Original letter from George Almer Newhall, youngest of Henry Mayo Newhall's five sons, as president of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, to newly widowed First Lady Ida Saxton McKinley (1847-1907), dated October 13, 1901.

William McKinley, 25th president of the United States, was mortally wounded by the anarchist Leon Czolgosz while attending the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, N.Y., on September 6, 1901, six months into McKinley's second term. He died eight days later from gangrene caused by the two gunshot wounds.

George Almer Newhall (1862-1929) was the youngest son of town founder Henry Mayo Newhall (1825-1882). In 1883, George Almer and his four brothers and George's mother (Henry's widow), Margaret Jane White Newhall (1831-1900), incorporated The Newhall Land & Farming Co.

George A. Newhall lived in San Francisco where he took over his father's import-export business, which he ran with his half-brother Edwin White Newhall. George Almer served as president of The Newhall Land & Farming Co. (and president of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce); the farming company, which owned multiple ranches in California, was headquartered in San Francisco.

Letter is 8½x11 inches cut down (at left margin) to 8x11 inches. It might have been cut when the envelope was cut open from the side, which would not have been unusual. Heavy, lined stock; embossed with San Francisco Chamber seal. Letter reads:

We'll have to do some research to come up with the widow McKinley's copy of the resolution. It's unlikely the chamber's copy (and other chamber records) survived the 1906 fire. Luckily for us, this letter was mailed to Ohio.