Faculty Member
A graduate of Mount Holyoke College (1885-1891), Mary P. Wright went to Merzifon to staff the Girls’ School.
Missions to other parts of Asia Minor at that time required caution as conditions were dangerous and the passages were difficult to traverse.
Mary Wright herself was attacked by bandits in 1885 while returning from Tokat with missionary John Smith and his wife.
Despite the many dangers, these journeys gave the missionaries great pleasure as they contributed both morally and financially to the improvement of the local community, giving the children the opportunity to study in Merzifon.
When in 1896 the Merzifon group realized that many children had been orphaned by the massacres, they provided them with shelter and education, with the help of fellow Armenians. Fifty girls were housed in the school facilities, while nearby quarters were rented for nearly sixty boys, under the supervision of Myra Tracy and the assistance of Mary Wright. These orphanages were originally intended to be temporary facilities, but they actually operated for a decade until families could be found for the children or they could be educated to stand firmly on their own two feet.
