Elizabeth Griscom was born Jan.
1, 1752 in Philadelphia. She was one of 17 children of a Quaker
family. She was educated at a Friends (Quaker) public school,
then apprenticed to a local upholsterer. There she met another
apprentice, John Ross, son of an Episcopal assistant rector at
Christ Church. In Nov. 1773 they eloped, and as a consequence
she was "read out" of the Quaker community.
By 1775 they had started their own upholstery business, which in those days included all kinds of sewing. They attended Christ Church near-by. George Washington had an adjacent pew, and Col. George Ross, John's uncle, also worshipped there. John Ross joined a Pennsylvania militia unit. He died from an ammunition explosion, January 1776. They had no children.
Betsy Ross and the flag
Betsy Ross later often told her children, grandchildren, friends and relatives of when George Washington, Robert Morris, and George Ross from the Continental Congress came to talk to her about making a new flag, about late May (she did not keep a diary), 1776. A new and distinctive flag was needed, as the "Grand Union Flag" flown January in Boston had been misinterpreted by the British. She suggested some changes from the rough sketch they presented, including a 5-pointed star - called a molet - that she could easily make - rather than the more common heraldic 6-pointed one. It may have been that others sewed other flag patterns, but hers was chosen June 14, 1777 by the Continental Congress (which was known for not being speedy), though her flag seemed to have been used before then.
A grandson, William Canby, presented a paper evidently called "The First American Flag and Who Made It" to the Pennsylvania Historical Society March 1870. Affidavits by a daughter of Betsy Ross, a granddaughter, and a niece, dated May 1870 - July 1871 are on record.
Two sidelights: Samuel Wetherill was on the war committee, a Free Quaker and a friend of Betsy Ross. The Wetherill family tradition is that he visited her not long after the Washington-Morris-Ross visit and asked her for the star she had cut. In 1925 a 5-pointed star was found in the old Wetherill family safe which reportedly had not been opened for 100 years. Philip Schuyler was Commander of the Northern Department of the Continental Army. During his stay in Philadelphia, about May 1777, he had a Betsy Ross flag made. This flag was handed down to his daughter and is now in the Fort Ticonderoga Museum and is claimed to be the oldest known American flag in existence.
As a widow she had returned to the Quaker fold but there was a schism, and she joined the Free (Fighting) Quakers who supported the war effort. In June 1777 she married Joseph Ashburn, a sea captain. That winter, the British occupied Philadelphia and soldiers were forcefully stationed in their home. After the birth of their second daughter, the family moved to bigger quarters on Second Street in Philadelphia's Mercantile District. It should be noted that her business was always in her home. Captain Ashburn was captured by the British and died in a British prison March 1782.
Betsy was married for the third time, May 1783 in Christ Church, to John Claypoole, an old friend. She persuaded him to leave the sea. He first worked in her upholstery business, then at the U.S. Customs House in Philadelphia. He died in 1817 after a lengthy illness. They had five daughters.
Betsy continued working until 1827. Through the years, many of her immediate family had worked with her. Of her 7 daughters, 5 lived to maturity. After retiring, she lived with one of her married daughters. Elizabeth "Betsy" Griscom Ross Ashburn Claypoole died Jan. 30, 1836 at age 84.
Taken from the following references:
