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Elizabeth "Betsy" Griscom was born on January 1, 1752, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was the eighth out of seventeen children born to Samuel and Rebecca Griscom, who were both members of the Religious Society of Friends, also known as Quakers). Her father was a master builder, and Betsy attended Friends schools where she learned reading writing and a trade (sewing). She soon became an apprentice to an upholsterer and while working at this job, Betsy met and fell in love with another apprentice whose name was John Ross.

Betsy's parents disapproved of her new beau because not only wasn't he a Quaker, but he also was a member of the Episcopal clergy. She and John Ross eloped in 1773 across the Delaware River into New Jersey where William Franklin, Benjamin Franklin's son, married them. Her parents subsequently disowned her, and the couple faced much hardship during the American Revolution when the upholstery business they started became difficult to maintain.

John Ross joined the Pennsylvania militia and in 1776, was mortally wounded in an explosion at a munitions depot. Betsy took full charge of the family business and made flags for the state of Pennsylvania as well. In 1777, Betsy married sailor, John Ashburn with whom she had two daughters. He died in a British prison in 1782 and she later married one of his prison mates, John Claypoole in 1783. He died in 1817.

Betsy Ross and George Washington both worshipped at Trinity Church. In June of 1776, Betsy received a visit from Washington and two other members of the Continental Congress in which Washington showed her a suggested design for a flag with six pointed stars. Betsy suggested a five-pointed star and she sewed the flag for the new republic in her own parlor. It flew proudly over Independence Hall when the Declaration of Independence was read aloud on July 8, 1776. There is no contemporary record of this meeting, and some historians claim that it was Francis Hopkinson and not Betsy Ross who designed the first official flag of the United States.

Betsy Ross died on January 30, 1836 at the age of 84 and today her remains are located in the courtyard of the Betsy Ross House. Her name will forever be associated with America's most cherished and enduring symbol of freedom.

Learn more about this author, M Dee Dubroff.
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