18 Facts About Clarence Ussher

Clarence Douglas Ussher was an American physician and missionary in the Van region during the Armenian genocide, where he reported that 55,000 Armenians had been killed.

In 1917 Ussher published a memoir regarding his experience in Van, titled An American Physician in Turkey: A Narrative of Adventures in Peace and War.

Clarence Ussher openly blamed the Ottoman government for the systematic massacres of Armenians.

Clarence Ussher was the husband of Elizabeth Barrows Ussher, who was a witness of the genocide.

Clarence Douglas Ussher was born on September 9,1870, in Aurora, Illinois.

Clarence Ussher's father became the Bishop of Canada and eventually moved with the family to Montreal.

In Montreal, Clarence Ussher received his early education; he continued his studies at the Reformed Episcopal Seminary in West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Clarence Ussher remained in Harput for a year, after which he was sent to Van because the village required a physician.

Clarence Ussher immediately began his work in orphanages where hundreds of Armenian orphans of the Hamidian massacres were being housed.

Clarence Ussher distrusted the 1908 governor of Van, opining that he "used every means in his power to incite Armenians to revolt in order to have a pretext for massacring them".

Clarence Ussher later suggests that this exchange was an intentional deception, as the regiment in question did not attack Shadakh but was instead diverted to a valley where they "destroyed six villages containing nothing but old men, women and children"; other sources however suggest that the diversion was simply due to the indiscipline of the unit.

The village of Shadakh, previously mentioned, proved "unconquerable", and another, Moks, was effectively protected by a Kurdish chief, but while some other villages were able to mount a degree of resistance, most had no means of doing so; Clarence Ussher estimates that some 55,000 Armenians were consequently slaughtered during Cevdet Bey's "reign of terror".

Clarence Ussher was at this time still stationed in the American hospital in Van and was able to give a firsthand account of the defence of the city.

One of Cevdet's last acts before the retreat was to order the shelling of the American compound, a violation of diplomatic immunity that Clarence Ussher suggests was made from Cevdet's conviction that the Americans had aided the city's defence.

Clarence Ussher himself remained ill for many weeks, during which time the Russian forces in Turkey suffered reverses and were ordered to retreat, abandoning Van to the advancing Turks.

Clarence Ussher then returned to the United States, where he tried to gain support from the Near East Foundation.

Clarence Ussher served in Erivan Armenia from 1919 to 1923 as Near East Relief chief.

Clarence Ussher had three sons; Richard, Sidney, and Neville, and a daughter, Eleanor.