Marjan Abdi, PhD

Life of Dr. Joseph Plumb Cochran M.D. 1855-1905

“Founder of Urmia’s First Medical College”

“He came not to be ministered unto, but to be minister”

The above sentence is carved on Joseph. P. Cochran’s gravestone, adopted from the holy Bible. The gravestone is huge, wide and heavy and broken in the mid section. On one side of the stone, there is a text in Assyrian language; an ancient language of Mesopotamia; and on the other, a text in English.

Dr. Cochran’s grave is located next to Catherine’s, his young wife who died in 1895, when she was only 42, at the peak of her youth.

His father, Joseph. J. Cochran, his mother, Deborah Plumb Cochran and others like Justin Perkins, Dr. Wright, Mr. Walter and the former British council lie silently in the neighborhood.

A bit farther, outside the cemetery boundary walls, and on a mild slope, in the middle of a pasture, the grave of the one who was his best friend since childhood lies. His gravestone is a grain millstone; carved by himself, supposed to be placed in the new mill of the village.

American presbyterian missionary’s cemetery is located at the top of the “Seer mountain” in Urmia, Iran and in the old Christian’s cemetery of “Seer village” which today is called, “Seer-e-Heidarloo”. The cemetery is in the west side of the village and on a mild slope. Down there, near a narrow lane, in the Southwest of the village, there is Cochran’s house, facing towards west. It was inherited from his father. The house used to have a brick facade but now the ceiling is collapsed. There is still a wooden door and a metallic knocker; and grid-like wooden windows, which are long and slim where Dr. Cochran used to look at the mountains through, to the medical school of Urmia, Westminister hospital, the Urmia city and the narrow path which was stretched from the village to far; to eternity. 

The medical college of Urmia continued its activity until 1905, the time when Dr. Cochran passed away.

Dr. Joseph. P. Cochran, who consecrated his entire life to serve his fellow people, became depressed and all alone in his last days of life had faced with lot of disgracefulness from some people. In 1895, his beautiful wife, Catherine, died of typhoid which took the life of a lot of others, and left him and her children alone (She had four sons and one daughter).

After her death, he took the entire responsibility of the hospital, family and the college and during that time he traveled three times to the U.S to bring more supplies for the college and the hospital.

In reply to his friends who had asked if he wanted to come back to the U.S, since his wife had passed away and children needed further education, he answered: “This is the matter of their own; I was born here and will die here too!”

In the spring of 1905, a Kurdish rebel man, intrigued by some people, unsuccessful to assassinate Dr. Cochran, Killed Albery, his coworker with stabbing a knife repeatedly. This circumstance had an immense effect on Dr. Cochran and left him desperately depressed.

The movement of the cart was being done quite slowly and with lots of difficulty; they not only had to pass the bumpy mountainous area but also, cross the river. The moving day, the sky was gray and a layer of thick dark clouds covered the sky. It was quite unusual at that time of the year. In the afternoon the rain started. While crossing the river, the river turned to a flood and the cart fell over Ivan’s body, who was Dr. Cochran’s friend since childhood. Parts of his trunk and limbs were injured. His injured body was brought to the hospital, but all efforts were useless. He died in unconsciousness. Dr. Cochran decided to put the millstones on his grave then. One can still see it on the “Seer” mountain.

After Ivan’s death, tired of years of continued work and bitter upcoming, while fighting against typhus, he died; a martyr of bravery and self - sacrifice for the sake of his people, (Although some believe that he died of typhoid not typhus).

Whatever caused his death, he had a short life in which he extended a lot of humanitarian and also medical services and he not only trained 27 doctors in 27 years who continued their practice long after his death, but also cured almost fifteen patients and fought bravely against scourges diseases like plague, etc; and published medical guidance booklets in Kurdish, Turkish and Persian.

He had a short but fruitful life and died in August 18, 1905 at the age of 50 in the second floor of his wooden house in the medical school.

His death left many people of Urmia mournful. More than 10,000 took part in his funeral. He was buried on the other side of the “Seer” mountain’s steep, where his house was in sight. Just opposite the boarding school of the “Seer” village, his wife Catherine and parents, had already been buried. They imprinted on his gravestone: