Born Sarah Hope Summers in Mattoon, Illinois, Summers was the daughter of John W. Summers and Jennie B. (Burks) Summers, and reared in Illinois and in Walla Walla, Washington.
Born Sarah Hope Summers in Mattoon in Coles County in east central Illinois, Summers was the daughter of John W. Summers and the former Jennie B. Burks. She was reared in Illinois and in Walla Walla, Washington.