Sara Ann Roosevelt was the second wife of James Roosevelt I, the mother of President of the United States Franklin Delano Roosevelt, her only child, and subsequently the mother-in-law of Eleanor Roosevelt.
24 Facts About Sara Roosevelt
2.
Sara Roosevelt gave birth to Franklin in 1882, and was a devoted mother to him for the remainder of her life, including home schooling and living close by in adulthood.
3.
Sara Roosevelt had a complex relationship with her daughter-in-law Eleanor, which has led to media portrayals of her as a domineering and fearsome mother-in-law, though these are at odds with other views.
4.
Sara Roosevelt died in 1941, with her son, then the President, at her side.
5.
Sara Roosevelt had ten siblings, two of whom died as small children.
6.
On board ship, Sara Roosevelt enjoyed spending time in the sailmaker's loft listening to the sailmaker tell sea stories.
7.
Sara Roosevelt's brother Fred discovered Catherine's journal of the voyage many years later, in 1928.
8.
Sara Roosevelt was educated at home, aside from a brief period in a girls' school in Dresden, Germany in 1876.
9.
Sara Roosevelt was known for her sense of purpose that many young women of her age and class lacked at the time.
10.
Sara Roosevelt taught Franklin reading and geography, and employed tutors rather than sending him to a conventional school.
11.
Sara Roosevelt did not approve of many of the women that her son courted.
12.
When Franklin fell in love with his distant cousin, Eleanor Roosevelt, Sara was determined to change his mind.
13.
Sara Roosevelt tried to coerce him out of the engagement, but with no luck, she insisted that her son keep his arrangement a secret for over a year.
14.
Sara Roosevelt was heavily involved in the lives of Eleanor and Franklin's children.
15.
Sara Roosevelt often offered advice on how to raise them, and frequently undermined the couple's disciplinary skills by spoiling her grandchildren.
16.
Sara Roosevelt supported Eleanor after she discovered Franklin's affair with Lucy Mercer, which put the marriage close to collapse.
17.
Franklin Sara Roosevelt never had a home of his own that was separate from his mother's prior to her death.
18.
In 1906, Sara Roosevelt commissioned a pair of houses to be built at E 65 Street, New York City, as a wedding present for Franklin and his wife, Eleanor, on the strict condition that she could move in next to them.
19.
Sara Roosevelt oversaw a series of connecting doors between the houses, allowing her access to the drawing room and children's bedrooms in the neighboring property.
20.
Sara Roosevelt lived to see Franklin elected President of the United States three times, becoming the first presidential mother to vote for her son.
21.
Sara Roosevelt continued to support her son's career, even standing in as First Lady on several occasions.
22.
Sara Roosevelt was always prepared to say something positive about her son, and remained highly protective of him and his family.
23.
Sara Delano Roosevelt died on September 7,1941, with the President at her side, two weeks before her 87th birthday.
24.
Sara Roosevelt was buried next to her husband at the churchyard at St James Episcopal Church in Hyde Park.