Ida Saxton McKinley

Ida McKinley (née Saxton; June 8, 1847 – May 26, 1907) was the first lady of the United States from 1897 until 1901, as the wife of President William McKinley. McKinley also served as the First Lady of Ohio from 1892 to 1896 while her husband was the governor of Ohio.

Born to a successful Ohio family, McKinley met her future husband and later married him during the early Reconstruction years. McKinley never recovered from losing their two daughters as children and remained in a fragile state of health for the rest of her life, including having seizures. During campaigns and while in office, her husband took great care to accommodate her needs, as they were a devoted couple. McKinley's ability to fulfill the role of First Lady was nevertheless limited. She was brought further grief by the death of her brother and the assassination of her husband. McKinley reportedly visited her husband's resting place daily until her own death and supported James Benjamin Parker, who had attempted to stop her husband's assassination.

Early life and marriage Ida Saxton was born on June 8, 1847, in Canton, Ohio, the eldest child of James Saxton, a prominent Canton banker, and Katherine "Kate" DeWalt. Saxton's family was one of Canton's first pioneer families and was quite wealthy. Through his work in banking, James Saxton became the second richest man in Canton. He and Kate DeWalt raised Ida and her younger siblings, Mary and George, in the grand Saxton House. Little is known about Saxton's early childhood. Saxton developed close lifelong relationships to her mother and her grandmother, Christiana DeWalt. This likely influenced Saxton's later belief that close intergenerational family connections were a key part of a woman's life. During the American Civil War, Saxton's mother led a volunteer effort to gather supplies and sew uniforms for the Union Army. When Saxton was on break from boarding school, she helped her mother with these tasks.

Education Saxton's parents strongly believed in abolitionism and equal education for women. James Saxton was on the board of trustees of Canton's local public schools and enlisted Betsy Mix Cowles, a prominent abolitionist and suffragette, as the principal of Canton Union School. Cowles became a close mentor to Saxton while she was a student there. From 1862 to 1863, Saxton studied at Delphi Academy in Clinton County, New York, as Cowles had moved to teach there. Delphi Academy was Saxton's first boarding school experience and she learned accounting and finance there. However, both Cowles and Saxton left Delphi Academy due to its Confederate sympathies. Saxton later studied at the Sanford School in Cleveland, Ohio, from 1863 to 1865. Dr. Whitney, her father's physician, cared for McKinley's maladies and ordered complete rest. Unable to care for Katie and be separated from her father, the McKinleys moved into the Saxton House for six months and Ida's sister Mary took care of Katie. McKinley spent hours a day in a darkened room with Katie in her arms, kissing her and weeping. She would not let Katie leave her sight unless William took her for a drive. William's brother, Abner, once found Katie swinging on a gate of the garden of her house and invited her to go for a walk with him. The child replied that "if [she] would go out of the yard, God would punish [her] mama some more." In June 1875, Katie became ill and died of heart disease (While "heart disease" was listed as the official cause of Katie's death, sources disagree on the actual cause of death, as some argue she died of typhoid or scarlet fever For symptom management, she was prescribed barbiturates, laudanum, and other sedatives common in that era.)

Mrs. McKinley became the first First Lady to venture outside of the United States while holding that position, attending a breakfast in Juarez, Mexico, in the Spring of 1901. Ida McKinley photographed in color with the Kromogram process by Frederic Ives and William N. Jennings in the White House conservatory. The First Lady often traveled with the President. McKinley traveled to California with the President in May 1901, but became so ill in San Francisco that the planned tour of the Northwest was canceled. She also accompanied the President on his trip to Buffalo, New York, in September of that year when he was assassinated, but was not present at the shooting.

On September 6, 1901, President McKinley was shot in Buffalo, New York, in the stomach by a 28-year-old anarchist named Leon Czolgosz. Doctors were unable to locate the bullet and the President's wound eventually became infected with gangrene. He died eight days after the shooting, aged 58. Relatives and friends gathered around his death bed. The first lady sobbed over her husband saying, "I want to go, too. I want to go, too." President McKinley replied, "We are all going, we are all going. God's will be done, not ours", and with final strength put an arm around her. He may also have sung part of his favorite hymn, "Nearer, My God, to Thee", although some other accounts have the first lady singing it softly to him.

Later life and death With the death of her husband, McKinley lost much of her will to live. Although she bore up well in the days between the shooting and his death, McKinley could not bring herself to attend his funeral. Her health eroded as she withdrew to the safety of her home and memories in Canton. McKinley was cared for by her younger sister. The President was interred at the Werts Receiving Vault at West Lawn Cemetery until his memorial was built. Ida visited daily until her own death. In 1907, Ida received a letter from James Benjamin Parker, who attempted to stop her husband's assassination, asking for help. McKinley, who was grateful for Parker's efforts, sent the letter to George Cortelyou and Parker was given permanent employment at the United States Capitol and a house in Washington, D.C.. A month after Parker's death, Ida McKinley died on May 26, 1907, at the age of 59. McKinley was prepared to reunite with her husband that her last words were reportedly, "O! God, why should I longer wait? Let me lie beside him." McKinley was entombed next to her husband and their two daughters in the McKinley Memorial Mausoleum in Canton. Canton-born opera singer Rachel Frease-Green, who sang at William McKinley's funeral, also sang at Ida's.

Murder of brother George Saxton Three years before the assassination of her husband, Ida McKinley's only brother, George DeWalt Saxton (1850–1898), was murdered. Dressmaker Mrs. Anna "Annie" E. Ehrhart George was accused of the murder, then tried from April 2–24, 1899.thumb The tomb of William and Ida McKinleyFollowing nine years of wooing George, and six more years indulging in their affair, Saxton had then requested and financed his lover's divorce from her husband, Sample C. George—who had, in 1892, sued Saxton in the Supreme Court for alienation of affections, settling for $1,850 plus legal costs (after quietly remarrying Lucy Graham) —but Saxton later spurned his conquest. Failing to successfully sue Saxton for breach of promise, George was accused of fatally shooting him as he approached the home of another woman—an act she had repeatedly threatened.

Neither the Saxtons nor McKinleys attended the trial. The media championed her case; George claimed self-defense and was acquitted of first-degree murder by a jury. Nobody else was ever charged with the crime. George later married Dr. Arthur Cornelius Ridout, reputedly an alcoholic and a gambler, whose death by hanging from a chandelier was ruled a suicide.

Legacy The Saxton House, former home of Ida Saxton McKinley, now part of the First Ladies National Historic Site. The childhood home of Ida Saxton McKinley, the Saxton House, has been preserved on Market Avenue in Canton. In addition to growing up in the house, she and her husband also lived there from 1878 to 1891, the period during which the future President McKinley served as one of Ohio's Congressional Representatives. The house was restored to its Victorian splendor and became part of the First Ladies National Historic Site at its dedication in 1998.