection.

Boys take an open-air meal amid tents at the Antilyas Orphanage, c. 1921–1923, where Nellie Miller Mann found
Boys take an open-air meal amid tents at the Antilyas Orphanage, c. 1921–1923, where Nellie Miller Mann found "about 1,800 children."
More than a hundred children gather before the main building of the Birds' Nest orphanage, 1924.
More than a hundred children gather before the main building of the Birds' Nest orphanage, 1924.
Orphan girls with Nellie Miller Mann at the Seaside Orphanage, Sidon, c. 1921–1923.
Orphan girls with Nellie Miller Mann at the Seaside Orphanage, Sidon, c. 1921–1923.
Armenian refugees living in tents on the outskirts of Beirut, one of the camps Miller visited and photographed, c. 1921–1923.
Armenian refugees living in tents on the outskirts of Beirut, one of the camps Miller visited and photographed, c. 1921–1923.
Refugees cook and wash beside a canvas tent pitched against a stone building, Beirut, c. 1921–1923 —
Refugees cook and wash beside a canvas tent pitched against a stone building, Beirut, c. 1921–1923 — "washing in small pans, baking, mending shoes."
A seated woman cradles an infant in a dirt courtyard, Lebanon, c. 1921–1923.
A seated woman cradles an infant in a dirt courtyard, Lebanon, c. 1921–1923.
Children saying grace at the dining table of the Birds' Nest orphanage in Sidon (now Lebanon), c. 1925. Antranig Karjian appears second from the right.
Children saying grace at the dining table of the Birds' Nest orphanage in Sidon (now Lebanon), c. 1925. Antranig Karjian appears second from the right.
Antranig Karjian says grace over a bowl and tin cup at the Birds' Nest Orphanage, Sidon, c. 1921–1923.
Antranig Karjian says grace over a bowl and tin cup at the Birds' Nest Orphanage, Sidon, c. 1921–1923.
Maria Jacobsen (right) unpacking supplies sent from Denmark at the Birds' Nest Orphanage in Sidon, c. 1922.
Maria Jacobsen (right) unpacking supplies sent from Denmark at the Birds' Nest Orphanage in Sidon, c. 1922.
Armenian refugees leaving TurkeyA file of Armenian refugees with bundles crosses a bare ridge, fleeing Anatolia southward toward Aleppo and Beirut, c. 1921–1923.
Armenian refugees leaving TurkeyA file of Armenian refugees with bundles crosses a bare ridge, fleeing Anatolia southward toward Aleppo and Beirut, c. 1921–1923.
Women and children line up toward a relief shed, Beirut, c. 1921–1923, many
Women and children line up toward a relief shed, Beirut, c. 1921–1923, many "carrying small babies on their backs or on their shoulders."
Refugee men and boys queue on open ground for a food distribution, possibly Aleppo, c. 1921–1923.
Refugee men and boys queue on open ground for a food distribution, possibly Aleppo, c. 1921–1923.
Orphans from Aintab being prepared for transfer to Ghazir, one of the coastal NER orphanages that absorbed children evacuated from the Turkish interior, c. 1922.
Orphans from Aintab being prepared for transfer to Ghazir, one of the coastal NER orphanages that absorbed children evacuated from the Turkish interior, c. 1922.
Small children eat from tin bowls at a long table on the Birds' Nest verandah, Sidon, c. 1921–1923.
Small children eat from tin bowls at a long table on the Birds' Nest verandah, Sidon, c. 1921–1923.
Children at prayer before dinner on the terrace of the Birds' Nest Orphanage in Sidon, ca. 1923.
Children at prayer before dinner on the terrace of the Birds' Nest Orphanage in Sidon, ca. 1923.
Five children share a meal at a small table on the terrace of the Birds' Nest Orphanage, Sidon, c. 1921–1923.
Five children share a meal at a small table on the terrace of the Birds' Nest Orphanage, Sidon, c. 1921–1923.
Water carrier, Armenian Camp
Water carrier, Armenian Camp"The Crippled Water Carrier" — Miller's title for this portrait at the Armenian refugee camp in Beirut, c. 1921–1923.
"Happy in Spite of Dirt" — Miller's title for this portrait of an Armenian refugee child in Beirut, c. 1921–1923.
View Full Collection