17 Facts About Betsy Ross

Mrs Betsy Ross convinced George Washington to change the shape of the stars in a sketch of a flag he showed her from six-pointed to five-pointed by demonstrating that it was easier and speedier to cut the latter.

Betsy Ross made flags for the Pennsylvanian navy during the American Revolution.

Betsy Ross was one of those hired to make flags for the Pennsylvanian fleet.

Betsy Ross was the eighth of seventeen children, of whom only nine survived childhood.

Betsy Ross was just five years old when her sister Martha died, and another sister, Ann, only lived to the age of two.

Betsy Ross grew up in a household where the plain dress and strict discipline of the Quakers dominated.

Betsy Ross learned to sew from a great aunt, Sarah Elizabeth Ann Griscom.

Research conducted by the National Museum of American History of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, notes that the story of Betsy Ross making the first US flag for General George Washington entered into the US consciousness about the time of the 1876 centennial celebrations, with the Centennial Exposition then scheduled to be held in Philadelphia.

Betsy Ross was promoted as a patriotic role model for young girls and a symbol of women's contributions to American history.

American historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich further explored this line of enquiry in a 2007 article, "How Betsy Ross Became Famous: Oral Tradition, Nationalism, and the Invention of History".

Betsy Ross was merely one of several flag makers in Philadelphia for the Continental Army, along with many other ships' colors, banners, and flags which were advertised in local newspapers.

Griscom met John Betsy Ross, who was the son of the Rev Aeneas Betsy Ross, a Church of England priest and assistant rector at the historic city parish of Christ Church while being apprenticed to upholsterer William Webster.

On Saturday, January 30,1836,60 years after the Declaration of Independence, Betsy Ross died at the age of 84.

Betsy Ross was survived by one daughter with John Ashburn, Eliza, and four daughters with John Claypoole: Clarissa, Susanna, Jane, and Rachel, and one sister, Hannah Griscom Levering, who herself died about 11 months later.

The so-called Betsy Ross House is a popular tourist site in Philadelphia, but it is still a matter of historical academic dispute whether she actually lived there, as evidence indicates she actually lived from 1776 to 1779 in a house next door that was torn down after the remaining house was designated.

Betsy Ross's body was first interred at the Free Quaker burial grounds on North Fifth Street in Philadelphia.

The Betsy Ross Bridge, connecting Philadelphia with Pennsauken Township, New Jersey, across the Delaware River is named in her honor.