Betsy Ross

Born Elizabeth Griscom to Quaker parents on January 1, 1752, Betsy Ross attended Friends Schools until becoming an apprentice upholsterer. Her marriage to John Ross, an Anglican, on November 4, 1773 caused her to be read out of Meeting. Ross was a member of the militia and died in January 1776, and they had no children. George Ross, John's uncle, was a member of the Continental Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and he suggested that Betsy sew the flag, which she did in late May or early June 1776. Betsy Ross married Joseph Ashburn, a sea captain, on June 15, 1777 in Old Swede's Church. Ashburn was captured by the British and imprisoned in Plymouth, England, where he died in prison on March 3, 1782. They had two daughters. On May 8, 1783, Betsy Ross married John Claypoole in Christ Church after he had been a fellow prisoner of Joseph Ashburn's. He and Betsy lived in this house until 1786, and they had five daughters. Claypoole died on August 3, 1817, and he is buried here with Betsy, who died in 1866.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania · United States