She was a leader in relief work during the American Revolutionary War and frequently served as her father's political hostess, like her mother before her death in 1774.

Franklin's reserved nature towards his daughter may have been partially due to the previous loss of Sarah's older brother, Francis.

[3] But Franklin was also deep into his experimentation with electricity by the time Sarah was a young child, and by her early teenage years, he had left for Europe.

[4][5] Franklin would begin to consider men and women as more intellectually equal later in his life, but he did not take this approach to his own children and grandchildren.

[3] When Franklin traveled to Europe in Sarah's early adolescence, he left Deborah Read to take care of the "Education of my dear child.

Though he was not initially pleased with the marriage between his daughter and Bache, Franklin received his son-in-law "with open arms" when they finally met in 1771.

[7] The women often met to work together at The Cliffs, a country estate owned by Samuel R. Fisher on the Schuylkill River, two miles north of Philadelphia.

The first time happened in the later months of 1776, when in response to the approach of British forces, Sarah left Philadelphia with her children and aunt, Jane Mecom.

Evidence exists in The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin which "constructs an image of a strong, powerful, and savvy patriarch, written for a male audience.

[3][15] When the American Revolutionary War ended, Benjamin returned to Philadelphia and lived with his daughter and her family for the remaining years of his life.

Among the items bequeathed to her was a small portrait of Louis XVI surrounded by diamonds, which she sold to finance a trip to London.