Conrad Black wrote that this began the tradition of members of the Hyde Park Roosevelt family being affiliated with Democratic presidents.

In 1871, Roosevelt was elected town supervisor of Hyde Park and was pursued as a potential candidate for the New York state assembly or senate or Congress, requests that he turned down despite having an interest in politics.

1875 saw Rebecca's health falter as she demonstrated symptoms of heart disease and she was advised by doctors to stop climbing stairs, leading James to install elevators for her to use in both Springwood and their New York home.

In August 1876, the couple traveled on James' yacht for a cruise to Long Island Sound, during which Rebecca experienced a massive heart attack when the pair were underway and died a short time afterward.

The exploits of his grandson Tadd, which included dropping out of Harvard prior to a disappearance that was proceeded by mocking from the press, also served to disillusion James.

In 1927, Franklin and Sara Roosevelt donated money to the town of Hyde Park for the construction of a new library, named after James, and still in use today.