Ida Saxton McKinley (b. Saxton) (1847-1907) was born and died in Canton, Ohio. Her family was one of Canton's first pioneer families and was quite wealthy. In 1862 McKinley studied at Delphi Academy in Clinton County, New York. She then studied at the Sanford School in Cleveland, Ohio, from 1863 to 1865, followed by Brooke Hall Female Seminary in Media, Pennsylvania, from 1865 to 1868. She worked at her father's bank until she married William McKinley in Canton in 1871. McKinley was a lawyer and later a congressional representative from Ohio, the governor of Ohio, and then the 25th president of the United States. Around 1873 she sustained an injury that led to some ongoing health concerns. Despite these challenges, McKinley travelled extensively around the country with her husband and assumed a prominent civic role.
In July 1895 Effie Andrews, a Christian Science practitioner, wrote to McKinley, recommending Christian Science as a cure for McKinley's illnesses. McKinley thanked Andrews and stated that she was determined to try it. In March 1898 Mary Baker Eddy sent a letter to the First Lady, acknowledging her support for the president right before the United States Congress declared war upon Spain in what would come to be known as the Spanish-American War. The president was assassinated in September 1901. Eddy wrote to McKinley days later to provide words of comfort and a heartfelt tribute to the late statesman, whom she greatly admired, and The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, held a special memorial service honoring the late president on September 19, 1901. McKinley returned to live in Canton, Ohio, for the rest of her life.
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Ida Saxton McKinley (b. Saxton) (1847-1907) was born and died in Canton, Ohio. Her family was one of Canton's first pioneer families and was quite wealthy. In 1862 McKinley studied at Delphi Academy in Clinton County, New York. She then studied at the Sanford School in Cleveland, Ohio, from 1863 to 1865, followed by Brooke Hall Female Seminary in Media, Pennsylvania, from 1865 to 1868. She worked at her father's bank until she married William McKinley in Canton in 1871. McKinley was a lawyer and later a congressional representative from Ohio, the governor of Ohio, and then the 25th president of the United States. Around 1873 she sustained an injury that led to some ongoing health concerns. Despite these challenges, McKinley travelled extensively around the country with her husband and assumed a prominent civic role.
In July 1895 Effie Andrews, a Christian Science practitioner, wrote to McKinley, recommending Christian Science as a cure for McKinley's illnesses. McKinley thanked Andrews and stated that she was determined to try it. In March 1898 Mary Baker Eddy sent a letter to the First Lady, acknowledging her support for the president right before the United States Congress declared war upon Spain in what would come to be known as the Spanish-American War. The president was assassinated in September 1901. Eddy wrote to McKinley days later to provide words of comfort and a heartfelt tribute to the late statesman, whom she greatly admired, and The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, held a special memorial service honoring the late president on September 19, 1901. McKinley returned to live in Canton, Ohio, for the rest of her life.
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