http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt596nf1c5 No online items Finding aid prepared by Jessica Lemieux Hoover Institution Archives 434 Galvez Mall Stanford University Stanford, CA, 94305-6010 (650) 723-3563 hooverarchives@stanford.edu 2009 74099 1
Title: Ruth A. Parmelee Date (inclusive): 1863-1974 Date (bulk): 1922-1953 Collection Number: 74099 Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Archives Language of Material: English Physical Description: 7 manuscript boxes, 1 envelope (2.9 linear feet) Abstract: Includes diaries, notes, correspondence, reports, clippings, printed matter, and photographs relating to the life and work of Dr. Ruth A. Parmelee. Parmelee was born and brought up in Turkey by her missionary parents. After her education in the United States, she began a long career in establishing reliable medical service in the Near East. Working in Turkey, Greece, and Palestine, Parmelee specialized in obstetrics, training nurses, caring for war orphans, and in refugee relief work. Physical Location: Hoover Institution Archives Creator: Parmelee, Ruth A. (Ruth Azneve), 1885-1973. Access Collection is open for research. The Hoover Institution Archives only allows access to copies of audiovisual items. To listen to sound recordings or to view videos or films during your visit, please contact the Archives at least two working days before your arrival. We will then advise you of the accessibility of the material you wish to see or hear. Please note that not all audiovisual material is immediately accessible. Publication Rights For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Archives. Preferred Citation [Identification of item], Ruth A. Parmelee, [Box no.], Hoover Institution Archives. Acquisition Information Acquired by the Hoover Institution Archives in 1974. Accruals Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. To determine if this has occurred, find the collection in Stanford University's online catalog at http://searchworks.stanford.edu/. Materials have been added to the collection if the number of boxes listed in the online catalog is larger than the number of boxes listed in this finding aid. Biographical Note Ruth A. Parmelee was born in Trebizond (now called Trabzon), Turkey on April 3, 1885. She studied with her missionary parents, Dr. and Mrs. M. P. Parmelee, until the family returned to the United States when she was eleven years old. Parmelee received her B.A. from Oberlin College in 1907 and her M.D. from the University of Illinois in 1912. She completed her internship at Philadelphia Women's Hospital. Dr. Parmelee sailed for Turkey in May 1914 and was the first woman physician to settle in the Euphrates Valley. She set up a medical practice in Harpoot, specializing in obstetrics, care of war orphans, and training nurses. She continued this work until 1917, then resumed the same post from 1919 to 1922. In October of 1922, she moved to Thessaloniki, Greece, where she worked under the American Women's Hospitals (AWH) organization, and with their support opened a hospital and the first school of nursing in Greece. From 1925 to 1933, Dr. Parmelee was appointed Director of the AWH Grecian Area. During this period, she directed the hospital in Kokkinia and continued to run the school of nursing, which moved with her from Thessaloniki. At Kokkinia, Dr. Parmelee was assisted by Emilie Willms, R.N. After a period of sick leave in the United States, Dr. Parmelee returned to Greece. From 1935 to 1941, she settled in Athens and worked with several institutions as an advisor, council member, or director, including: Athens Municipal Hospital, Kokkinia Hospital, Council for a Nursing School for Public Health, Patriotic Foundation of Social Welfare and Prevention (PIKPA) School of Nursing, Archbishop's Committee for Relief of Bombarded Families, Seventh Military Hospital, AWH Civilian Relief Center, and the Greek War Relief Committee. In 1941, Dr. Parmelee left Greece due to the German occupation. She returned to the United States and studied at Harvard University from 1942 to 1943, where she earned the degree of Master of Public Health. In September of 1943, the Near East Foundation sent Parmelee with a relief group to the aid of Greek refugees at Camp Nuseirat, near Gaza in Palestine. As Senior Medical Officer, she was responsible for 8000 escapees from the German occupation. The refugees came from the 74099 2
island of Samos, the Dodecanese Islands, and mainland Greece. In the autumn of 1945, Dr. Parmelee was appointed to serve as the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration's (UNRRA) Regional Medical Officer in the Cyclades Islands. From 1946 to 1947, Parmelee returned to Athens, where she acted as Medical Advisor and Director of the Near East Foundation's School of Physical Therapy. After a leave of absence spent in the United States, Dr. Parmelee returned again to Greece in 1948. She served Pierce College in Elleniko (near Athens) until 1953, teaching hygiene, community health, and medical information for social workers. She then returned to the United States, and died in 1973. In recognition of her service, Dr. Parmelee received several awards. She was appointed by King Paul of Greece as Commander of the the Royal Order of Efpiia in 1953, received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Oberlin College in 1943, was awarded the Silver Cross of the Chevalier of the Order of the Savior by King George II of Greece, and was given a citation for outstanding and meritorious service in 1945 by General Sir Bernard Paget, British Commander of the Middle East Forces. Scope and Content of Collection The Ruth A. Parmelee include diaries, notes, correspondence, reports, clippings, printed matter, and photographs relating to the life and work of Dr. Ruth A. Parmelee. Parmelee was born and brought up in Turkey by her missionary parents. After her education in the United States, she began a long career in establishing reliable medical service in the Near East. Working in Turkey, Greece, and Palestine, Parmelee specialized in obstetrics, training nurses, caring for war orphans, and in refugee relief work. The collection consists of four series, each of which presents a different aspect of Dr. Parmelee's achievements. The Correspondence series contains letters with family and friends, and provides a personal narrative account of setting up Parmelee's medical practice, caring for refugees, and establishing nursing schools and hospitals. Typescripts and handwritten notes in the Diaries series record Parmelee's daily routine, though the level of detail varies greatly from day to day. The Work Files series comprises the bulk of the collection and provides an official account of Parmelee's work. Through reports and correspondence, this series documents Parmelee's role in establishing nursing schools, promoting access to quality medical care among the poor, and caring for refugees. It also reflects her efforts on behalf of several relief organizations, including the American Women's Hospital, the Near East Foundation, and the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. Finally, the Photographs series illustrates Dr. Parmelee's travels, the cities and landscape where she lived, and her work in the camps, hospitals, and nursing schools. Subjects and Indexing Terms American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. American Women's Hospitals. Near East Foundation. Near East Relief (Organization) United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. Greco-Turkish War, 1921-1922--Medical care. International relief. Nursing--Greece. Refugees. World War, 1914-1918--Civilian relief. World War, 1914-1918--Medical care. World War, 1914-1918--Turkey. World War, 1939-1945--Civilian relief. World War, 1939-1945--Greece. World War, 1939-1945--Medical care. World War, 1939-1945--Middle East. Box 1 Correspondence, 1895-1969 Correspondence with Parmelee's family and friends, primarily dating from her work in Turkey and Greece from 1919 to 1953, arranged chronologically. Correspondence directly related to Parmelee's work is found in the Work Files series. 74099 3
Correspondence, 1895-1969 Box/Folder 1 : 1 Letters from Julius, 1895-1896 Box/Folder 1 : 2 Correspondence and selected reports, 1919-1922 Box/Folder 1 : 3-5 Personal correspondence, 1923-1969 Box/Folder 1 : 6-8 Letters to family, 1943-1954 Boxes 1-2 Diaries, 1913-1946 Includes diaries describing Dr. Parmelee's daily life and work. Contains accounts of medical treatment, training nurses and midwives, and soliciting funds for work. Also depicts conditions in Greece during World War II. Arranged chronologically. Box/Folder 1 : 9 Line a Day, 1913-1916, 1919, 1927, 1939-1941 Box/Folder 1 : 10 Five Year Diary, 1934-1938 Box/Folder 2 : 1-3 Calendar, typescript, 1935-1940 Box/Folder 2 : 3-4 Current events, typescript, 1939 July 11-1941 July 19 Box/Folder 2 : 5 Journal, 1941 July- November; 1943 March-December Box/Folder 2 : 6 Calendar, typescript, 1941 December - 1943 March Box/Folder 2 : 7 Notes on Nuseirat and Cairo, 1943-1944 Box/Folder 2 : Handwritten notebooks, 1945 February - 1946 November 8-10 Boxes 2-5 Work Files, 1863-1974; bulk, 1922-1953 Includes correspondence, reports, clippings, printed matter, and official documents reflecting Dr. Parmelee's work in Greece, Turkey, and Palestine. This series illustrates Parmelee's role in establishing nursing schools in Greece, promoting access to quality medical care among the poor, and caring for refugees displaced by the Armenian massacres, Greco-Turkish war, and two World Wars. The material also reflects the career of Parmelee's friend and colleague Emilie Willms, and the involvement of several relief organizations, including the American Women's Hospital, the Near East Foundation, and the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. Arranged in three subseries: General, 1863-1969; Turkey, 1873-1974; and Greece, 1922-1973. Material relating to Nuseirat Refugee Camp in Palestine is filed in the Greece subseries, since the refugees involved were Greek. General, 1863-1969 Contains writings, official documents, notes, and clippings dealing with the entire course of Dr. Parmelee's career and upbringing, arranged chronologically. Box/Folder 2 : 11 Clippings from Parmelee scrapbooks, 1863-1895 Box/Folder 3 : 1 Clippings, 1892-1970 Box/Folder 3 : 2 Work permits and travel documents, 1896-1952 Box/Folder 3 : 3-4 Writings, 1897-1967 Box/Folder 3 : 5 Refugee stories, Armenian and Greek, 1917-1954 Box/Folder 3 : 6 Notes, 1941-1944 Box/Folder 3 : 7 Outline of work, 1960, 1969 Box/Folder 3 : 8 Vester, Bertha Spofford (Jerusalem), 1964 Box/Folder 3 : 9 Notes on Greek and Kurdish lessons, undated 74099 4
Work Files, 1863-1974; bulk, 1922-1953 Turkey, 1873-1974 Turkey, 1873-1974 Depicts Dr. Parmelee's upbringing in Trabzon and her early work setting up a medical practice in Harpoot that specialized in obstetrics, care of war orphans, and training nurses. Arranged chronologically. Box/Folder 3 : 10 Turkey, 1873-1974 Box/Folder 3 : 11 Harpoot, Turkey, 1922, 1966 Greece, 1922-1973 Reports, correspondence, clippings, and notes regarding Parmelee's work in Greece and Palestine. Depicts Parmelee's work establishing and reforming hospitals, establishing nursing schools, and caring for refugees. In addition to work that took place in Greece, this subseries includes material on Camp Nuseirat near Gaza, where Dr. Parmelee took charge of a camp of Greek refugees. Arranged chronologically. Box/Folder 3 : 12 American Women's Hospital, Salonica, 1922-1932 Box/Folder 3 : American Women's Hospital, general, 1923-1952 13-15 Box/Folder 3 : 16 Nursing in Greece, 1923-1935 Box/Folder 4 : 1 Nursing in Greece as related to Emilie Willms and Ruth Parmelee, 1923-1960 Box/Folder 4 : 2-3 American Women's Hospital, Kokkinia, Greece, 1929-1952 Box/Folder 4 : 4 State School of Nursing (Greece), 1932-1937 Box/Folder 4 : 5 Pierce College, 1932-1964 Box/Folder 4 : 6-7 PIKPA School of Nursing, 1934-1948 Box/Folder 4 : 8 Nea Ionia hospital 1935 Box/Folder 4 : 9 World War II and occupation of Greece, 1940-1947 Box/Folder 4 : 10 World War II, Greece, 1941 Box/Folder 4 : 11 War relief, committee meetings, 1941 Box/Folder 4 : 12 Relief work, 1941-1955 Box/Folder 4 : War relief, clippings, 1941-1973 13-14 Box/Folder 5 : 1 Near East Foundation, Athens, 1942-1947 Box/Folder 5 : 2 Near East Foundation annual reports, 1941-1947 Box/Folder 5 : 3 Near East Foundation, 1943-1948 Box/Folder 5 : 4-5 Nuseirat refugee camp, Palestine 1943-1953 Box/Folder 5 : 6-7 Cyclades Islands, 1944-1955 Oversize photo Photographs, 1899-1957 file, Boxes 5-7 Contains photographic prints and negatives depicting Parmelee's work, including hospitals, staff, refugees. Includes images of Turkey, Greece, and Palestine. Arranged chronologically. Photographs ma Box/Folder 5 : 8 Box/Folder 5 : 9 Box/Folder 5 : 10 Box/Folder 5 : 11 Box/Folder 5 : 12 Box/Folder 5 : 13 Panoramic views of Erzroom and Trebizond, Turkey, undated Portraits: Tsaldaris, Kondylis, and Plastiras, undated Bethlehem, undated Jerusalem, undated Egypt, undated Jericho, undated Komotini, undated 74099 5
Photographs, 1899-1957 Box/Folder 5 : 14 Monastery orphanage and Voudritsa, undated Box/Folder 5 : 15 Pierce College, undated Box/Folder 5 : 16 Turkey, undated Box/Folder 5 : 17 Kindergarten - Trebizond, 1899-1900 Box/Folder 5 : 18 Trebizond to Erzroom, circa 1900 Box/Folder 5 : 19 Trebizond and the road to Erzroom, 1901 Box/Folder 5 : Trebizond, 1901 20-21 Box/Folder 6 : 1-3 Harpoot, Turkey, 1906-1922 Box/Folder 6 : 4 Camp Lembet, Salonica, 1922 Box/Folder 6 : 5-7 Salonica, 1922-1923 Box/Folder 6 : 8 Refugees, 1922-1924 Box/Folder 6 : 9 American Women's Hospital, Salonica and Kokkinia, 1924-1932 Box/Folder 6 : American Women's Hospital, Kokkinia, 1927-1957 10-13 Box/Folder 6 : 14 American Women's Hospital, Kokkinia, and School of Nursing, 1925-1934 Box/Folder 6 : 15 American Women's Hospital Clinic at Moschato, 1929 Box/Folder 6 : 16 Kokkinia, 1930 Box/Folder 6 : 17 Ierissos ruins, 1932 Box/Folder 6 : 18 Children's Hospitals, St. Sophia and Kokkinia, 1932-1940 Box/Folder 6 : 19 Princess Irene of Greece, 1938 Box/Folder 6 : 20 P.I.K.P.A. School, 1938-1939 Box/Folder 7 : 1 War snapshots, 1938-1947 Box/Folder 7 : 2 Emilie Willms, 1938-1956 Box/Folder 7 : 3 Greek veterans, 1940-1941 Box/Folder 7 : 4 Athens, 1941 Box/Folder 7 : 5 Near East Foundation, 1941-1946 Box/Folder 7 : 6 Nuseirat Refugee Camp, Palestine, 1944 Box/Folder 7 : 7-9 Cyclades Islands, 1945 Box/Folder 7 : 10 Cyclades Islands, Syros, 1945 Box/Folder 7 : 11 Cyclades Islands, Milos, 1945 Box/Folder 7 : 12 Cyclades Islands, Tinos, 1945 August 15 Box/Folder 7 : 13 School of Physical Therapy, Athens, 1946 Box/Folder 7 : 14 St. Sophia Children's Hospital, 1947 August Box/Folder 7 : 15 Naples and Gibraltar, 1948 Box/Folder 7 : 16 Pierce College garden party for veterans (old campus), 1949 June 4 Box/Folder 7 : 17 Rehabilitation Center, 1951 Box/Folder 7 : 18 Ekaterini, Sevasti, and Khora, 1951-1952 Box 7 Album of views of Trebizond, Egypt, Constantinople, and relief work in Trebizond, 1895-1904 74099 6