This watercolor on ivory portrait of First Lady Ida Saxton McKinley was done by Emily Drayton Taylor. Emily Taylor worked in miniatures and also authored a chapter in the book "Heirlooms and Miniatures," printed in 1898. Prior to her marriage, Mrs. McKinley worked as a teller in her father's bank. As first lady, she was limited in her ability as hostess due to fragile health, which included epilepsy. These duties largely fell to Second Lady Jennie Tuttle Hobart, wife of Garret Hobart, who served as McKinley's vice president during his first term. William McKinley was president from March 4, 1897 until his death on September 14, 1901.
Artist
Emily Drayton Taylor
Date of Work
1899
Medium
watercolor
Type
Portrait
Credit
White House Collection/White House Historical Association
Ida Saxton was born in Canton, Ohio, on June 8, 1847, to James Saxton and Katherine DeWalt. James A. Saxton, a banker, was indulgent to his two daughters. He educated them well in local schools and a finishing school, and then sent them to Europe on the grand tour.
As a young woman, she worked in her father's bank. As a cashier
In 1980, Margaret Johnson Patterson Bartlett, great-granddaughter of First Lady Eliza McCardle Johnson and President Andrew Johnson, gave an oral interview at Harpers Ferry about the history of her family. Alluding that her ancestors wanted to keep certain family secrets hidden from the public, Mrs. Bartlett recalled when her father sold documents to the Library of Congress in 1904: “My daddy [Andrew Jo
Born in Niles, Ohio, on January 29, 1843, McKinley briefly attended Allegheny College, and was teaching in a country school when the Civil War broke out. His mother, Nancy Allison McKinley, a devout Methodist, was a guiding influence in his life. It was against her wishes that he joined the Union Army. As a commissary sergeant during the Battle of Antietam, he
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