Editor’s note: This is part of a weekly series marking the 120th anniversary of Niles native William McKinley’s U.S. presidency.

I would like to shift gears from this week in McKinley history in 1899 to a brief summary of some of the more interesting McKinley facts.

Many of our guests here at the memorial know that President William McKinley was born in Niles but most are surprised to find out he didn’t live above a grocery store in an apartment. Most biographies cite a misinformed author from the early 20th century who originally said this. It helps lend a more rags-to-riches sheen to the McKinley story. In reality, the family lived in their own home that our friends at the library have had rebuilt to appear almost exactly as it did when the family lived there.

It was after the McKinley family left that the house found itself being used in different ways, from a grocery to a machine shop, pieced out to be a tourist attraction and rental, and finally put back together as a museum.

Another interesting and sometimes misinterpreted tidbit about President McKinley is that his family moved to Poland not because Niles didn’t have schools (they most certainly did) but because they wanted him to have an advanced education. Poland had the Poland Seminary Academy, which would graduate the future president.

Many people don’t know that President McKinley attended college and law school but only holds honorary degrees. His older sister Anna encouraged him to go to law school when he returned home from the Civil War, and he always took Anna’s advice. It would be her sway that brought him to Canton where she was already a teacher.

Did you know that President Mckinley does not have a direct descendant? Both of his daughters died before the age of 5, and in the same year no less. He channeled all of his parenting energy into being the best husband he could be and chose to dote on his wife, Ida.

President McKinley didn’t have a pet dog either. This is remarkable in that he is the last president before our current one to not have a pet dog while in the White House. He did have a double yellow Amazonian parrot that he called Washington Post. The parrot was the unofficial White House greeter and a gift from a friend.

I hope you learned something new this week.

Farris is director of the National McKinley Birthplace Museum in Niles.