Personal life upright|left|thumb|Photograph by Underwood & Underwood, unknown date In 1908, Rogers married Betty Blake (1879–1944), and the couple had four children: Will Rogers Jr., Mary Amelia, James Blake, and Fred Stone. Will Jr. became a World War II hero, played his father in two films, and was elected to Congress. Mary became a Broadway actress, and James "Jim" was a newspaperman and rancher; Fred died of diphtheria at age two. The family lived in New York, but they spent summers in Oklahoma. In 1911, Rogers bought a ranch near Claremore, Oklahoma, which he intended to use as his retirement home. He paid US$500 an acre, equal to $ per acre today.
Personal life upright|left|thumb|Photograph by Underwood & Underwood, unknown date In 1908, Rogers married Betty Blake (1879–1944), and the couple had four children: Will Rogers Jr., Mary Amelia, James Blake, and Fred Stone. Will Jr. became a World War II hero played his father in two films, and was elected to Congress. Mary became a Broadway actress, and James "Jim" was a newspaperman and rancher; Fred died of diphtheria at age two. The family lived in New York, but they spent summers in Oklahoma. In 1911, Rogers bought a ranch near Claremore, Oklahoma, which he intended to use as his retirement home. He paid US$500 an acre, equal to $ per acre today.