Businessman, philanthropist.
Born in Austria-Hungary on 11 September 1889, son of Benjamin Mitchell (1863-1953) and Katie Mitchell (1865-1910), brother of Alex W. Mitchell, he and his family immigrated to the United States in 1891 and he began working as a newspaper delivery boy at the age of 10 in New York City's Lower East Side. At 12, he joined the Barnum & Bailey circus as an elephant attendant.
According to family lore, he came to Canada in 1909 as a circus employee and was stranded at Winnipeg when the circus became insolvent. He bought and sold real estate, including a block of 250 residential lots in Transcona (1914), and is supposed to have played a role in the development of Edson, Alberta. In February 1915, he joined his brother-in-law David Moses Copp in forming the Mitchell-Copp jewellery business. He was President and General Manager of the Mitchell Hay Company and Mitchell Hay and Grain Company, and their successor, the Mitchell Grain Company.
In 1929, his investments in the grain industry were wiped out by the stock market crash that led to the Great Depression. He moved to Los Angeles, California where he operated finance companies using funds acquired by selling and financing automobiles. A lucrative aspect of his business was fire and theft insurance on the vehicles. In 1940, he founded and was President of the Beneficial Standard Life Insurance Company that was active in insurance, marketing, real estate, and mortgage loans. In later years, he was a major participant in the American-Palestine Trading Company to support development in Israel, where he founded a hospital, vocational high school, library, adult education centre, day care centre, auditorium, and symphony hall. He was also involved in several charitable endeavours in the Los Angeles region.
He and wife Anna Swartscop (c1893-1981) had four children: Clarice Mitchell (1914-?), Edith Irene Mitchell (1917-?), Joseph Mitchell (?-?), and Kayla Mitchell [Mitzel] (?-?). The family lived at 954 Dorchester Avenue, Winnipeg (c1921). After moving to California, he returned to Winnipeg periodically for visits to family.
He died at Los Angeles, California on 5 February 1985 and was buried in the HIllside Memorial Park at Culver City. A city square in Jerusalem, Israel is named in his honour.
See also:
Manitoba Business: Mitchell Hay Company / Mitchell Hay and Grain Company / Mitchell Grain Company
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Kennedy Block / Affleck Block / Canadian Bank of Commerce Building / Mitchell-Copp Building (315-323 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg)
The Life and Times of Edward D Mitchell, YouTube.
“Transcona sale for $40,000,” Manitoba Free Press, 23 May 1914, page 16.
Birth registrations [Clarice Mitchell, Edith Irene Mitchell], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
1921 Canada census, Ancestry.
“American declares majority in U.S. in accord with war,” Winnipeg Tribune, 9 August 1941, page 27.
“Former city man’s firm top investor in Israel,” Winnipeg Free Press, 13 October 1953, page 8.
“California executive likes ‘placid life’ of Winnipeg,” Winnipeg Free Press, 21 June 1961, page 23.
“Philanthropist Edward D. Mitchell dies; amassed 3 fortunes in long life; was major benefactor of Israel,” Los Angeles Times, 6 February 1985.
Edward D. Mitchell, FindAGrave.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 31 March 2024
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