The First Ladies: Ida McKinley
I have this impression of Ida McKinley as a very fragile woman. Beside the fact that she was prone to seizures, she will also be remembered for the fact that when her husband was shot, he was more concerned about how Ida would take the news. There must be more to her story than her fragility, since her home of Canton, Ohio is now also the home of the First Ladies Museum.
She was born Ida Saxton on June 8, 1847 in Canton, Ohio. Her father was banker James Asbury Saxton and her mother was Katherine DeWalt Saxton. She was the eldest of three children. She had a younger brother and sister: Mary "Pina" Saxton Barber (1848-1917) and George Saxton (1849-1898). George Saxton was murdered in Canton, Ohio, on October 7, 1898. He was approaching the home of his lover, the widowed Eva Althouse, when his former love, Anna George, shot him.
Ida was a short woman with blue eyes and auburn hair. She was raised in the Presbyterian faith, but after her marriage she joined her husband's Methodist faith. She was educated at Miss Sanford's School, Cleveland Ohio and at Brooke Hall Female Seminary, in Media, Pennsylvania.
Throughout her youth, Ida McKinley was a remarkably independent woman for the times. Upon her return from Brooke Hall Female Seminary, Ida became a Sunday school teacher in the Presbyterian Church that her family helped to build. Letters she wrote home during an eight month chaperoned tour of Europe that she made with her sister in 1869 indicate that she was very intelligent and preferred an active life. She had an interest in not only art and architecture but current events. She also displayed a great skill in managing money and accounting, and her father soon employed her as a clerk at the Stark County Bank, which he owned. She was soon promoted to cashier and James Saxton entrusted her with managing the bank when he was absent from Canton.
When she was 23 years old, she married William McKinley on January 25, 1871. He was a lawyer and a Civil War veteran. They were married at the First Presbyterian Church in Canton, Ohio. The ceremony was jointly performed by her Presbyterian minister and his Methodist one. After a honeymoon in New York, they moved into the Canton home given by her father to them as a wedding present.
The McKinleys had two daughters, both of whom passed away at a very young age. Katherine McKinley was born in 1871 and died in 1875, and Ida McKinley was born in 1873 and died four months later. When her second child died suddenly, Ida McKinley's health began to fail. After the death of her older child and her mother, her physical condition rapidly deteriorated. Through the years he served as a U.S. Congressman and then Ohio Governor, her health fluctuated. She was well enough to be charged with care of President Hayes' younger children in the White House when he and his wife were away, for example. But she also experienced a seizure so severe that her physicians didn't think she'd survive. It is not known whether her condition was entirely one resulting from a mild case of epilepsy or was psychologically induced, or a combination of both. Her husband committed himself to a lifetime as her caregiver.
Ida's financial assistance permitted her husband to pursue a public service career. She had an astute understanding of political issues. It was her influence that led to his commitment to the temperance movement in 1874, a move that proved to be politically savvy. Throughout his presidential campaigns, as delegations came to the McKinley home in Canton to hear the candidate speak from the front porch of his home, Ida McKinley would also speak if her health permitted. At other times, she simply sat on a rocking chair to hear his speeches and at other times she was absent. As rumors circulated that there was some darker reason she was often kept out of public view other than her illness, campaign managers decided to publish a romantic biography of her, the first campaign public relations material ever printed about a presidential candidate's wife. The fact that she had health issues and her husband cared for her was turned into an attribute by the campaign. During the 1897 inauguration, Ida McKinley managed to endure the ceremonies until the procession at the ball, when she fainted. She endured the 1901 inauguration without incident.
In spite of her poor health, Ida McKinley nevertheless tried to fulfill as much of her duties as First Lady as she could. At large events, she remained seated and at dinners the President changed protocol to be seated beside her. She traveled to Texas, California, Georgia and Massachusetts with her husband. When confined to the private quarters, she tried to contribute to local and national charities. For example she knitted bedroom slippers that were auctioned to raise funds for various charities.
Ida McKinley was said to have a keen and accurate political observations, particularly in assessing the motives of those ambitious for appointments. In 1899, she successfully urged the President to name General Leonard Wood to lead the military forces in Cuba during the Spanish-American War and an acquaintance who belonged to the Daughters of the American Revolution to the presidential advisory commission on the Philippine Islands. She lobbied the President on behalf of Methodist missionary efforts to retain the Philippines for the U.S. She became involved with the planning for the centennial celebrations of the city of Washington in 1900, but made it clear that she would permit no renovations of the White House during the McKinley Administration. In Buffalo she attended with the President to visit the Pan-American Exposition in September of 1901, but she was not with him when he was shot at the Temple of Music. A wounded William McKinley told his aide George Cortelyou to be very careful how he broke the news to Ida.
Ida McKinley was emotionally devastated by the assassination of her husband. She survived him by nearly six years, being cared for by her younger sister. She made few trips outside of her home in Canton except to visit his grave daily and she spoke often of wishing to join him. Ida died on May 26, 1907 at the age of 59 in Canton. Incumbent President Theodore Roosevelt attended her funeral.
She was born Ida Saxton on June 8, 1847 in Canton, Ohio. Her father was banker James Asbury Saxton and her mother was Katherine DeWalt Saxton. She was the eldest of three children. She had a younger brother and sister: Mary "Pina" Saxton Barber (1848-1917) and George Saxton (1849-1898). George Saxton was murdered in Canton, Ohio, on October 7, 1898. He was approaching the home of his lover, the widowed Eva Althouse, when his former love, Anna George, shot him.
Ida was a short woman with blue eyes and auburn hair. She was raised in the Presbyterian faith, but after her marriage she joined her husband's Methodist faith. She was educated at Miss Sanford's School, Cleveland Ohio and at Brooke Hall Female Seminary, in Media, Pennsylvania.
Throughout her youth, Ida McKinley was a remarkably independent woman for the times. Upon her return from Brooke Hall Female Seminary, Ida became a Sunday school teacher in the Presbyterian Church that her family helped to build. Letters she wrote home during an eight month chaperoned tour of Europe that she made with her sister in 1869 indicate that she was very intelligent and preferred an active life. She had an interest in not only art and architecture but current events. She also displayed a great skill in managing money and accounting, and her father soon employed her as a clerk at the Stark County Bank, which he owned. She was soon promoted to cashier and James Saxton entrusted her with managing the bank when he was absent from Canton.
When she was 23 years old, she married William McKinley on January 25, 1871. He was a lawyer and a Civil War veteran. They were married at the First Presbyterian Church in Canton, Ohio. The ceremony was jointly performed by her Presbyterian minister and his Methodist one. After a honeymoon in New York, they moved into the Canton home given by her father to them as a wedding present.
The McKinleys had two daughters, both of whom passed away at a very young age. Katherine McKinley was born in 1871 and died in 1875, and Ida McKinley was born in 1873 and died four months later. When her second child died suddenly, Ida McKinley's health began to fail. After the death of her older child and her mother, her physical condition rapidly deteriorated. Through the years he served as a U.S. Congressman and then Ohio Governor, her health fluctuated. She was well enough to be charged with care of President Hayes' younger children in the White House when he and his wife were away, for example. But she also experienced a seizure so severe that her physicians didn't think she'd survive. It is not known whether her condition was entirely one resulting from a mild case of epilepsy or was psychologically induced, or a combination of both. Her husband committed himself to a lifetime as her caregiver.
Ida's financial assistance permitted her husband to pursue a public service career. She had an astute understanding of political issues. It was her influence that led to his commitment to the temperance movement in 1874, a move that proved to be politically savvy. Throughout his presidential campaigns, as delegations came to the McKinley home in Canton to hear the candidate speak from the front porch of his home, Ida McKinley would also speak if her health permitted. At other times, she simply sat on a rocking chair to hear his speeches and at other times she was absent. As rumors circulated that there was some darker reason she was often kept out of public view other than her illness, campaign managers decided to publish a romantic biography of her, the first campaign public relations material ever printed about a presidential candidate's wife. The fact that she had health issues and her husband cared for her was turned into an attribute by the campaign. During the 1897 inauguration, Ida McKinley managed to endure the ceremonies until the procession at the ball, when she fainted. She endured the 1901 inauguration without incident.
In spite of her poor health, Ida McKinley nevertheless tried to fulfill as much of her duties as First Lady as she could. At large events, she remained seated and at dinners the President changed protocol to be seated beside her. She traveled to Texas, California, Georgia and Massachusetts with her husband. When confined to the private quarters, she tried to contribute to local and national charities. For example she knitted bedroom slippers that were auctioned to raise funds for various charities.
Ida McKinley was said to have a keen and accurate political observations, particularly in assessing the motives of those ambitious for appointments. In 1899, she successfully urged the President to name General Leonard Wood to lead the military forces in Cuba during the Spanish-American War and an acquaintance who belonged to the Daughters of the American Revolution to the presidential advisory commission on the Philippine Islands. She lobbied the President on behalf of Methodist missionary efforts to retain the Philippines for the U.S. She became involved with the planning for the centennial celebrations of the city of Washington in 1900, but made it clear that she would permit no renovations of the White House during the McKinley Administration. In Buffalo she attended with the President to visit the Pan-American Exposition in September of 1901, but she was not with him when he was shot at the Temple of Music. A wounded William McKinley told his aide George Cortelyou to be very careful how he broke the news to Ida.
Ida McKinley was emotionally devastated by the assassination of her husband. She survived him by nearly six years, being cared for by her younger sister. She made few trips outside of her home in Canton except to visit his grave daily and she spoke often of wishing to join him. Ida died on May 26, 1907 at the age of 59 in Canton. Incumbent President Theodore Roosevelt attended her funeral.