Person:Dora McLaughlin (1)

DORA BELLE McLAUGHLIN. Born at Elvira, Iowa, on July 20, 1887. Her sister Vera states, "As a small girl Dora took responsibility well. I remember that one of her duties at six years of age was to rock Ralph in his old-fashioned cradle. One day she rocked too vigorously and he was thrown out. At an early age we girls had piano lessons from an aunt. At the appointed time Dora would usually be on the stool ready for the teacher, whereas I might run away and hide... Dora received some money on one of her early birthdays, but instead of buying a doll or a toy, she would have a book. She became a voracious reader, even invading Father's theological library. One of my earliest recollections of our mother was her gathering us children around her knee on Sabbath afternoon and helping us to pray audibly. Later, it was not unusual to find Dora with a pencil and paper writing out longer prayers. Father owned a carriage horse, and one of Dora's chief joys was to mount Prince and go for long rides in the countryside ... She also became an expert tennis player and enjoyed other sports. By the time Dora was a senior in high school, Paul Burgess had taken notice of her and was asking for dates. When she was awarded first honors upon graduation, and Paul received second place, he determined to make her his life partner." Dora graduated from Washburn College, Topeka, Kansas, in 1909, took a year of study at Moody Bible Institute, and then did church work in Paterson, NJ. She married Rev. Paul Burgess on June 26, 1911 at the home of her parents in Colorado Springs, her father performing the ceremony and her brother Ralph assisting. Paul had won a two-year scholarship from McCormick Seminary for study abroad, and they left immediately for Europe. In 1913 Dora and Paul began their missionary career in Quezaltenango, Guatemala. Dora engaged in teaching Bible, nutrition, and music. She nursed many a sick person and raised three Guatemalan foster daughters along with her own family. These were Clotilde Maldonado, who became a teacher and married Carlos Alfaro; Marta Ramirez, who married Victor Guzman, a pastor; and Rosario Xec. Dora was the primary translator of the New Testament into the Quiché language of Guatemala; it was published by the American Bible Society in 1945. Washburn College then awarded her a Doctor of Letters degree. With Patricio Xec, she translated the Popol Vuh from the original Quiché into Spanish, and it was published in an edition affordable to the Mayan people.