Betsy Ross, Fabric of America: Quartz Character

The real history

Betsy Ross was born Elizabeth Griscom on January 1, 1752, into a large Quaker family that moved to Philadelphia when she was about three. After school she was apprenticed to an upholsterer, John Webster, and learned to make and repair curtains, bedcovers, tablecloths and rugs.

In the shop she met another apprentice, John Ross, who was not a Quaker. Quakers frowned on marrying outside the faith, so on November 4, 1773, the couple eloped to New Jersey, and the marriage cut her off from her family's religion. Together they opened their own upholstery business in Philadelphia, and it is reported that they made bed hangings for George Washington in 1774. John Ross, who also served in the militia, died after about three years of marriage, leaving Betsy a widow at 24.

She kept the business running and took on work for the army, including uniforms, tents and flags. On May 29, 1777, the Pennsylvania State Navy Board paid her a large sum for making ships' colors, the flags flown by ships.

Her life kept bringing loss. In June 1777 she married Joseph Ashburn, a merchant sailor. The British captured his ship in 1781, and he died in prison in 1782. A fellow prisoner, John Claypoole, brought her the news, and they married the following year. They had five children and stayed married until Claypoole's death in 1817.

Betsy Ross worked as a seamstress and upholsterer until she retired at 76. She died on January 30, 1836, just after turning 84. She certainly made flags, but no record proves she designed or sewed the first Stars and Stripes.

Sources

1. Betsy Ross, National Women's History Museum
2. Did She or Didn't She?, Historic Philadelphia, Inc. (Betsy Ross House)
3. The American Flag, National Archives, Pieces of History

Checked against these sources on October 2, 2026. Spot a mistake? Report an error. How we check facts.