Letter from J.T. Barker to Alexander
Graham Bell,
December 27, 1909
The
Alexander Graham Bell Papers at the Library of Congress
December 27/09, Hadjin, Turkey in Asia
Dr. Alexander Graham Bell,
Washington, D.C. U.S.A..
Dear Sir:
Ever since we left our little deaf daughter, Grace
Elizabeth Barker, in Miss Reinhardt's home in Kensington,
Md., it has been our purpose to write and express our
heartfelt thanks to you.
When we know it was our duty to go back again to our
post in Turkey, we were confronted with the problem of
what to do for our afflicted child. It scarcely seemed
right to take her back to live in Hadjin, where she would
have no advantages whatever, for a period of years. She
was yet too young to be sent to the Belleville Institute,
and none of our relatives felt properly situated to take
upon themselves the care of a deaf child. Our allowance
as missionaries would not admit of our placing her in
such an ideal place as she is now in, and at times we
wished we might stay in America and care for our
children.
On the other hand, the need of the mission field
called us. The massacre in the province of Adana, where
we are stationed, had left our station sadly short of
workers, and the few remaining, tire-out missionaries who
were holding the fort, could hardly {Begin deleted
text}our{End deleted text} wait our arrival,
and would have felt it too much altogether if we had
tho't only of ourselves, and left them in such straits
after the terrible days they had passed through.
Mr. Maurer, our only male missionary, was one of the
two Americans killed. Two of our best native workers had
been slaughtered, and while Hadjin was not massacred, you
probably read how the city was besieged for two weeks,
the inhabitants not knowing what moment they must
surrender, for even the 1st band of soldiers sent to
protect them joined the attaching party.
The 5 American ladies alone in Hadjin with the
natives, scattered in three different institutions,
decided, in spite of persuasion to the contrary, to stick
to their posts, for they feared that since they were
afraid to kill foreigners, it would mean leaving the poor
Armenians to mercy of the blood-thirsty mob, and they did
even tho' one end of the city was set on fire. Marvellous
to all those who know Hadjin, the fire failed to spread,
and went out, tho' no one dared go near to extinguish it,
and at the last moment, when it seemed there was no other
way but to surrender, help came.
The
Rescuers of the 1909 Siege of Hadjin
The whole city felt indebted to the missionaries for
the stand they took, and realizes that had the
missionaries sought their own safety in the hour of
extreme danger, the city would have been in ashes, and
they butchered, with wives and daughters carried off to
Turkish harems, as was the case with more than 200 in the
city of Adana.
All this, with the no less strenous weeks that
followed, when the missionarie had to listen constantly
to the heart-rending tales of those who came for help or
to have their wounds dressed, was a terrible strain. Miss
Lambert, the matron of our Orphanages, broke down
afterwards, and was just recovering from an attack of
typhoid when we reached Hadjin. She is now in {Begin
deleted text}Hadjin{End deleted text} Egypt
trying to recuperate.
After all this you can well understand how selfish it
would have been to have tho't only of ourselves, so we
began to make preparations to return with our three
children. Just then, Miss Reinhardt's letter stating that
she had decided to offer the scholarship you had granted
the school, to our {Begin deleted text}{Omitted text,
1w} {End deleted text} daughter, was forwarded
to us, and we felt deeply humbled to think that while we
were seeking to obey our convictions of duty, sometimes
with a heavy heart, as we thought of our deaf darling,
our Heavenly Father was planning it all out that while we
sought the path of duty, our little daughter was to have
the best the world affords in the way of advantages for a
deaf child.
The letters from Kensington are indeed very
comforting.
Since our arrival in September, our 16 months' old
baby, born in Toronto, has succumbed to the measles,
leaving us and her 6 year old sister very lonely.
The epidemic of measles that has been raging for a few
weeks, has taken a very severe form, and hundreds of
children have been swept away by it.
We are all kept very busy. In addition to my regular
work, serving on relief committees, and organizing relief
work for the wretched poor about us occupies my time.
We get only a snatch of news here and there, as to
your late successes in which we are deeply interested.
Trusting that 1910 will see your highest hopes
realized, {Begin deleted text}we{End deleted
text} remain
{Begin handwritten}Respectfully Yours,
{Omitted text, 2w} {End handwritten}
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