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His Career From Its
Humble Beginning In
a Small Town to the
Presidency of
the United
States
Long and honorable was the
public career of William McKin
ley It extended from the time
when as a mere stripling he held
sway in a log cabin country school
to the tragic moment when as
chief executive of the nation ho
was felled by the assassins bullet
During all that time his record
suffered neither blot nor blemish
lie was tested as a soldier as a
lawyer as a politician as a states
man as the head of the nation
In each case he stood the test
In private life he began by be
ing a manlv bov a dutiful and obe
dient son lie continued as a
faithful and loving husband one
whose example has had its good ef
fect on the national character
His life was typically American
the life of an American of the best
type And through it all he was
a patriot Above personal ambi
tion were ever in his mind his
country and his countrys good
William McKinley came from that
dominant race that has furnished this
nation with some
McKinley
as
a Boy
As a
Husband
of its greatest sol
diers and states
men II e w a s
Scotch Irish by de
scent and his an
cestors immigrated
y tQ tjjjs country ear
ly enough to have sous who took a pa
triotic part in the war of the Revolu
tion
The family removed from Pennsyl
vania to Ohio in ISM and from that
day has been identified with that
state not in -a great public way but
simply as faithful and devoted citi
zens not striving for particular emi
nence but notable for sturdiness of
character and integrity
It was among such people and of
them that William McKinley was born
at Niles in Trumbull county O Feb
20 1S 14
A younger son he was destined by
his father after whom he was named
for the bar He was educated at the
public schools and later entered
llKTXLEY AS A BREVET 3IAJOB
ghany college at Meadville Pa teach
ing school to pay his tuition fees
Scarcely was he matriculated when
the civil Avar came ou He was but a
stripling of nineteen when he entered
os a private
McKinley as those who remember
him as a boy in Poland O declare
was a real boy full of fun loving ath
letic sports fond of horses and hunt
ing and fishing and all outdoor exer
cise and yet at 1G we find him taking
upon himself a serious view of life
The church records show that in 1S3S
when he was hardly 10 he united with
the Methodist Episcopal church of Po
land
McKinleys father was an Iron manu
facturer and a pioueer in that business
William was his third son the eldest
being David the second James and the
youngest Abner
McKinleys mother was alert and vig
orous mentally and physically up to
the time of her death which occurred
when she was nearly ninety years of
age
Major McKinleys home life was very
happy despite the fact that his wife
was an invalid
C o
Mrs McKinley
was Miss Ida Sax
ton daughter of
James and Mary
Saxton of Canton
O She received
an excellent edu
cation when a girl spnt some time
abroad and became her fathers assist
ant in his bank where it was said that
her fair face attracted bouquets and
bank notes to the window She must
b trained oafd her father to buy
her own bread if necessary and not to
sell herself to matrimony
She hud many J iltors but Major Mc
Kinley then a j islng young lawyer
vanquished all I Alllry removed the
young woman from the cashiers win
dow and won from honest James Sax
ton these words when the hand of the
daughter v gained
You are the only man 1 have ever
known to whom I would Intrust my
daughter
Mrs McKinley always assisted her
husband In politics Her ill health in
nowise deterred her from enjoying the
political honors he won nor did it pre
vent her from being a wise counselor
Her presence time and again served as
an Inspiration to her husband When
political preferment first came to Mc
Kinley It was ids wife who convinced
him that lie should accept She believ
ed implicitly in his taleuts and that his
service would be for the good of the
state she Was certain She never wav
ered In her faith In her husbands con
victions
Mrs McKinley had confidence In her
husband not only as a public official
i
MKINIiEY AT HEGDiXnfG OF HIS TjEGAIi
CAREER
but as a man Her illness was often
overcome by her affection and she
traveled thousands of miles when she
was weak in body merely that she
might be near him She encouraged
him by word look and presence and
he in knightly style returned the fa
vors and reciprocated the sacred affec
tion Her home life was short for out
of the thirty years of married life more
than twenty four were passed by her
husband in the public service
Mrs McKinley for years has spent
much of her leisure in crocheting those
dainty little slippers which have so
many times brought sunshine into
gloomy hospital wards in various parts
of the country It is said that she lias
knitted over 3000 pairs of these slip
pers in her twenty six years of invalid
life In appearance Mrs McKinley is
of medium height with brown hair
and large deep blue eyes Although an
invalid she was fond of making and
receiving calls and often went on shop
ping tours Mrs McKinley never cared
much for dress although her toilets
have always been in excellent taste
For many years Mrs McKinleys face
has betrayed a faint languor sugges
tive of the invalid but it is fair and
bears a stamp of beauty in spite of the
fifty five years she carries Her ill health
dates from girlhood As a student she
with difficulty undertook the studies
of the course by reason of this condi
tion but with constant care and fre
quent medical attention she overcame
all trouble sufficiently to enjoy life and
to taste of its pleasures Her actual
invalidism dates from the birth of her
second child in 1S7I This child died
in its infancy and was followed by the
first chMd a daughter of three years a
short time afterward Mrs Saxton
Mrs McKinleys mother also died about
this time These sorrows were more
than she could bear and she never re
covered
A little story of McKinleys home
acts while governor may be of interest
O j
As
a Son
k
McKinley
as
a Soldier
No less than his at
tention to his wife
his thought and
care for his moth
er particularly
since his fathers
death in 1S92 have
attracted comment
It had been his custom while at home
in Canton to take his mother to church
each Sunday morning When he went
to Columbus as governor he determin
ed to keep up the practice as much as
possible and unless the press of public
business was very great he always
slipped quietly over to Canton from the
state capital on Sunday mornings and
walked to church with his mother on
his arm The next train would carry
him to Columbus where his wife
awaited his coming Naturally the
mother looked with pride on such a
sou and she followed with keen inter
est the progress of his first presidential
canvass
Young McKinley had been a keen ob
server so far as his opportunities went
of the political
events that culmi
nated in the firing
on Fort Sumter
The call of the pres
ident for troops
found a quick re-
sponse in his breast
and when the drums and fifes aroused
the echoes of the quiet streets of Po
land among the first applicants for en
listment was William McKinley Jr
It was a new experience and a new
school that the eighteen-year-old boy
entered this school of war but he had
wonderful teachers It was his good
fortune that assigned him to the Twenty-third
Ohio The recruits that com
posed it were in June 18G1 mustered
and formed into a regiment Its first
colonel was William S Rosecrans aft
erward major general commanding the
department of the Cumberland Sec
ond in command was Stanley Mat
thews who was a splendid soldier but
won his greatest honors In civil life by
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His Rise From Schoolteacher to
President
Sketch of the Career of the Third
Chief Executive of the United
States to Fall Victim to
the Assassins Bullet
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THE LATE WILLIAM MKINLEY
MES MKINLEY
h
MKINLEYS BIRTHPLACE
becoming Uultcd States senator and
justice of the United States supreme
court and Rutherford 15 Hayes after
ward governor of Ohio and president
of the United States These are a few
of the Illustrious men who were borne
on the roll of officers of the gallant
regiment in which marched Private
William McKinley Jr
He carried the musket for fourteen
months then he was promoted Hut
he won his promotion honestly Ills
comrades of the rank and file bear tes
timony to the fact that he was a good
Soulier that he performed every duty
devolving upon him with fidelity and
intelligence aud without complaint
They congratulated him therefore
when he was made commissary ser
geant of the rcguueut Later after
Antietam he was made a second lieu
tenant and the Mahoning county boy
had risen from the ranks
lie was now to all intents and pur
poses a trained veteran He had had
his baptism In blood at Carnifex Fer
ry He had gone through the West
Virginia campaign and become a part
of the magnificent Army of the Poto
mac under McClellan South fountain
and Antietam had been made immor
tal by the blood of heroes and the
shoulder straps were worn with a due
but not exaggerated realization of the
responsibilities they Implied He be
came a second lieutenant on Sept 21
1SU2 lie was promoted to first lieu
tenant Feb 7 103 His commission
as captain bears date July 23 ISO I
The brevet rank of major was con
ferred by President Lincoln for gal
lant and meritorious services at the
battles of Opequan Fishers Creek and
Cedar Hill He was with Sheridan
in the Shenandoah campaign was at
Winchester Cedar Creek Fishers
Hill Opequan Kernstown Floyd
Mountain and Berryville where his
horse was shot under him and In all
the battles in which the Twenty third
participated He served on the staffs
of Generals Hayes Crook Hancock
and Carroll He was mustered out
with the regiment July 20 1SU3 after
more than four years continuous serv
ice
When the war closed McKinley was
just twenty two He was full of youth-
ful enthusiasm and
q
McKinley
as
a Lawyer
ardor and lie re
turned to his home
in Ohio fully ex
pecting to accept
the flattering offer
made him of a
v commission in the
regular army Put to this his parents
offered strong opposition They point
ed out the small rewards that come to
the soldier in time of peace At length
lie yielded to their persuasions and re
luctantly gave up his dreams of mar
tial glory and bent his mind upon the
pursuits of peace The war had ended
all thought of a collegiate career He
cast about for a profession and natu
rally considering the bent of his mind
he chose the law lie became a student
in the offices of Charles E Glidden
and David Wilson then leaders of the
Mahoning county bar He supplement
ed his reading by taking the course at
the Albany Law school and hi 1SG7
was admitted to the bar He located
at Canton where lie formed a partner
ship with Judge Eelden
He was an excellent advocate even
in those early days and made some of
the best jury arguments ever heard at
the Stark county bar At the time lie
was first elected to congress lie enjoyed
one of the best general practices in the
county
As a lawyer Mr McKinley was al
ways thorough and careful in the prep
aration of cases He had the confidence
of everybody aud soon became particu
larly prominent as an advocate He
prepared himself by thorough courses
of reading for his public career He re
sembled Garfield much in this respect
and possessed elements of strength by
reason of his thorough study of polit
ical subjects He seems to have had in
view from the beginning the devotion
of his life to public service During all
his early professional years lie was an
active participant in Republican cam
paigns and early gave evidence of the
power he later developed as a public
speaker and orator The plan of his
political speaking was always the same
He first thoroughly mastered the sub-
jec t in hand and then presented it forci
bly
Major McKinley was but thirty three
years old when he was elected by the
people of his dis
As a
Statesman
trict to represent
them in congress
There he soon made
his mark and was
returned at each
subsequentelection
until that of 1890
in which year a change in the bounda
ries of his district defeated him by a
majority of only 302
While in congress he served on the
committee en revision of laws the
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diciary committee the committee on
expenditures in the postoffice depart
ment and the committee on rules When
General Garfield received the nomina
tion for the presidency Mr McKinley
was assigned to the vacancy on the
committee en and means He
served ou the last mentioned committee
until the expiration of his last term aa
representative While chairman of this
committee lie framed the McKinley bill
which afterward became a law
McKinley was a protege of
Hayes and up to the time of the
hitters death he recognized the ox
president as his adviser and counselor
He was in General Hayes regiment
during the civil Avar General Ilnyen
knew him and ills father well and saw
In the dashing young cavalier the germ
of greatness He needed a counselor
an udvlser a friend and General
Hayes watched over him with the
filial love devotion and pride of a
father
The war ended McKinley still re
mained an object of hope of Interest
and pride to General Hayes McKin
ley became a candidate for congress
and was elected Wlieu Hayes was
president McKinley was In the house
of representatives The major was a
frequent welcome visitor ut the White
House One day the president gave
McKinley advice which made McKin
ley the foremost champion of a pro
tective tariff President Hayes thua
spoke to the young representative
To achieve success and fame you
must pursue a special line You must
not make a speech on every motion
offered or bill Introduced You must
confine yourself to one particular
thing Become a specialist Take up
some branch of legislation and make
that your study Why not take up the
subject of tariff Being a subject that
will not lie settled for years to come
it offers a great Held for study and a
chance for ultimate fame
With these words ringing in Ills ears
McKinley began studying the tariff
and soon became the foremost author
ity on the subject
The day upon which the McKinley
tariff bill was passed in the house
must always stand as the supreme mo
ment of McKinleys congressional ca
reer The bill by adroit parliamentary
generalship which had prevented it
from being weighed down with amend
ments not approved by the committee
had been brought under the operation
of the previous question It stood com
plete ready to go forth for good or
evil Upon McKinley devolved the task
of smoothing its path and speeding it
upon its way
The occasion thoroughly advertised
attracted to the capitol an immense
e-
The
McKinley
Bill
throng The gal
leries
were one
mass of humanity
and the anticipa
tion of the vote
had compelled the
attendance of ev
ery member As
usual McKinley spoke without notes
His voice penetrating but not harsh
filled the chamber Eery sentence
was distinctly heard Never was an
orator more free from the ordinary
a5sgTigt
JHSfB
Ml 31KIXIiEyS MOTIIEK
claptrap than McKinley So true is
this that the incident when lie sudden
ly drew from beneath his desk the suit
of clothes which he purchased for 10
at the establishment of a fellow repre
sentative in Boston In order to demon
strate the cheapness of wearing ap
parel stands out with vivid distinct
ness
It was this earnestness and self con
viction that made McKinleys address
in the house and on the stump so effec
tive Indeed the occasion is still re
called when he held an audience of
Georgia people for two hours at a
Chautauqua assembly near Atlanta
while he preached to them the glories
of the protective tariff system It
was only by the greatest self control
said the late Henry W Grady speak
ing of this event afterward that 7
restrained myself from rising as Mc
Kinley concluded his wonderful speech
and declaring myself henceforth ready
to follow him as a disciple
James G Blaine in his Twenty
Years of Congress reviewed the Forty-fifth
congress in which McKinley
first sat as follows William McKin
ley Jr entered from the Canton dis
trict He enlisted in an Ohio regiment
when but 17 years old and Avon the
rank of major by meritorious service
The interest of his constituency and
his own bent of mind led him to the
study of industrial questions and he
was soon recognized in the house as
one of the most thorough statisticians
and one of the ablest defenders of the
doctrine of protection
At a great mass meeting in Indian
apolis several years ago the late ex
President Harrison was presiding offi
cer McKinley was one of the speak
ers and Harrison introduced him as
follows
He has endeared himself to all by
his record as a gallant young soldier
battling for the Hag He has honored
himself his state and the country by
his conspicuous services in high legis
lative and executive places No man
more than he is familiar with the ques
tions that now engage public thought
No man is mora able than he lucidly to
set them before the people I do not
need to invoke your attention to what
he shall say He will command it
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