Sarah Tyson Rorer, also known as Sallie, was born October 18, 1849, in Richboro, Pennsylvania, to Charles Tyson Heston and Elizabeth Sagers. Shortly after her birth, the family moved to Buffalo, New York, where her father worked as a chemist. Exploring her father’s profession, Rorer became enthralled with the field of chemistry, which would later influence her choice of professions as a dietician. Rorer attended school at New York State’s East Aurora Academy. In 1870 the family moved back to the Philadelphia area where she later met her husband, William Albert Rorer. They had two sons, William Albert Rorer and James Birch Rorer, and a daughter who died very early in life.