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Betsy Ross
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Betsy Ross Betsy Ross and the U.S. flag U.S. flag commonly attributed to Betsy Ross
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Betsy Ross
Betsy Ross American seamstress Betsy Ross, frontispiece illustration from The History of the First United States Flag, and the Patriotism of Betsy Ross, the Immortal Heroine That Originated the First Flag of the Union, 1878.

Betsy Ross

American seamstress
Also known as: Elizabeth Griscom
Written by
Marc Leepson
Historian and journalist Marc Leepson is the author of nine books, including What So Proudly We Hailed: Francis Scott Key, A Life; Saving Monticello; and Ballad of the Green Beret: The Life and...
Marc Leepson
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

Betsy Ross (born January 1, 1752, Gloucester City, New Jersey [U.S.]—died January 30, 1836, Philadelphia) was an American seamstress who, according to family stories, fashioned and helped design the first flag of the United States. Elizabeth Griscom, the eighth of 17 children, was brought up as a member of the Society of Friends, educated in Quaker schools, and became an apprentice to a Philadelphia upholsterer. She married another upholsterer’s apprentice, John Ross, in 1773 and...

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