Betsy Ross
Born January 1, 1752
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died January 30, 1836
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Shop manager, upholsterer, seamstress
Betsy Ross is widely believed to have made the first American flag. Widowed three times, she had seven daughters, lived through the American Revolution, and for sixty-two years ran her own small business. This spirited, independent woman lived a remarkable life that was very much tied up with the events of the Revolution.
Elizabeth "Betsy" Griscom Ross Ashburn Claypoole, who will be called here by her more popular name, Betsy Ross, was born on January 1, 1752, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Ross was the eighth of seventeen children born to Rebecca and Samuel Griscom, who ran a construction business. Young Ross was an attractive girl with thick brown hair and blue eyes who showed strong skills with a needle and thread. Until age twelve she attended a school run by the Religious Society of Friends, whose members were called Quakers.
Learns Upholstery Trade, Marries, Is Widowed
In 1764 Ross began working for John Webster to learn the trade of upholstering, which in colonial times involved more than covering furniture: Upholsterers also hung wallpaper and made carpets, umbrellas, mattresses, draperies, tablecloths, blankets, flags, tents, furniture for ships, and other items.
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