Introduction

Margaret "Daisy" Suckley, a distant cousin who was also a friend and confidante to Franklin D. Roosevelt, was born in 1891 in Rhinebeck, New York. She gave Roosevelt his famous dog, Fala, and was with him in Warm Springs, Georgia, when he died. Daisy was also one of the first archivists at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum. She was responsible for managing the Library's large photograph collection, using her intimate knowledge of President Roosevelt's life to identify the people and places in the photos. Daisy lived in Rhinebeck, NY until her death in 1991, six months before her 100th birthday.

The Suckleys of Wilderstein

Margaret “Daisy” Suckley was born December 20, 1891 at her family home, Wilderstein, in Rhinebeck, New York. She was the fifth child and first daughter of her parents, Elizabeth Phillips Montgomery and Robert Bowne Suckley (rhymes with Book-ly). Both parents came from wealthy families. During Daisy’s childhood, her parents’ attempted to continue the lifestyle of a wealthy Hudson River family. In fact, Daisy’s father listed “gentleman” as his occupation on his passport.

The family divided their time between Wilderstein and a residence in Manhattan. However, Wilderstein was expensive to maintain. A period of economic instability forced the Suckleys to close Wilderstein and move to Switzerland, where they would live for the next ten years. Daisy and her siblings spent this time in relative isolation. There were no children at the hotel where they lived, so Daisy learned to identify with the older generation, rather than her peers. When the Suckleys returned to the United States, Daisy was sixteen and didn’t know anyone outside of her family.