Mary Louise Graffam was in Sivas when the Armenian Genocide started.
In its early stages, Graffam witnessed the arrests of the Armenian male population.
She noted that the "Turks told us that if the men were not given up, the houses would be burned and the families would be hung in front of them."
She also states that the photographs of weapons used to depict the Armenians as criminals were false, and that "Turkish ammunition had been added" to make a stronger case.
When the deportations began, Graffam was also deported along with her students in July 7, 1915, as part of a convoy that consisted of 2,000 Armenians.
The gendarmes who were assigned to protect the convoy gave guns and ammunition to local Kurdish groups who eventually robbed the deportees and abducted some of the girls.
Some Kurdish groups were throwing stones at the Armenian deportees.
While marching, she saw deportees shot dead when attempting to drink water from a nearby river.
She had also received reports that there was a "valley of corpses".
Mary Graffam described the road leading to Malatya, where she was prevented by Turkish gendarmes from going any further:
When Graffam returned to Sivas in August 1915, she wrote to her family and friends in America who were awaiting to hear updates on the situation.
In Sivas, Graffam was overwhelmed with the care-taking of Armenian orphans.
She was also entrusted to hide and bury financial records and jewelry that Armenians had given her for safekeeping and to transfer valuable goods to safer locations.
Graffam also hid Armenian girls who were to be abducted into Muslim households.
In order not to attract the attention of officials, Graffam secretly hid hundreds of girls by placing them with families in neighboring towns.
In 1916, she appealed to ABCFM Treasurer William W. Peet: 
After the Ottoman government cut off diplomatic ties with the American government due to America's involvement in World War I, Mary Graffam managed to remain in Sivas.
Graffam wrote in a letter to U.S. Commissioner Lewis Heck, dated January 27, 1919, about the forceful conversions of Armenian orphaned girls into Islam:
Mary Graffam wrote an account of her experiences in 1919, titling it her "Own Story."

Graffam was also a strong advocate of an independent Armenia where she and others argued would free the Armenians from "Turkish domination."

After her death, she was mourned by the thousands of people whose lives she had saved.
Mary Louise Graffam was in Sivas when the Armenian Genocide started. In its early stages, Graffam witnessed the arrests of the Armenian male population. She noted that the "Turks told us that if the men were not given up, the houses would be burned and the families would be hung in front of them." She also states that the photographs of weapons used to depict the Armenians as criminals were false, and that "Turkish ammunition had been added" to make a stronger case. When the deportations began, Graffam was also deported along with her students in July 7, 1915, as part of a convoy that consisted of 2,000 Armenians. The gendarmes who were assigned to protect the convoy gave guns and ammunition to local Kurdish groups who eventually robbed the deportees and abducted some of the girls. Some Kurdish groups were throwing stones at the Armenian deportees. While marching, she saw deportees shot dead when attempting to drink water from a nearby river. She had also received reports that there was a "valley of corpses". Mary Graffam described the road leading to Malatya, where she was prevented by Turkish gendarmes from going any further:
When Graffam returned to Sivas in August 1915, she wrote to her family and friends in America who were awaiting to hear updates on the situation. In Sivas, Graffam was overwhelmed with the care-taking of Armenian orphans. She was also entrusted to hide and bury financial records and jewelry that Armenians had given her for safekeeping and to transfer valuable goods to safer locations. Graffam also hid Armenian girls who were to be abducted into Muslim households. In order not to attract the attention of officials, Graffam secretly hid hundreds of girls by placing them with families in neighboring towns. In 1916, she appealed to ABCFM Treasurer William W. Peet: 
After the Ottoman government cut off diplomatic ties with the American government due to America's involvement in World War I, Mary Graffam managed to remain in Sivas. Graffam wrote in a letter to U.S. Commissioner Lewis Heck, dated January 27, 1919, about the forceful conversions of Armenian orphaned girls into Islam:
Mary Graffam wrote an account of her experiences in 1919, titling it her "Own Story."
Graffam was also a strong advocate of an independent Armenia where she and others argued would free the Armenians from "Turkish domination."
After her death, she was mourned by the thousands of people whose lives she had saved.
Mary Louise Graffam