Elizabeth Griscom, a daughter of Samuel and Rebecka (James) Griscom of
Philadelphia, was born January 1, 1752. They were “Friends” and the
young Elizabeth grew into a most charming, bright and beautiful girl of
prepossessing manners and plain and quiet tastes.
Her father was a noted builder and assisted in the erection of the
state house, now Independence Hall. His house, shop and a very large
garden were on Arch street, between 3d and 4th streets.
Elizabeth, or Betsy, as she was fondly called, was the seventh
daughter. Her birthday was the first day under the new Gregorian
calendar.
It was frequently said by the family that “she was born the first day
of the month, the first day of the year, the first day of the new
style.” She was well trained by her mother, became very expert with her
needle and was very fond of embroidery.
Among her many admirers was John Ross, son of Æneas Ross, assistant
rector of Christ Episcopal Church. The young man was a nephew of the
Hon. George Ross, delegate to Congress, one of the signers of the
Declaration of Independence.
In December, 1773, at the age of twenty-one years, Elizabeth married
John Ross, an estimable young man. He was an Episcopalian, and in
consequence of her marrying out of meeting, she was disowned by the
Friends.
The first husband of Betsy Ross was of distinguished ancestry. The Hon.
George Ross, of New Castle, Delaware, had by his first wife, two sons:
John, who died May 5th, 1776; and Rev. Æneas, born Sept. 9th. 1716, who
was father of John Ross (husband of Betsy Ross).
By his second wife he had Hon. George Ross, signer of Declaration of
Independence, born 1730, died 1780; also one daughter, Gertrude, who
married George Read, also a signer of the Declaration of Independence;
also a son, Jacob, a physician.
The Hon. George Ross was a noted lawyer, and a resident of Lancaster.
He was a brave soldier and a man of ability.
John Ross was an apprentice with a man named Webster, an upholsterer
on Chestnut street. It was with him that John and afterwards Betsy,
learned the trade before they “ran off” to be married.
They then set up business for themselves, first on Chestnut street and
afterwards moved to the little house on Arch street, which was a simple
building when first occupied by them. It was built some time after
1752, notwithstanding romantic stories to the contrary. The first room
was utilized as a shop; the store front not having been added until
about 1858.
It was in this house that the flag was made later on.
In 1775 John Ross was injured while guarding military stores on the
wharf, from the effects of which he died at this house in January,
1776. He was buried in Christ Churchyard, 5th and Arch streets. He left
no children.
Mrs. Ross continued the upholstery business and the manufacture of
flags.
Betsy Ross married for her second husband, at Old Swedes Church,
Philadelphia, Captain Joseph Ashburn, June 15, 1777, and to them were
born two daughters:
Jillah, born September 15th, 1779. Died young.
Eliza, born February 25th, 1781. Who married Capt. Isaack Silliman, May
29th, 1799. After Capt. Silliman’s death in the army, his wife Eliza
lived with her mother, Betsy Ross, until her death in 1836.
To them were born four children:
Joseph Ashburn; Emilia; Jane; Willys.
Emilia left one daughter, Mrs. Mary Sidney Garrett, a widow and
childless. She is the only living descendant of the second marriage.
Joseph Ashburn was taken prisoner by the British on the sea, and with
the other soldiers was taken to England where he died in Mill Prison,
March 3d, 1782. The prisoners were all given an opportunity to enter
the British service, and on their refusal were thrown into prison. John
Claypoole, a comrade, and also a prisoner of war, nursed and cared for
Ashburn until he died. He brought home to his widow, on his release,
the diary of Ashburn, together with messages to his wife, with whom he
fell in love and afterward married.
John Claypoole, son of William and Elizabeth Claypoole, of
Philadelphia, was married to Elizabeth Ashburn (Betsy Ross) the 8th
of May, 1783, at Christ Church. His ancestor was James Claypoole,
who came to America as the friend of William Penn; and from whom all
the Claypooles mentioned are descended. He was a brother of Sir John
Claypoole, who married Elizabeth, daughter of Oliver Cromwell.
The children of John and Elizabeth Claypoole were: Clarissa Sidney,
born April 3, 1785, 9 a. m.; Susanna, born November 15, 1786, 4 p. m.;
Rachel, born February 1, 1789, 7 p. m.; Jane, born November 13, 1793, 7
p. m.; Harriet, born December 20, 1795, 5 a. m., died October 8, 1796.
There is an old Bible over a hundred years old, which has a record of
all these births and those of the Ashburn daughters; and of the deaths
in the handwriting of John Claypoole. It was “The legacy of Sarah
Hallowell to her niece, Elizabeth Claypoole,” that is, Betsy Ross.
John Claypoole was wounded in the battle of Germantown which, with
imprisonment and the hardships of war, so impaired his health that he
never regained it. So it may be truthfully said that the lives of her
three husbands were sacrificed to their country, and her experience
in these very important events in her life is certainly heroic. John
Claypoole died August 3, 1817.
Betsy Ross attended Christ Church, Philadelphia, with her first husband
and after his death continued in attendance until the Free Quaker
Society was organized in 1793. The pew in which she sat was quite near
one occupied by Gen. Washington, and is marked by a brass plate bearing
these words:
“In this pew worshipped Betsey Ross, who made the first flag.”
All Friends who took part in the Revolution were disowned by “The
Society of Friends.” After the war, they organized a society of “Free
Quakers” often called “Fighting Quakers.”
As the time went by, nearly all were taken back into the original
“Society of Friends,” but Clarissa Wilson and John Price Wetherell, of
Philadelphia, were the last of the Free Quakers. They used to attend
the little meeting house at 5th and Arch streets until there were just
the two of them. In the fall of 1830 they decided it was unwise to have
the little meeting house heated for them, so after that Clarissa Wilson
attended the Orange street meeting house, but was never again received
into the original society. She did not wish to be. She died a Free
Quaker. Betsy Ross, her mother, lived to be 84 years old and died in
1836. The following are from the original autographs of Betsy Ross and
her husband:
[Illustration: Elizabeth Claypoole