Image by Kerri Lee Alexander via Womenhistory.org
Hello again, people! It’s Erin again. Today we are going to interview a woman whose quiet resolve and steady hand made her quite the feisty female. Let’s give a warm welcome to Betsy Ross!
Hello, Erin.
So, Betsy, can you tell us about your childhood? How did you learn to sew?
I was born in 1752. My parents, Rebecca and Samuel Griscom, who were Quaker, had seventeen children. I was number eight. When I was young, I was apprenticed to William Webster, who was an upholsterer. He taught me how to sew mattresses, chair covers, and other such things.
You mentioned that your parents were Quaker. How did that influence your life?
My husband, John Ross, worked at Webster’s upholstery shop as well. We fell in love. However, neither of our parents blessed our marriage because John was not a Quaker, so we eloped. When we returned home, I had basically been excommunicated. This led to us attending John’s family’s church, Christ Church. This was where I met the future president, George Washington. John and I started our own upholstery shop, but when the revolution began, John joined the militia. He died not long after. *wipes away tear*
I’m sorry to hear that your husband was killed. However, you mentioned George Washington; what was so important about the fact that Washington went to the same church as you for a time?
Washington knew that I could sew. At this point, I had been making flags for some time, so I had experience. Washington approached me with a design of a flag he wanted to make, one that included thirteen six-point stars to represent the Thirteen Colonies. I then suggested five-point stars by demonstrating how I could cut a perfect five-point star with a snip of my scissors. Washington was impressed, so he commissioned me to sew the first official United States flag.
That’s amazing! How big was the flag?
It was ten feet by nine feet.
That’s pretty impressive!
It was. In fact, the Congress adopted it as the national flag on the first Flag Day, which was June 14, 1777.
That is truly awesome. Tell me, Betsy, what was your later life like?
Well, I married again to Joseph Ashburn in 1777, and we had two daughters together. We were quite happy together for five years until he was arrested in the West Indies for privateering then died in British prison. A year later, I married John Claypole, who I grew up with and happened to be imprisoned with Joseph, and we had five daughters together.
Tell me about your daughters. Did they also have your gift of sewing?
My oldest daughter, Zillah, died young. My youngest daughter, Harriet, also died young. However, Elizabeth, Clarissa Sidney, Rachel, and Jane loved sewing and helped me make garrison flags. My girls were very talented.
What is one piece of advice you would like to share?
I’m not certain if I can; at least I’ll gladly try. All should try to accomplish something even if they’re not sure that they can.
Thank you so much for your time, Betsy. I cannot believe that you eloped for love and talked George Washington into a different flag design! You certainly were a feisty female. Let’s give a hand for this feisty female! *cue applause*
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Bibliography
“A Brief Biography of Betsy Ross.” Ushistory.org, Independence Hall Association, https://www.ushistory.org/betsy/flaglife.html.
History.com Editors. “Betsy Ross - Flag, Biography & Children - History.” Betsy Ross, A & E Television Networks, 1 Dec. 2021, https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/betsy-ross.
Nalle, Julia, and Rob Nalle. “Chapter 22: The American Revolutionary War.” The Biblioplan Companion Year 3, vol. 2, Biblioplan, Palmyra, VA, 2014, pp. 548-549.
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