Presidential First Lady. She was born Ida Saxton in Canton, Ohio, the daughter of a prosperous banker. She received the usual education given to daughters of the wealthy, a series of finishing schools and, upon completion, a tour of Europe. Ida worked at her father's bank as a teller and even managed it at times. A bank customer, the future President, Major William McKinley, met the future First Lady and they were soon wed. Her first child lived to the age of three and the second died in infancy. The complications from her illness with epilepsy and the pregnancy left her an invalid suffering epileptic seizures for the rest of her life. Her husband's law firm was flourishing and he was rising politically, first as a Congressman and then as Governor of Ohio. Ida spent most of her waking hours sitting in a small rocking chair crocheting bedroom slippers. Upon assuming the Presidency, the family ignored her limitations and handicaps, and she became the First Lady, performing all her social duties. She always sat to her husband's immediate right so he could aid her while she was suffering a seizure. As First Lady, she crocheted an estimated 1,000 pairs of slippers which she gave to guests and friends. In spite of bad health, Ida accompanied her husband on his trips. Her condition was kept secret. Upon the assassination of McKinley during his second term in office, his body first lay in state in the Buffalo City Hall, then was transferred to Washington, D.C. for services, and finally was returned to Canton and interred in West Lawn Cemetery near his two small children. Eight years later, a massive mausoleum was dedicated after construction outside West Lawn Cemetery. The President and the children were exhumed and reinterred inside. The children are entombed within the rear wall. Upon the death of Ida, she joined her husband and children with her placement in the structure known today as the McKinley Memorial. The Presidential Library is located in Niles, Ohio, William McKinley's birthplace. A replica of his Birthplace Home is also in Niles. President and Ida McKinley had planned for their retirement with the repurchase of the house in Canton where they lived when first married. It was here that Ida lived the rest of her life in seclusion, cared for by her younger sister. She visited her husband's grave almost daily.