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June 8, 2025
Ida Saxton McKinley
June 8, 1847
Ida Saxton McKinley - Born June 8, 1847. Died May 26, 1907 (Canton, OH)
White House Years: 1897-1901
○ Ida McKinley’s father saw to it that she received an excellent education and traveled the world in her younger years.
○ After the birth and death of her second child, Ida McKinley was plagued with phlebitis and epileptic seizures, which left her an invalid by 1876.
○ Despite her condition, Ida McKinley served the role of first lady with dignity and grace. At social events in the White House, she greeted people in a chair next to her husband, and he always sat next to her at state dinners to care for her when she had a seizure.
○ She supported suffrage and equal education for African Americans.
Quotes:
- “He is gone, and life to me is dark now,” said Ida McKinley upon her husband’s assassination.
