Introduction

Dear Dora was created to share the letters of William McGregor Mitchell (18 April 1893 to 15 September 1955) to his wife, Dora Maude Knapton Mitchell (14 November 1893 to 17 November 1975), and their children. The letters were written between 1931 and 1942 and kept by Dora Mitchell until her death. These letters are presently in the possession of a grandson of William and Dora Mitchell, who received them from his mother, Phyllis Dora Mitchell Cannon, a daughter of William and Dora.

William and Dora Mitchell with their three oldest children (L to R: William, Miriam, Lolita, Dora, and Max Mitchell) circa summer 1918.

William and Dora Mitchell were married in the Salt Lake Temple on 25 June 1913. The Salt Lake Tribune that morning wrote, "An interesting wedding of today will be that of Miss Dora Knapton to William Mitchell, which will be solemnized in the Salt Lake temple at high noon, with a reception in the evening at the bride's home." Six children would be born to the marriage. Five of them lived to adulthood.