She 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.

She 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.

In 1862, Sara, her mother Catherine, and six brothers and sisters traveled to Hong Kong[1] on the clipper ship Surprise, where they joined Warren Delano who had resumed his business of trading in opium, then still legal.

When Franklin fell in love with his distant cousin, Eleanor Roosevelt, Sara was determined to change his mind.

Sara supported Eleanor after she discovered Franklin's affair with Lucy Mercer, which put the marriage close to collapse.

[1] 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.

She oversaw a series of connecting doors between the houses, allowing her access to the drawing room and children's bedrooms in the neighboring property.

[9] She lived to see Franklin elected President of the United States three times, becoming the first presidential mother to vote for her son.

His mother's memory is commemorated with the Sara Delano Roosevelt Park in New York City's Lower East Side, which was dedicated during her lifetime, in 1934.