After completing her formal education at a school for Quaker children, Betsy went on to apprentice to John Webster, a talented and popular Philadelphia upholsterer.
She spent several years under Webster, learning to make and repair curtains, bedcovers, tablecloths, rugs, umbrellas and Venetian blinds. While apprenticing to Webster, Betsy met and fell in love with a fellow apprentice named John Ross, an Anglican and son of the former Assistant Rector of Christ Church. Marrying outside of the faith meant Betsy could no longer worship in the Quaker community. Despite that, the newlyweds prospered.
They were married for just over two years when their union was tragically cut short. John Ross, believed to be a member of the local militia, passed away, leaving Betsy a childless widow at the age of Betsy continued to run her upholstery business, making extra income by making cartridges and, of course, flags for the Continental Army. On June 15, , Betsy married her second husband, Joseph Ashburn. Together they had 2 daughters, the first of whom passed away just shy of her first birthday.
Joseph was a mariner and was often at sea, leaving Betsy, a new mother, alone in Philadelphia. After the war, Ross resumed her upholstery and seamstress shop that was later passed down to her children upon her death in The mythical status of Betsy Ross in designing the first flag remains unclear.
Many oral histories and stories were passed down from the Ross family and lack additional pieces of evidence. For instance, Ross attended the same church as George Washington in Philadelphia, which was the capital of the United States during, and shortly after the Revolutionary War. Some even contend that Ross personally revealed the comparisons of construction in the differing designs.
Although, many conclude that Ross at least sewed a flag, if not of her own design, for the United States. While Ross contributed immensely to the American success in the Revolutionary War, we may never truly know just how much she contributed to the founding of the United States.
Ross, however, waged her own war against the British, sacrificing two husbands and countless hours using her talent for war materials. Nevertheless, Ross is rightfully hailed as a heroine for her wartime contributions and the possible creation of the first flag of the United States of America. Rev War Biography. Betsy Ross.
Title Upholster and Seamstress. Date of Birth - Death January 1, - January 30, Centennial approached, enthusiasm for the flag increased. At the time several claims on the first flag were surfacing, ranging from other Philadelphia seamstresses to a New Hampshire quilting bee said to have fashioned the banner out of cut-up gowns. Most such stories, however wishfully sourced, expressed a national desire for symbols of female Revolutionary patriotism, of women materially supporting their fighting men and just perhaps showing George Washington a better way to make a star.
But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. But is the account of her contribution to the American Revolution simply a legend? In fact, her One of the leading figures of early American history, Benjamin Franklin was a statesman, author, publisher, scientist, inventor and diplomat. Born into a Boston family of modest means, Franklin had little formal education.
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