Yaroo Michael Neesan (1853 – September 24, 1937), also known as Jared Michael Neesan, was an Assyrian-American priest of the

Assyrian Church of the East The Assyrian Church of the East (ACOE), sometimes called the Church of the East and officially known as the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East, is an Eastern Christianity, Eastern Syriac Christianity, Syriac Christian denomin ...

. He was among the first Assyrians to emigrate to the United States.Coakley, J. F. (1993). "Yaroo M. Neesan: 'A missionary to his own people'". ''Aram'' 5: 87-100.

Biography

Neesan was born in 1853 in the

Urmia Urmia (; ) is the largest city in West Azerbaijan Province of Iran. In the Central District of Urmia County, it is capital of the province, the county, and the district. The city is situated near the borders of Iran with Turkey and Iraq. ...

region of Persia. In 1881, he emigrated to the United States to study theology. Neesan married Gulnaz, with whom he had a daughter named Beatrice (born 1888). She was engaged to Patriarch Mar Benyamin Shimun's brother Hormizd. However, in early 1915, Hormizd was shot by Turks in Istanbul shortly before the deportation of Armenian intellectuals on 24 April 1915. Beatrice was said to have died of shock from the shooting of Bishop Mar Dinkha in February 1915 before the eyes of the Neesan family, although Coakley (1993) attributed her death to

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often th ...

. Neesan's wife Gulnaz died 15 days afterwards. In 1917, Yaroo Neesan remarried, this time to an Assyrian nurse named Hawa. In August 1918, during the

Sayfo The Sayfo (, ), also known as the Seyfo or the Assyrian genocide, was the mass murder and deportation of Assyrian people, Assyrian/Syriac Christians in southeastern Anatolia and Persia's Azerbaijan (Iran), Azerbaijan province by Ottoman Army ...

(Assyrian genocide) of World War I, Neesan joined the Assyrians during their march to safety to

Hamadan Hamadan ( ; , ) is a mountainous city in western Iran. It is located in the Central District of Hamadan County in Hamadan province, serving as the capital of the province, county, and district. As of the 2016 Iranian census, it had a po ...

and stayed in

Baqubah Baqubah (; BGN: Ba‘qūbah; also spelled Baquba and Baqouba) is the capital of Iraq's Diyala Governorate. The city is located some to the northeast of Baghdad, on the Diyala River. In 2003 it had an estimated population of some 280,000 people. ...

refugee camp near Baghdad. He moved to

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city in Genesee County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Flint River (Michigan), Flint River northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the Central Michigan, Mid Michigan region. Flin ...

in 1924, where he served as the leader of the nascent Assyrian community. In Flint, he was the priest of Mar Shimun Bar Sabbae Parish. He died on September 24, 1937, in the United States.

Manuscripts

Neesan is notable for donating MS syr. e. 7 to the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

on 29 June 1898. In April 1983, the manuscript was rediscovered by British Syriacist Sebastian P. Brock as a complete version of the Second Part of the Homilies of

Isaac of Nineveh Isḥaq of Nineveh (; Arabic: إسحاق النينوي ''Ishaq an-Naynuwī''; – c. 700), also remembered as Saint Isaac the Syrian (), Isaac of Nineveh, Abba Isaac, Isaac Syrus and Isaac of Qatar, was a 7th-century Syriac Christian bishop o ...

.Brock, Sebastian (translator). 1995. ''Isaac of Nineveh (Isaac the Syrian): The Second Part, Chapters 441''. .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neesan, Yaroo Michael 1853 births 1937 deaths People from Urmia Iranian Assyrian people Iranian expatriates in the United States Iranian emigrants to the United States Syriacists People from Flint, Michigan