{"id":106164,"date":"2026-01-14T11:04:56","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T16:04:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/?p=106164"},"modified":"2026-01-14T11:04:56","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T16:04:56","slug":"new-years-day-birthday-celebration-betsy-ross-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/new-years-day-birthday-celebration-betsy-ross-part-2.html","title":{"rendered":"New Year\u2019s Day Birthday Celebration: Betsy Ross (part 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/em><\/strong> In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry writes more about an American heroine born on New Year\u2019s Day in 1752: Betsy Ross. Melissa is a genealogist who has a website, americana-archives.com<\/a>, and a Facebook group, New England Family Genealogy and History<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Today I continue with my story on Elizabeth (Griscom) (Ross) (Ashburn) Claypoole, or \u201cBesty Ross,\u201d a skilled and talented seamstress credited with sewing the first American flag, known as \u201cStars and Stripes.\u201d Betsy was born on New Year\u2019s Day, 1 January 1752, in Gloucester City, New Jersey.<\/p>\n

\"Illustration:
Illustration: an AI-generated image of Betsy Ross. Credit: Melissa Davenport Berry.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This year marks America\u2019s 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, aka America 250<\/a>, and Ross is a Revolutionary War figure to commemorate.<\/p>\n

To recap: Part One<\/a> covered the history of Ross in the romance department and her three marriages.<\/p>\n

Today, my topic is the numerous descendants of Ross who upheld the belief that their ancestor did create the first flag, even though historians have challenged this claim.<\/p>\n

\"Illustration:
Illustration: Betsy Ross flag. Credit: DevinCook; jacobolus; Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 1976 it was the 200th birthday of American independence and Quaker, author, and professor emeritus of Wilmington College T. Canby Jones (1921-2014), son of Thomas Elsa and Esther Alsop (Balderston) Jones and a great-great-great-great grandson of Betsy Ross, was featured in an article with the headlines: \u201cDid Betsy Ross Make First Stars and Bars? Descendant Contends She Did, Indeed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Cincinnati Post (Cincinnati, Ohio), 2 April 1976, page 16<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This article reports:<\/p>\n

Nearly 200 years have passed since Betsy Ross stitched the first Stars and Stripes in her tiny upholstery shop at 239 Arch Street, Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

The Quaker seamstress spent the next 50 years making flags after delivering that first flag to George Washington. Her family has spent the last 150 years trying to prove that Betsy Ross did, indeed, design and make the first flag.<\/p>\n

\u2026While school books and American folklore recognize Betsy Ross for the first flag, stubborn historians with a penchant for documented evidence are not convinced.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m willing to trust my family\u2019s tradition,\u201d Jones said. \u201cAffidavits made by my family and also by people who worked for Betsy Ross all support the claim that she made the first flag.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Although much debate centers around whether Ross really did make the flag, and there is no true documentation, Jones asserts that it is common sense that supports the family claims.<\/p>\n

The family tradition is that Betsy Ross stitched the famous flag at her upholstery shop located at 239 Arch Street<\/a> in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

\"Photos:
Photos: the Betsy Ross House. Credit: Visiting Museum.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

William Jackson Canby<\/a> (1825-1890), grandson of Betsy Ross, helped to procure affidavits from family and associates supporting the claim that she made the first flag, and presented his findings to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania on 14 March 1870.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:
Photo: William J. Canby. Credit: Canby Family Papers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Among the names Canby enlisted are Margaret \u201cMartha\u201d Boggs, Sophia B. Hildebrandt, Susan Satterthwaite Newport, Susanna McCord Turner, Margaret McCord Smith, and Rachel Ross (Claypoole) Fletcher, Betsy\u2019s daughter. Rachel was born on 1 February 1789 to Betsy and her third husband John Claypoole.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:
Photo: Margaret \u201cMartha\u201d Boggs, niece of Betsy Ross and her assistant in the upholstery and flag-making business. Credit: Canby Family Papers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Cincinnati Post<\/em> further reports:<\/p>\n

The Betsy Ross descendants base much of their claim on the affidavit made by Rachel Fletcher, given two years before her death. [Her affidavit<\/a> was given on 31 July 1871, based on what her mother had told her. Rachel married Capt. Edward Jones and 2nd John Fletcher. She died 2 June 1873.]<\/p>\n

\u201cWashington had often been in Betsy\u2019s house,\u201d Mrs. Fletcher said in the affidavit which appears in the book \u201cThe Evolution of the American Flag\u201d written by Jones\u2019 grandfather Lloyd Balderston, who continued the work of William Canby [and his brother George Canby, both born to Caleb Harland and Jane (Claypoole) Canby.]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Photo:
Photo: George Canby. Credit: Canby Family Papers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cShe (Betsy Ross) had embroidered ruffles for his (Washington\u2019s) shirt bosoms. It was partly owing to his friendship that she was asked to do the flag,\u201d Mrs. Fletcher said.<\/p>\n

Rachel Fletcher said she had heard her mother tell the story of the flag many times and about how she had to borrow a flag from a ship\u2019s mate that she knew so she could see how the flag was stitched.<\/p>\n

Betsy\u2019s completed flag was run up the mast of a ship owned by a member of the committee before it was sent to Congress, Jones said. The ship could have been owned by Robert Morris, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a very wealthy man.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I found another article, published in the Philadelphia Inquirer<\/em> in 1908, which features pictures of the descendants of Betsy Ross, including one of Rachel (indicated by red arrow).<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), 3 July 1908, page 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The article accompanying these illustrations and photos reports:<\/p>\n

An entry will be found in the Treasury records of the United States for May, 1777, as follows: \u201cTo pay Betsy Ross 14 pounds 12 shillings 2 pence for flags for the fleet in the Delaware River.\u201d This is incontrovertible documentary evidence that at this time, less than a year after the Declaration of Independence, Betsy Ross was the flag maker for the government.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

According to records, the above pay voucher was from the Board of War in the amount of \u00a314.12.2 for \u201cmaking ships colours\u201d (flags) for the Pennsylvania Navy.<\/p>\n

A noteworthy discovery has yielded historical evidence indicating that George Washington patronized Betsy Ross\u2019s upholstery business prior to the alleged commissioning of the flag.<\/p>\n

A handwritten ledger<\/a> found by researchers from Mount Vernon confirms that Washington hired Ross in 1774 to make bed curtains and other bed hangings. While in Philadelphia for the First Continental Congress in 1774, Washington gave John Ross five \u201chalf-Joes\u201d as a down payment for three sets of bed hangings for his Mount Vernon home. The full payment was recorded later that year.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:
Photo: display of the George Washington ledger for John and Betsy Ross\u2019s work making bedroom bedding and curtains for Mount Vernon. Credit: Visiting Museum.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Also check out this video: Recently Discovered Diary Gives Insight into Betsy Ross\u2019 Life<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The painting below is titled \u201cThe Birth of Our Nation\u2019s Flag\u201d by artist Charles H. Weisgerber, and depicts General George Washington; Colonel George Ross, signer of the Declaration of Independence for Pennsylvania Colony, the brother of Mary Ross, uncle of John Ross, and brother-in-law of Colonel Mark Bird; Robert Morris, signer of the Declaration of Independence for Pennsylvania Colony; and Betsy Ross.<\/p>\n

\"Illustration:
Illustration: \u201cThe Birth of Our Nation\u2019s Flag,\u201d by Charles H. Weisgerber. Credit: Linton & Bird Chronicles, Linton Research Fund.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Create a free account<\/a> at GenealogyBank for 7 days to start your journey and discover the stories your ancestors left behind.<\/p>\n

Note on the header image:<\/em><\/strong> \u201cThe Birth of Old Glory,\u201d by Edward Percy Moran, c.\u20091917. Credit: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry writes more about an American heroine born on New Year\u2019s Day in 1752: Betsy Ross.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":106038,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12557],"tags":[517,57929,59210],"class_list":["post-106164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-genealogy-stories","tag-american-revolution","tag-betsy-ross","tag-betsy-ross-flag"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/illustration-1231-2025-featured-graphic-old-glory.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106164"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106164\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106197,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106164\/revisions\/106197"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106038"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}