Who is Betsy Ross?
Betsy Ross was the woman best known in American history as having sewn the first American flag. The red, white, and blue emblem of freedom is still her living legacy, and attests to her triumphant place in history. She lived a life challenged by adversity, having been disowned by her religious organization and surviving three husbands. However, she also bore seven daughters and maintained a family business until shortly before her death at eighty-four years old. Betsy Ross, whose birth name was Elizabeth Griscom, was called Betsy for short. She was the youngest of seventeen children to parents who were members of the Religious Society of Friends. Its members at that time were also known as the Quakers. Betsy Ross was educated at Quaker schools, where the curriculum for young ladies at the time consisted largely of writing, homemaking, and sewing. In 1773, Betsy met John Ross, and the two eventually eloped. John Ross was a fellow apprentice and a clergyman of the Episcopal church. Willi
