The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, May 12, 1901, Page 5

P was in the latter part of the sixiies that the Canton people living along Market street used to watch the light of a very high clgar tracing its late way from the Saxton house—the big house on the corner of Ninth street. As the weeks wore on, this cigar light ac- quired a it of retracing its way to- ward the ton house, and it sometimes d this more than once ad t it was the Gossip spread it abr Major McKinley as courting Miss nd that he went her good- for more than one much in love, people to deny the a why he Note, small lake Civil War home McKinley with the e was lionized in a i the head of He was hero of the tless parties were made up layed the leading man's popul 1 these par young s first of Miss ned at a chicken and waffle impression ich the old hotel at the out several coun- g the liv d with young ladies at that period. From that moment on fon grew she her part tion for the brave ng major. ogether on the little a front of .all not until 1867 that he returned to In the meantime Miss Saxton never have been a possible or her to be idle. ism has been hers to When she her fingers were Even of late busy. h the crochet needle that wove es that have a girl she was busy, whether at or at play. In the place she school San- ater on at Miss Pa. In the stamp of her both of e left at is what she does - led the other girls in their sometimes mis levous ones, fckness kept her at the head ses, while she spent less time One all who knew her; she never said un- than any of the others ings of any She seems to too big to bother with any one. been the long principal of the lived for years after that 2z enough to tell many a story She said that Tda school vorite pupil the one girl in her 1sed her to break her rule t favoritism. She believed that it was unfair on a teachers part and she fought persistently against it, but I2a Saxton much for her. = She than she of the others, and in her feay ever c was too t help loving her better she severe with other. ably Ida saw through this feizned At rate, most heartily to her t and afterward, when she became. the dis- tinguished Mrs. McKinley and with her distinguished husband visited now and then in Philadelphia, she always sent a letter out to Brooke Hall, as the school was called, inviting Miss dine with them. Mr. Saxton was a wealthy man and a devoted father, and he lavished upon his daughter every pleasure and accomplish- ment that was to be had. After her ex- severity ny she responded r's affection, Eastman to cellent education in this country she went abroad and made a long and extended tour over Europe with her sister. She did not return until 1869. Then, after all these years of fashion- able education, she did a most unexpect- ed and unconventional thing. She turned bank cashier. Canton found cause for gossip in that fact, but Miss Saxton’s serene bearing and her popularity were of a nature to wither gossip. Were the D ramily funds giving out? gossip-at first 3 THE SUNDAY CALL. % (Drs. Tilliam AdcRin Wife of the President. ey, inquired. That was soon found to be not the case. Mr. Saxton himself explained the matter. “I have seen enough girls left strandzd by sudden losses of means,” he said, and I don’t intend that this shall ever happen to my daughter. She can be tak- en care of at home now, but I may be Nobody ever knows what I want her to be poor some day is going to happen. to support herself if trouble ever Above all, 1 to have to marry able comes her way. don’t want her solely to be sup- ported, as I have seen plenty of girls do. I want her to marry because and whom she wants to.” Th doctrines, but they were a bit in advance ’70, and they in a se were the soundest of modern caused small of their something of a commotion till more commotion was caused times in town. when the face of the prettiest girl in the whole town appeared at the cashier's window. Young men found it convenient to draw out their money in extremely small checks. This necessitated frequent visits to the bank. Through all the flutter that her pres- ence caused in the place of business Miss Saxton preserved a businesslike calm. She worked diligently and learned the business thoroughly. She was accurate, quick and reliable, and she has the equip- ment to take her place to-day in the busi- ness world and hold her own with men. Through it all she clung to the eternal feminine. She has been said to have all the virtues and none of the faults of the “new woman.” She considers this one of her grefitest compliments. ‘When the young lawyer, Willlam Mec- Kinley, returned from his law studies he found her still turning away discouraged suitors. He made up his mind then to do what he has made a habit of all his life— He accomplished his formal to go in and win. purpose, and this elaborate and article appeared in the Canton Weekly Repository and Republican on the morn- ing of January 27, 1871: “The audience-room of the new stone Presbyterian church being nearly finished, the lady members resolved to have it ready for the wedding of Major McKinley and Miss Ida Saxton. “Promptly at the hour—yea, long before the 7:30 p. m. named upon the invitations —the house was filled with the expectant multitude. The scene at the church was novel and interesting. Here were a thou- sand people—all the building will hold— all on tiptoe of expectation to see. Pro- fessor Fister came in and entertained them by music upon the organ. Soms minutes after he commenced to play there was a sensation. Everybody’s face was turned toward the door. Many - stiff- necked old and young sinners nearly broke thelr necks at it. At length they came, first up the left aisle James A. Saxton leading the bride, his daughter. They were followed by Miss Mary Sax- ton, a bridesmaid, escorted by Abner McKinley. Upon the right aisle Major McKinley approached the pulpit, leading Mrs. James A. Saxton. Usners ana bridesmaids followed. As to the dresses worn by the ladies, we shall be compelled, owing to our meager training in Jenkins’ technicalities, to be entirely silent, except to say that they were faultless in taste and exceedingly rich and beautiful. “Arrived at the area In front of the pul- pit, the partles disposed of themselves gracefully and with perfect facility, the bride and bridegroom in the center of a half circle, the former supported by the maids and the latter by his friends. The Rev. E. Buckingham and the Rev. Dr. Endsley married the couple, using the plain and yet impressive ceremony usual- ly employed by ministers of the Presby- terian and Methodist churches. At the conclusion of the ceremony the crowd walted respectfully until the newly made husband and wife and their companions had passed out. Then tongues were loosed 4nd the dumb spake and gossips became supreme, and all agreed that nothing could bave been more gracefully per- formed than the first act in the life drama upon which the gallant major and his voung and beautiful wife have just en- tered. “After the marriage ceremony the per- sonal friends of the families partook of refreshments, which had been laid at the residence of Mr. Saxton. Major and Mrs. McKinley took the 10 o’clock train for the East and will make a bridal tour of the Eastern cities, not being expected to re- turn for three or four weeks.” That was the first honeymoon, but not the last. There have been journeys through all the long years of their mar- ried life that were as much enjoyed as the first, and the present journey has some of the honeymoon element even in the midst of its many outside demands. Mrs. McKinley has never been really well enough to keep up with the urgent life of a greatly ambitious man, but she has done it at the cost of her own strength. Before McKinley's first election she had a two weeks’ taste of the responsibilities of the lady of the White House. Mrs. Hayes, her personal friend, was obliged to be absent from her post and she begged Mrs. McKinley to take her place. “It was no easy matter,” she said afterward, and wken she entered upon the task for four years it was with no little doubt of her to com:dete it. But her health has oved on the whole, and, sick or well, her personality has been one of such grip that she has been first lady in thesland in more than name. Her love for children has always been her marked characteristic, and it has in- creased with the years. Her two little girls, who lived barely through their babyhood, made this love of little people stronger in her heart. In her Canton Lome she had as many small callers as large ones, and she was “Aunt Ida” or “Auntie Tinney” or “Auntie Kinney” to them all. The many have had to take the place of the two. “Mr. McKinley cannot walk across the room without looking at his wife; will not leave the room without speaking to her; never leaves the house without say- ing good by.- It is like the love between two children,” said a member of the fam- ily in speaking of them. It must take a wonderful personality in 2 woman to hold the affection of a man with as great affairs on his hands as a statesman has. Hers at the present time is thus de- scribed by a recent visitor: “Mrs. McKinley is a tall, well rounded, ¢ strong-faced, clear-eved woman. She looks vital. Of about medium height, with high, from which her soft hair divides, in broad parting waves back to the collar, reminding one of Elizabeth Stuart Phelps. “Her eyes are her telling point. They are magnetic. In them one sees the heritage of suffering, the discipline of common sense, the tenderness of a wife who loves wisely and well. “She possesses cool-headed judiclousness regarding the world, but this knowledge does not tend to harden her face. “‘Between the level, black eyebrows that divide the two color lines of gray eyes and hair there is not a wrinkle or frown. Nothing but disposition has dene this thing. “She is temperamentally inclined not to worry, and the sign is there on the \/ smooth, white forehead. “Mrs. McKinley lives where the Presi- dent brought her home as a bride—that is, barring the residence at the White House, which can never be considered more than perfunctory. For twenty-five years the house on North Market street, in Can- ton, has remained unaltered, and the President and his wife dearly love every picture on its walls and every rose that climbs the terrace. “Mrs. McKinley is the most popular woman there to-day. No honors of state or nation's capital have spoiled her. She is just as gracicus to some old beaux whose lives have come to nothing as she is to an illustrious executive. “She is an was either born with or has acquired the | gift of listening and bringing her guests out, and you know that if one proves you to be clever you are convinced of the cleverness of the one who does so. So people go away from her with a snus, comfortable conviction about the region of the heart that they have proved them- selves most entertaining persons. It is a wonderful gift, but no one would laugh more at a suggestion of her possession of it than would Mrs. McKinley. ‘But, I am really so interested,’ she would say. “She does a deal of newspaper reading {3 and takes profound interest in all that is printed in regard to her husband. Her ¢ personality has lost little of its charm for she has one advantage that time never destroys—a remarkably well-shaped head; small and admirably proportioned in short, fine enough for a medallion—a milliner would say a good bonnet head. It may be said in passing that Mrs. Mec- Kinley always wears pretty bonnets, which her husband takes interest in choosing. “Beyond this she cares little for dress, her toilets being marked by simplicity and love of color. She is a connoisseur in lace, of which she has an exquisite and rare collection, the nucleus of which was formed when as a young girl she traveled some time abroad. ¥ “A sensitive, nervous, highstrung wom- an, Mrs. McKinley has the extraordinary power of endurance that goes with her temperament. Although unable o be present at public meetings and festivi- tles of any sort, she travels north, east, south and west, thousands and thousands of miles, In order to be with her hus- band; at all times cheerful; ready to be amused; quick to appreciate the kindness and consideration her presence com- mands. “There can be no winter in the disposi- tion that for so many years has warmed the love of a2 man's heart and kept it from growing cold, though the quarter century mark of their married life was passed many years ago. which men most seek and need to sus- tain them. Of censure and condemna- tion, prophecy of faflure, the world will give them their share. But to know that there is one place where they are sure to find encouragement is to know that there is an impregnable castle which de- spair can never take. “There is the true fleld which a wom- an accomplishes more than by any amount of individual effort. It is the role in which all of the successful women of the world have shone. “And brightest of them all is she who is soon to be among us.” She has always assisted her husband in politics. She has been a wise counselor, a sympathizer, and has heartily enjoyed all the honors he has won. Her presence has more than once served as an inspira- tion to him. When his first political pre- ferment came it was she who urged him to accept. He has at times doubted his abil- ity; soe has never done so. She belleved implicitly in him and was confident that his service would be for the good of the state. She knows the value that her pres- ence and its encouragement are to him, and she has traveled thousands of miles te give them to him. All but five vears of thelr married life have been passed by him in public service. In spite of her pride in this it has meant a great sacrifice