CHAPTER II The Ancestry of William McKinley PRE NATIVE AMERICAN STOCK RESIDENT MCKINLEY came from Crawford County, Ohio, stock, his grandfather and great-grandfather having been leading pioneer citizens. Strange to say, they lived in the banner Democratic township of this rock-ribbed Democratic county, and, what was more, the old gentlemen voted the Democratic ticket. In a little German Lutheran cemetery, a few miles north of Bucyrus, on the State road, can be found a modest gravestone, on which is the following inscription: DAVID MCKINLEY Born 1756. Died 1840 The mound is neatly kept, and from the near-by corners of the old rail fence nod wild roses in fragrant profusion. Just beyond runs the Columbus and Sandusky Short Line Railway, with its stream of commerce; but few of the passengers know that in this little cemetery rests the original stock of Nation's late President. Beside the grave of McKinley is a companion mound with a similar headstone, on which is inscribed: HANNAH C. ROSE Born 1757. Died 1840 These are the graves of the predecessors of the President, and throughout this county there still resides a number of their descendants, while the older pioneers remember well McKinley, the revolutionary soldier. Among the closest relatives at the present time there are the Waller family, their homestead being a few miles from the lonely graveyard. Stephen Waller married a sister of the President's father and had many occasions to visit the old home in Canton. While Mr. Waller and the President differed in politics, the former was always high in his praise of the consistency and character of his famous nephew, and spoke most touchingly of the Christian character of McKinley's mother. INCIDENTS IN EARLY LIFE After the death of Mrs. Waller the family visits and correspondence were naturally discontinued, but Mr. Waller related many incidents in the early life of the President which illustrate his early Christian training. On one occasion, during a visit of Mrs. Waller to the home of her brother, William McKinley, Sr., her nephew was a lad of sixteen or seventeen years of age. He was a student at the time, and was poring over his Latin when his brother David, who was superintendent of a coal mine, came rushing into the room and ordered young William to hitch up his horse and have it ready for him by a certain time, as he was in a hurry, and wanted to drive out to a dance several miles in the country. After his brother had left the room, young William turned to his aunt, Mrs. Waller, and said, "Aunt Martha, don't you think it rather humiliating for a Methodist and a Latin scholar to be compelled to hitch up a horse for a brother to go to a dance?" Both the grandfather of the President and his great grandfather were carpenters by trade, and during the early days of the century they were engaged in this work. The village of Chatfield, which is located on the site of the McKinley farm, was largely built by the McKinleys, and many buildings throughout the county and in Bucyrus are their handiwork. Of the original buildings on the McKinley farm only one remains, the others. having given place to more modern structures. Upon the site of the old McKinley home has been erected a commodious two-story brick school house, and here the young people of Chatfield are taught in common school branches and imbibe patriotism amidst favorable environments. The only relative bearing the family name who is a resident of this vicinity is William McKinley, of this place, who is in the employ of the Ohio Central. He is an exact counterpart of the President in build and facial mold. Other relatives in Bucyrus are Thomas McCreary and family. The surviving pioneer citizens who remember the McKinleys when they lived in Crawford County all speak of them in terms of highest praise. Those who knew David McKinley say that he was a highly educated and polished gentleman of the old school. He was a teacher for many years, and was familiar with several languages. In religion he was a strict Presbyterian, and in politics a Democrat of the Jeffersonian school, as were also the other McKinleys of Crawford County in that early day, except James, the President's grandfather, who was a Whig. He also fought in the Revolutionary War, and during the closing years of his life drew a pension for wounds received in the service. In order to trace the history of the descendants in this county and show their relation to the late President William McKinley, whose career has been so illustrious, it is necessary to follow the history of the family briefly from its first appearance in America to the present time. The first McKinley to arrive in this country was James, who, with his brother William, emigrated from Ireland early in the eighteenth century. His brother William went South and established the Southern branch of the family, but James remained in York County, where he grew to manhood and was married. Among his children was David McKinley, who was born May 16, 1755, and died in this county in 1840. David's second son was James McKinley, who was in turn the father of William McKinley, Sr., father of the President. A brother of James McKinley, Ephraim by name, also located in Crawford County, settling in Bucyrus a year before James located at Chatfield He married Hannah McCreary. a sister of Thomas McCreary. vine-covered doorway which constitutes the entrance for the part used as a dwelling. The vine which covers the whole side of the house is very old. It was probably planted by the hand of Nancy McKinley, and it is undoubtedly associated with the earliest recollections of the President. Humble as this house appears, it is a palace in comparison with the birthplaces and early homes of Andrew Jackson, Lincoln, and Garfield, and, with them, it goes to show that humble birth is no barrier to greatness, but rather a stimulus to the noble-souled and energetic American youth. The question of educating the children is always a serious one in a new country. Educational advantages were poor at Niles, and the parents removed to Poland, a small town of some 200 inhabitants not far away, where there was an academy. William was now a young lad, and with his brothers and sisters he entered the school. His sister Anna became a teacher in the academy. William was possessed with a quiet dignity and serious habits, was studious and manly from a child, but he was as vigorous a player at games as he was diligent at his books. The family were held in high esteem at Poland, and the town is yet full of reminiscences concerning the members. Everybody liked William as a boy, and his thoroughness and brightness in his school work caused local prophecies of something great in store for him. He was his mother's chief dependence to run errands and do chores about the house, "because," she said, "he always seemed so pleased to help me." POLAND, THE HOME OF HIS YOUTH Poland was a small agricultural and mining town a few miles out from Youngstown, Ohio, and near the Pennsylvania line. It was noted for the integrity, education, and patriotism of its citizens. It is said no soldier was ever drafted there. Every time a call was made, there were more volunteers than the quota of the town required. It was while he was teaching school about two miles from Poland, and studying at the same time, that William |