William Ambrose Shedd (1865–1918) was a US

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

missionary who served in

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, during the world war one conflict between the Russian and Ottoman empires in the neutral Persia. He was born January 24, 1865, in the little mountain village of

Seir Seir or SEIR may refer to: *Mount Seir, a mountainous region stretching between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba *Seir the Horite, chief of the Horites, a people mentioned in the Torah *Sa'ir, also Seir, a Palestinian town in the Hebron Governor ...

, overlooking the

Urmia Plain Urmia Plain (Persian: جلگه ارومیه, Azerbaijani: Urmu düzü) is a region in the West Azerbaijan Province of Iran. It lies between Lake Urmia to the east, and the Turkish border to the west. It contains the city of Urmia. The inhabitant ...

, from missionary parents John Haskell Shedd and Sarah Jane Dawes Shedd, who had come to devote their lives helping the

Assyrian Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyrian ...

community. Upon the completion of his education at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

, he spent the rest of his life among the Assyrian Christians of northwestern Iran. In 1904 he published a book called ''Islam and the Oriental Churches: Their historical relations''. In 1918 it became necessary for Dr. Shedd to distance himself from missionary work and to apply himself to consular work, as the US Consul in Urmia. He tried to reconcile the Assyrians and the

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

Persians The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian. ...

but without success. However, he has been accused of being among the foreign missionaries flaming the religious conflicts in the first place. In July 1918 after the Ottoman army advanced toward Urmia, the mass flight of Assyrian Christians from Urmia to the safety of British-occupied

Hamadan Hamadan () or Hamedan ( fa, همدان, ''Hamedān'') ( Old Persian: Haŋgmetana, Ecbatana) is the capital city of Hamadan Province of Iran. At the 2019 census, its population was 783,300 in 230,775 families. The majority of people living in Ha ...

started. Dr. Shedd and his wife, Mary Lewis Shedd, were with the Assyrians in this flight, and when they had reached

Sain Ghala Sain Qaleh ( fa, صائين قلعه, also Romanized as Şā’īn Qal‘eh; also known as Sain-Kalekh and Khorosan) is a city in the Central District of Abhar County, Zanjan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 11,083, in 2,89 ...

, Dr. Shedd died of

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

and was buried somewhere there. His body was later recovered by his wife and buried in the Armenian Cemetery of

Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...

External links

Shedd, Mary Lewis. The Measure of a Man: The Life of William Ambrose Shedd, Missionary to PersiaEstelami, Hooman. The Americans of Urumia: Iran's First Americans and their Mission to the Assyrian Christians''The Measure of a Man: The Life of William Ambrose Shedd, Missionary to Persia'' by Mary Lewis Shedd, reviewed by George Yana (Bebla), ''Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies''
*''The Book of Missionary Heroes'' by

Basil Mathews Basil Joseph Mathews (28 August 1879 – 29 March 1951) was an English historian, biographer, and writer on the ecumenical movement. In his early life, Mathews was a librarian, a journalist, and Editorial Secretary of the London Missionary Societ ...

(2008). Chapter XXV. The Moses of the Assyrians
p. 204
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shedd, William Ambrose Assyrian genocide American Presbyterian missionaries 1918 deaths 1865 births Presbyterian missionaries in Iran American expatriates in Iran People from West Azerbaijan Province Burials in Iran Dawes family