For other people named Betsy Ross, see Betsy Ross (disambiguation) "Elizabeth Claypoole" redirects here. For the second daughter of Oliver Cromwell, see Elizabeth Claypole Painting depicting the story of Betsy Ross presenting the first American flag to General George Washington , by Edward Percy Moran Certificate of the American Flag House and Betsy Ross Memorial Association, issued 1912; at left and right vignettes of the Betsy Ross House and with the then current grave site of Betsy Ross. Elizabeth Griscom Ross (January 1, 1752 – January 30, 1836), née Griscom,[1] also known by her second and third married names, Ashburn and Claypoole,[1] is widely credited with making the first American flag. According to family tradition,[2][3] upon a visit from General George Washington, commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, in 1776, Ross convinced George Washington to change the shape of the stars he had sketched for the flag from six-pointed to five-pointed by demonstrating that it was easier and speedier to cut the latter.[4][5][6][7] However, there is no archival evidence or other recorded verbal tradition to substantiate this story of the first American flag, and it appears that the story first surfaced in the writings of her grandson in the 1870s (a century after the fact), with no mention or documentation in earlier decades.[8] Ross made flags for the Pennsylvania navy during the American Revolution.[9] The flags of the Pennsylvania navy were overseen by the Pennsylvania Navy Board. The board reported to the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly's Committee of Safety. In July 1775, the President of the Committee of Safety was Benjamin Franklin. Its members included George Ross and Robert Morris. At that time, the committee ordered the construction of gunboats that would eventually need flags as part of their equipment. As late as October 1776, Captain William Richards was still writing to the Committee or Council of Safety to request the design that he could use to order flags for their fleet.[10] Ross was one of those hired to make flags for the Pennsylvania fleet. An entry dated May 29, 1777, in the records of the Pennsylvania Navy Board includes an order to pay her for her work.[11] It is worded as follows: An order on William Webb to Elizabeth

Ross for fourteen pounds twelve shillings and two

pence for Making Ships Colours [etc.] put into William

Richards store……………………………………….£14.12.2[12] Pennsylvania Navy Ensign The Pennsylvania navy's ship colors included (1) an ensign; (2) a long, narrow pennant; and (3) a short, narrow pennant. The ensign was a blue flag with 13 stripes—seven red stripes and six white stripes in the flag's canton (upper-left-hand corner). It was flown from a pole at the rear of the ship. The long pennant had 13 vertical stripes near the mast; the rest was solid red. It flew from the top of the ship's mainmast, the center pole holding the sails. The short pennant was solid red, and flew from the top of the ship's mizzenmast—the pole holding the ship's sails nearest the stern (rear of the ship).[13] Contents

Early life and family

Revolutionary War

Post-war

The couple had additionally five daughters: Clarissa, Susanna, Jane, Rachel, and Harriet (who died in infancy). With the birth of their second daughter Susanna in 1786, they moved to a larger house on Philadelphia's Second Street, settling down to a peaceful post-war existence, as Philadelphia prospered as the temporary national capital (1790–1800) of the newly independent United States of America, with the first president, George Washington, his vice president, John Adams, and the convening members of the new federal government and the U.S. Congress. In 1793, her mother, father, and sister Deborah Griscom Bolton (1743–1793) all died in another severe yellow fever epidemic (a disease unknowingly caused by infected mosquitoes that in those times ranged farther north from the subtropical zones of the southern U.S.). After two decades of poor health, John Claypoole died in 1817. Ross continued the upholstery business for 10 more years.[17] Upon retirement, she moved in with her second Claypoole daughter, Susanna (1786–1875), in a section of Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.[23] Her eldest Claypoole daughter, Clarissa (1785–1864), had taken over Ross' business back in the city. Ross, by then completely blind, spent her last three years living with her middle Claypoole daughter, Jane (1792–1873), in rapidly growing and industrializing Philadelphia. On Saturday, January 30, 1836, 60 years after the Declaration of Independence, Betsy Ross died at the age of 84. She was survived by five daughters with John Claypoole: Eliza, Clarissa, Susanna, Jane, and Rachel, and one sister, Hannah Griscom Levering (1755–1836), who herself died about 11 months later.[24] Although it is one of the most visited tourist sites in the city of Philadelphia,[25] the claim that Ross once lived at the so-called "Betsy Ross House" is still a matter of historical academic dispute.[26]

Burials

Betsy Ross's body was first interred at the Free Quaker burial grounds on North Fifth Street in Philadelphia. Twenty years later, her remains were moved to the Mt. Moriah Cemetery in Philadelphia. In 1975, in preparation for the American Bicentennial, city leaders ordered the remains moved to the courtyard of the Betsy Ross House. However, cemetery workers found no remains beneath 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.

Betsy Ross postage stamp

[27] Betsy Ross 200th Anniversary commemorative stamp , issued in 1952 On January 1, 1952, the U.S. Post Office issued a commemorative postage stamp to honor the 200th anniversary of her birth. It shows her presenting the new 13-striped, 13-starred flag to George Washington, with Robert Morris, and George Ross present. The design was taken from a painting by Charles H. Weisberger, one of the founders and first custodian of the Memorial Association, who has cared for and operated the Ross House. This was issued when the Ross legend was still strong and accepted by many of the American public before additional historical and academic scrutiny had been enacted.[27]

Memory and legend

Ancestry

Ancestors of Betsy Ross 8. Andrew Griscom 2. Samuel Griscom 1. Elizabeth Griscom 3. Rebecca James

References

Bibliography

"Betsy Ross Issue". Smithsonian National Postal Museum .

Further reading