Her decision to marry John Ross caused her to split from her family and the Quaker religion when she was only 21-years-old. On November 4, 1773, Betsy and John ran to Hugg’s Tavern in Gloucester, New Jersey and eloped. The Quakers did not approve of their members marrying people outside of their faith, so Betsy’s family did not approve of her relationship with John Ross. John Ross was the son of the former Assistant Rector of Christ Church. While working for Webster, she fell in love with another apprentice named John Ross. She became a very skilled seamstress and upholsterer. Ross learned how to make and repair many items, including curtains, tablecloths, bedcovers, and rugs. Upon finishing her schooling, Ross became an apprentice for the popular upholsterer, John Webster. Ross and her family were members of the Quaker religion and she attended a traditional Quaker school in Pennsylvania. When Ross was only three years old, her parents Samuel and Rebecca Griscom moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her father Samuel Griscom owned an old farmhouse and was a successful carpenter in New Jersey. She was the eighth of seventeen children, but only about nine survived childhood. Although there is no historical evidence that she created this flag, her story has made her a national icon.īetsy Ross was born as Elizabeth Griscom on January 1, 1752.

A symbol of patriotism, Ross is often celebrated as the woman who helped George Washington finish the design.

Considered essential to the American Revolution, Betsy Ross is credited with sewing the first United States flag.

Betsy Ross by Ann Weil