Betsy Ross

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Betsy Ross (January 1, 1752 – January 30, 1836) was an American woman said to have sewn the first American flag which incorporated stars representing the first thirteen colonies,[1] though "many details [about her life] are conjecture based on research."[2]

Contents

[edit] Early years

Born Elizabeth ("Betsy") Griscom in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on January 1, 1752. She was the 8th of 17 children.[3] She "grew up in a household where the plain dress and strict discipline of the Society of Friends dominated her life."[4] She learned to sew from her great-aunt Sarah Griscom.[5]

After she finished her schooling at a Quaker public school, her father apprenticed her to an upholsterer named William Webster.[6] At this job, she fell in love with fellow apprentice John Ross, son of an assistant rector at (Episcopal) Christ Church.

As inter-denominational marriages typically lead to being read out of their Quaker meeting, the couple eloped in 1773 when she was 21, marrying at Hugg's Tavern in New Jersey.[7] The wedding caused a split from her family and meant her "expulsion from the Quaker congregation."[8] The young couple soon started their own upholstery business and joined Christ Church.[3]

[edit] The Revolutionary War

The Rosses were financially weakened by the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. The fabrics they depended on became scarce and business slowed considerably. John joined the Pennsylvania militia and was seriously injured by the explosion of an ammunition cache in mid-January 1776. He soon died and was buried in Christ Church cemetery.

Family oral history, supported only by 19th century affadavits, recounts the widowed Ross meeting with George Washington, George Ross, and Robert Morris at her upholstery business in Philadelphia in May or June of 1776, a meeting said to have resulted in the sewing of the first U.S. "stars and stripes" flag.[3] According to the story, it was at this meeting, to "silence the men's protests that these new [five-pointed] stars would be unfamiliar and difficult for seamstresses to make, she folded a piece of paper, made a single scissor snip, and revealed a perfect five-pointed star."[9]

It is the position of many historians that Francis Hopkinson of New Jersey, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was responsible for the stars in the U.S. flag. Hopkinson designed a naval flag while he was the Chairman of the Continental Navy Board's Middle Department, sometime between his appointment to that position in November of 1776 and the time that the Flag Resolution was adopted in June of 1777.[10][11]

Evidence that Ross did in fact make flags for the government includes a receipt for her making "ship's colours" for the Pennsylvania Navy in May 1777, as well a folded star pattern with her name found in a Philadelphia Quaker Society safe. [12]

After her first husband's death, Ross joined the "Fighting Quakers" which, unlike traditional Quakers, supported the war effort. In June 1777, she married sea captain Joseph Ashburn at Old Swedes' Church in Philadelphia. British soldiers forcibly occupied their house when they controlled the city in 1777. Following the Battle of Germantown, she nursed both American and British soldiers.[13]

[edit] Post-War

In May 1783, Ross married John Claypoole, an old friend who had told her of Ashburn's death. The couple had five daughters together. He died in 1817 after 20 years of ill health. She continued working in her upholstery business, including making flags for the United States of America, until 1827.[14] After her retirement, she moved in with her married daughter, Susannah Satterthwaite, who continued to operate the business. Ross died in Philadelphia at age 84.

Although it is one of the most visited tourist sites in Philadelphia,[15] the claim that Ross once lived at the Betsy Ross House is a matter of dispute.[16]

[edit] Interment, re-interment and re-re-interment

Ross's body was first buried at the Free Quaker burial ground on South 5th Street. Twenty years later, her remains were exhumed and reburied in the Mt. Moriah Cemetery in the Cobbs Creek Park section of Philadelphia. In preparation for the United States Bicentennial, the city ordered the remains moved to the courtyard of the Betsy Ross House in 1975; however, workers found no remains under her tombstone. Bones found elsewhere in the family plot were deemed to be hers and were reinterred in the current grave visited by tourists at the Betsy Ross House.[17]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Gene Langley, "The legend and truth of Betsy Ross," Christian Science Monitor 94.141 (6/14/2002): 22.
  2. ^ Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, "Review of The Life and Times of Betsy Ross and The Life and Times of Nathan Hale," School Library Journal 53.7 (Jul 2007).
  3. ^ a b c Independence Hall Association. Betsy Ross: Her Life. Accessed 11 March 2008.
  4. ^ William C. Kashatus, "Seamstress for a Revolution," American History, 37.3 (Aug 2002).
  5. ^ William C. Kashatus, "Seamstress for a Revolution," American History, 37.3 (Aug 2002).
  6. ^ William C. Kashatus, "Seamstress for a Revolution," American History, 37.3 (Aug 2002).
  7. ^ William C. Kashatus, "Seamstress for a Revolution," American History, 37.3 (Aug 2002).
  8. ^ William C. Kashatus, "Seamstress for a Revolution," American History, 37.3 (Aug 2002).
  9. ^ Independence Hall Association. 5-Pointed Star in One Snip. Accessed 11 April 2008.
  10. ^ Federal Citizen Information Center. [1] Accessed 11 April 2008.
  11. ^ Embassy of the United States of America [2] Accessed 11 April 2008.
  12. ^ Lindsey Galloway, "The Signs Still Point to Ross," U.S. News & World Report 141.6 (8/14/2006). [3]. Accessed 11 April 2008.
  13. ^ William C. Kashatus, "Seamstress for a Revolution," American History, 37.3 (Aug 2002).
  14. ^ William C. Kashatus, "Seamstress for a Revolution," American History, 37.3 (Aug 2002).
  15. ^ Andrew Carr, "The Betsy Ross House," American History 37.3 (Aug 2002): 23.
  16. ^ Was This Her House?
  17. ^ Philadelphia Inquirer, "Corrections", November 22, 2005.

[edit] Further reading

  • Chanko, Pamela. Easy Reader Biographies: Betsy Ross: The Story of Our Flag (Easy Reader Biographies). 2007.
  • Cohon, Rhody, Stacia Deutsch, and Guy Francis. Betsy Ross's Star (Blast to the Past). 2007.
  • Cox, Vicki. Betsy Ross: A Flag For A Brand New Nation (Leaders of the American Revolution). 2005.
  • Harker, John B. and Museum Images & Exhibits. Betsy Ross's Five Pointed Star. 2005.
  • Harkins, Susan Sales and William H. Harkins. Betsy Ross (Profiles in American History) (Profiles in American History). 2006.
  • Mader, Jan. Betsy Ross (First Biographies). 2007.
  • Mara, Wil. Betsy Ross (Rookie Biographies). 2006.

[edit] External links


Persondata
NAME Ross, Betsy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Griscom, Elizabeth
SHORT DESCRIPTION
DATE OF BIRTH January 1, 1752
PLACE OF BIRTH Philadelphia, Province of Pennsylvania
DATE OF DEATH January 30, 1836
PLACE OF DEATH Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States