Sara Roosevelt
Encyclopedia
James Roosevelt, Sr.
James Roosevelt, Sr. was a businessman and father of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States...
(from 1880), and the mother of President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, her only child.
Childhood
She was born at the Delano Estate in the Town of NewburghNewburgh (town), New York
Newburgh is a town in Orange County, New York, United States. The 2010 census determined the population is 29,801. This is the first time ever that the population of the Town of Newburgh officially exceeded that of the adjacent but totally separate municipality known as the city of Newburgh...
, New York to Warren Delano and Catherine Robbins Lyman. She had ten siblings, two of whom died as small children. Three more died in their twenties.
Sara was known as "Sallie" as a child. In 1862, Sallie, her mother Catherine, and six brothers and sisters traveled to China on the clipper ship Surprise
Surprise (clipper)
The Surprise was a California clipper built in East Boston in 1850. It initially rounded Cape Horn to California, but the vessel's owners, A. A. Low & Brother, soon found that the vessel performed well in Far Eastern waters...
. On board ship, Sallie enjoyed spending time in the sailmaker's loft listening to the sailmaker tell sea stories. Her Uncle Fred
Frederic Adrian Delano
Frederic Adrian Delano was an American railroad president born in Hong Kong, China of the Delano family. He was the uncle of U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Frederic Adrian Delano was Chairman of the Committee on the Regional Plan for New York and Its Environs, which released the...
discovered Catherine's journal of the voyage many years later, in 1928.
Sara Delano was described as a slender 5'10" (178 cm), and an intelligent debutante
Debutante
A débutante is a young lady from an aristocratic or upper class family who has reached the age of maturity, and as a new adult, is introduced to society at a formal "début" presentation. It should not be confused with a Debs...
beauty in her youth.
FDR's election and presidency
She lived to see her only child elected President of the United StatesPresident of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
three times. His first election took place about thirteen years after the Nineteenth Amendment
Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits any United States citizen to be denied the right to vote based on sex. It was ratified on August 18, 1920....
was ratified, and Sara became the first Presidential mother to vote for her son. Sara continued to support her son's career, even standing in as First Lady on several occasions. She was always prepared to say something positive about her son, and remained highly protective of him and his family.
Death
Sara Delano Roosevelt died suddenly on September 7, 1941, 230 days after her son's third inauguration as President and two weeks before her 87th birthday. The funeral was held at Springwood, her home in Hyde Park, New York. Her memory is commemorated with the Sara Delano Roosevelt ParkSara Delano Roosevelt Park
Sara Delano Roosevelt Park is a park in the Lower East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. The park, named after Sara Roosevelt, the mother of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, stretches north-south between East Houston Street on the Lower East Side and Canal Street in Chinatown,...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
, which was dedicated during her lifetime, in 1934.