Encyclopedia, Difference between revisions of "Betsy Ross" - New World
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[[Image:RossBetsy.jpg|thumb|250px|Betsy Ross and two children presenting her sewn flag to George Washington and others]] | [[Image:RossBetsy.jpg|thumb|250px|Betsy Ross and two children presenting her sewn flag to George Washington and others]] | ||
| − | '''Betsy Ross''' ( | + | '''Betsy Ross''' (January 1, 1752 - January 30, 1836) was an American woman who is said to have sewn the first [[United States|American]] flag. Three members of a secret committee from the [[Continental Congress]] came to call upon her. Those representatives, [[George Washington]], Robert Morris, and George Ross, asked her to sew the first flag. This meeting occurred in her home some time late in May 1776. [[George Washington]] was then the head of the Continental Army. Robert Morris, an owner of vast amounts of land, was perhaps the wealthiest citizen in the Colonies. Colonel George Ross was a respected Philadelphian and also the uncle of her late husband, John Ross. |
==Early years== | ==Early years== | ||
| − | Born | + | Born Elizabeth ("Betsy") Griscom in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she was the eighth of 17 children of Samuel and Rebecca Griscom. Betsy's family were devout Quakers.. Her father was a master builder. Betsy attended Friends schools, where she learned reading, writing and sewing. Although Betsy is often referred to as a seamstress, she was actually a trained upholsterer. After completing her formal education at a school for Quaker children, Betsy went on to apprentice to John Webster, a talented and popular Philadelphia upholsterer. She spent several years under Webster, learning to make and repair curtains, bedcovers, tablecloths, rugs, umbrellas and Venetian blinds, as well as working on other projects that involved sewing. |
==First marriage== | ==First marriage== | ||
| − | While working as an apprentice upholsterer, she fell in love with another apprentice, John Ross, who was the son of a rector at | + | While she was working as an apprentice upholsterer, she fell in love with another apprentice, John Ross, who was the son of a rector at Christ Church Pennsylvania and was a member of the Episcopal clergy. As the Quakers disapproved strongly of interdenominational marriages, like her mother and father, the couple eloped in 1773 across the Delaware River to New Jersey, where they were married by William Franklin, [[Benjamin Franklin]]'s son. The couple were subsequently disowned by her Quaker meeting. |
| − | + | The young couple returned to Philadelphia and opened their own upholstery business in 1774. Competition was stiff and business slow. Betsy and John attended Christ Church and sat in a pew next to George Washington's family pew. Just a few years later, however, war broke out and John joined the militia. He was assigned to guard ammunition stores along the Delaware River. Unfortunately, the gunpowder he was guarding exploded and a badly wounded John eventually died on January 21, 1776. | |
| − | + | [[Image:US flag 13 stars – Betsy Ross.svg|left|thumb|The "Betsy Ross" flag, reputedly first sewn by Betsy Ross. Used as the official flag of the [[United States]] from June 14, 1777 - May 1, 1795]] | |
| − | [[Image:US flag 13 stars – Betsy Ross.svg|left|thumb|The "Betsy Ross" | ||
==Legend of sewing the first flag== | ==Legend of sewing the first flag== | ||
| − | + | In June 1776, she received the afore mentioned visit from [[George Washington]], George Ross and Robert Morris of the [[Continental Congress]]. She was acquainted with Washington through their mutual worship at Christ Church and George Ross was John's uncle. Although there is no record of any such committee, the three men supposedly announced they were a "Committee of Three" and showed her a suggested design that was drawn up by Washington in pencil. The design had six-pointed stars, and Betsy, the family story goes, suggested five-pointed stars instead because she could make a five-pointed star in one snip. The flag was sewn by Betsy in her parlor. The flag was flown when the [[Declaration of Independence]] was read aloud at Independence Hall on July 8, 1776. | |
| − | No contemporary record of this meeting was made. No "Betsy Ross flag" of thirteen stars in a circle exists from 1776. Historians have found at least 17 other flag makers in Philadelphia at the time. The Betsy Ross story is based solely on oral affidavits from her daughter and other relatives and made public in 1870 by her grandson, William J. Canby, in a paper read before the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. No primary sources of the time—letters, journals, diaries, newspaper articles, official records, or business records—have surfaced since 1870 confirming or disproving the story. The only further supporting documentation that Betsy Ross was involved in federal flag design is the | + | No contemporary record of this meeting was made. No "Betsy Ross flag" of thirteen stars in a circle exists from 1776. Historians have found at least 17 other flag makers in Philadelphia at the time. The Betsy Ross story is based solely on oral affidavits from her daughter and other relatives and made public in 1870 by her grandson, William J. Canby, in a paper read before the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. No primary sources of the time—letters, journals, diaries, newspaper articles, official records, or business records—have surfaced since 1870 confirming or disproving the story. The only further supporting documentation that Betsy Ross was involved in federal flag design is the Pennsylvania State Navy Board commissioning her for work in making "ships colors & c." in May 1777. |
| − | Some historians believe it was | + | Some historians believe it was Francis Hopkinson and not Betsy Ross who designed the official "first flag" of the United States 13 red and white stripes with 13 stars in a circle on a field of blue. Hopkinson was a member of the [[Continental Congress]], a heraldist, a designer of the Great Seal of the State of New Jersey, one of the designer of the Great Seal of tthe [[United States]], which contains a blue shield with 13 diagonal red and white stripes and 13 five-pointed stars and a signer of the [[United States Declaration of Independence]]. [http://www.usflag.org] |
==Subsequent career== | ==Subsequent career== | ||
Revision as of 21:58, 4 October 2006
Betsy Ross (January 1, 1752 - January 30, 1836) was an American woman who is said to have sewn the first American flag. Three members of a secret committee from the Continental Congress came to call upon her. Those representatives, George Washington, Robert Morris, and George Ross, asked her to sew the first flag. This meeting occurred in her home some time late in May 1776. George Washington was then the head of the Continental Army. Robert Morris, an owner of vast amounts of land, was perhaps the wealthiest citizen in the Colonies. Colonel George Ross was a respected Philadelphian and also the uncle of her late husband, John Ross.
Early years
Born Elizabeth ("Betsy") Griscom in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she was the eighth of 17 children of Samuel and Rebecca Griscom. Betsy's family were devout Quakers.. Her father was a master builder. Betsy attended Friends schools, where she learned reading, writing and sewing. Although Betsy is often referred to as a seamstress, she was actually a trained upholsterer. After completing her formal education at a school for Quaker children, Betsy went on to apprentice to John Webster, a talented and popular Philadelphia upholsterer. She spent several years under Webster, learning to make and repair curtains, bedcovers, tablecloths, rugs, umbrellas and Venetian blinds, as well as working on other projects that involved sewing.
First marriage
While she was working as an apprentice upholsterer, she fell in love with another apprentice, John Ross, who was the son of a rector at Christ Church Pennsylvania and was a member of the Episcopal clergy. As the Quakers disapproved strongly of interdenominational marriages, like her mother and father, the couple eloped in 1773 across the Delaware River to New Jersey, where they were married by William Franklin, Benjamin Franklin's son. The couple were subsequently disowned by her Quaker meeting.
The young couple returned to Philadelphia and opened their own upholstery business in 1774. Competition was stiff and business slow. Betsy and John attended Christ Church and sat in a pew next to George Washington's family pew. Just a few years later, however, war broke out and John joined the militia. He was assigned to guard ammunition stores along the Delaware River. Unfortunately, the gunpowder he was guarding exploded and a badly wounded John eventually died on January 21, 1776.
Legend of sewing the first flag
In June 1776, she received the afore mentioned visit from George Washington, George Ross and Robert Morris of the Continental Congress. She was acquainted with Washington through their mutual worship at Christ Church and George Ross was John's uncle. Although there is no record of any such committee, the three men supposedly announced they were a "Committee of Three" and showed her a suggested design that was drawn up by Washington in pencil. The design had six-pointed stars, and Betsy, the family story goes, suggested five-pointed stars instead because she could make a five-pointed star in one snip. The flag was sewn by Betsy in her parlor. The flag was flown when the Declaration of Independence was read aloud at Independence Hall on July 8, 1776.
No contemporary record of this meeting was made. No "Betsy Ross flag" of thirteen stars in a circle exists from 1776. Historians have found at least 17 other flag makers in Philadelphia at the time. The Betsy Ross story is based solely on oral affidavits from her daughter and other relatives and made public in 1870 by her grandson, William J. Canby, in a paper read before the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. No primary sources of the time—letters, journals, diaries, newspaper articles, official records, or business records—have surfaced since 1870 confirming or disproving the story. The only further supporting documentation that Betsy Ross was involved in federal flag design is the Pennsylvania State Navy Board commissioning her for work in making "ships colors & c." in May 1777.
Some historians believe it was Francis Hopkinson and not Betsy Ross who designed the official "first flag" of the United States 13 red and white stripes with 13 stars in a circle on a field of blue. Hopkinson was a member of the Continental Congress, a heraldist, a designer of the Great Seal of the State of New Jersey, one of the designer of the Great Seal of tthe United States, which contains a blue shield with 13 diagonal red and white stripes and 13 five-pointed stars and a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. [1]
Subsequent career
After John's death, Betsy 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.
Collateral evidence to the claim that Betsy indeed provided significant design input in the flag is provided by reference to Ashburn's family coat of arms. The Ashburn crest provides a stars and bars motif not unlike Old Glory itself.[2]
British soldiers forcibly occupied their house when they controlled the city in 1777.
The couple had two daughters together. Captain Ashburn was captured by the British on a trip to procure supplies and was sent to Old Mill Prison, where he died in March 1782, several months after the surrender of General Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown.
In May 1783, she 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 until 1827. After her retirement, she moved in with her married daughter, Susannah Satterthwaite, who continued to operate the business.
Betsy Ross died in Philadelphia at age 84 and was buried at the Free Quaker burial ground. Later, her remains were removed to Mt. Moriah Cemetery, and today her remains are located in the courtyard of the Betsy Ross House. Despite being one of the three most visited tourist sites in Philadelphia, the claim that Ross once lived at her current place of rest is a matter of dispute. [3]
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
Marc Leepson, Flag: An American Biography (Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press, 2005) [4]
- Karin A. Wulf. "Ross, Betsy"; http://www.anb.org/articles/01/01-00795.html; American National Biography Online Feb. 2000. Access Date: Thu May 12 2005 18:21:32
- See Evolution of the United States Flag for tracking the history of the Betsy Ross and Francis Hopkinson stories related to the creation of the first American flag.
External links
- USHistory.Org (Independence Hall Association) page on Betsy Ross with the highly detailed paper by William J. Canby, read before the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1870 on the origin of the flag, the origin of the Betsy Ross story.
- Critical analysis of the Betsy Ross story.
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