Visiting Betsy Ross’ House

Visiting Betsy Ross’ House was a field trip I missed out on when I was in grade school in Philadelphia. Touring it for the first time made our visit there that much more memorable!

When I was in first grade at Edmonds Elementary School in Philadelphia, my class went on a field trip to Betsy Ross’ house. Unfortunately for me I came down with the Chicken Pox and couldn’t go on that trip with my class.

You know how it goes, when you live in a city your whole life you don’t normally tour the landmarks that strangers to your city visit. And that’s how it was for me. When we moved to South Florida in 1982 we would go up to Philly to visit the family. On some of those visits we’d take our son Brian, who was a child at that time, to a few memorable tourist attractions. We went to Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell and the Mint. But we still had not gone to Betsy Ross’ House!

Finally, this year (2024) while touring downtown Philadelphia, I am happy to report I got to visit this historic attraction.

Betsy Ross was born in 1752 on a farm in New Jersey, and was the 8th of 17 children! Her father, who was a successful carpenter, moved his family to Philly when Betsey was three.

As a Quaker, Betsy attended a Quaker school and completed her formal education by the time she turned 14. Unlike most girls of her age and background, Betsy did not prepare for marriage by learning to manage a household from her mother. Instead she went on to be an apprentice to a talented and popular Philadelphia upholsterer. Which is how she honed her sewing skills.

Betsy was shunned by her Quaker community when she married a man of a different faith. Her life became filled with hardships. She was widowed 3 times, twice by the age of thirty. Faced with these hardships Betsy managed to prevail. She became a successful entrepreneur and ran her own business at a time when women were not given the same opportunities as men.

Betsy continued to experience hardships and tragedy. Two of her 7 daughters died as infants. Her mother, father and a sister died within a few days of each other during the Yellow Fever epidemic.

Her first husband John Ross, died while he was on active duty with the local militia. Then her second husband Joseph Ashburn, died in an English prison after his ship was captured by the British. Finally Betsy enjoyed a lengthy marriage to her third husband, John Claypoole. They had five daughters together and were married for 34 years before his death.

As in all families, stories are passed down from generation to generation. Betsy Ross’ family was no different. Her husband shared tales about fighting in the Revolution. And Betsy told her children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews about a visit from George Washington.

According to George Washington’s ledger book: John and Betsy Ross were on their way to becoming successful upholsterers when they set up their first up their first upholstery shop in 1774. Among their most prominent customers was George Washington. When Washington was in Philadelphia for the first Continental Congresss in the fall of 1774, he commissioned fashionable good for Mount Vernon, his Virginia estate, including beds made by the Rosses.”

“In his ledger book on September 30, 1774, Washington recorded: ‘Bed Furniture and Making L55.12.6’ Meaning, on September 23, 1774, George Washington advanced John Ross the upholder, another word for upholsterer, L15 to begin working on the project. On the 30th, he purchased fabric for the beds. On October 10, 1774, he paid the remainder of his debt to John Ross, L29.7.2.”

If you are wondering, L55.12.6 is 55 British Pounds, 12 shillings and 6 pence was a significant amount of money. On average at the time, a male laborer earned about L59/year and a female worker averaged L25 annually.

I imagine that George Washington was very pleased with the Rosses workmanship and that’s why he asked Betsy to create the first American flag!

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