In 2005, I toured the house on Arch Street.  The brick rowhouse, with alternate glazed bricks, is a two and a half story, eight-room rowhouse whose design was influenced by English Quakers.  It’s the kind of house that the middle class would have lived in and was originally built in 1740 with a later rear addition.  The rowhouse was restored in the 1930s to its 1773-1785 era.  Its facade was constructed using a Flemish bond pattern of bricks of black headers and red runners.  With memories of the devastating fire of London in 1661, the Quakers decreed all the houses built would be of brick, rather than wood.

It’s a small house.  My feet aren’t overly large, but the steps going up were about half the size of my foot, its narrow staircase leading to tiny rooms.  Its occupants must have been of small stature as the rooms aren’t very large, yet one of the residents’ daughters and her six children came to join the people who rented and lived in the house.  Standing in one particular room, I actually got “goose bumps”.  Because you see, it’s the Betsy Ross House - actually Elizabeth Griscom Ross Ashburn Claypoole’s house born January 1, 1752.

The house sits just a couple of blocks from the Delaware River wharfs, north of Independence Hall where our founding fathers signed our Declaration of Independence and our country was born.  Walking towards the house you pass the resting spot of the Liberty Bell and past the cemetery where Benjamin Franklin and many other notable citizens are buried.  In the opposite direction you have Elfreth’s Alley, our nation’s oldest residential street and site of historic row houses, only two blocks away.

"The Birth of Our Nation's Flag" by Charles H. Weisgerber

Although she may have been small in build, Betsy Ross was huge in historical significance.  Not only was she a single woman, a working class businesswoman who owned her own upholstery business and an entrepreneur in colonial America during the 18th century’s Revolutionary period, she was also the woman who was commissioned by George Washington to sew the first American flag.  At least so the story goes because there is no known historical document stating that as fact but was only a family story passed down through the generations.  The personal story of Betsy Ross actually was a sad one.  To read more about her life here’s a link to this remarkable woman.

This July 4th, while Americans recognize and celebrate collective achievements such as the writing of the Declaration of Independence or the victory in the Revolutionary War, it is individual accomplishments that are cherished the most.  Thomas Jefferson’s, George Washington’s and Betty Ross’ contributions defined the course and meaning of history.   When we view the flag, we think of liberty, freedom, pride and Betsy Ross.  The American flag flies on the moon, sits atop Mount Everest, and is hurtling out in space.  The flag is how America signs her name. It is no surprise that Betsy Ross became one of the most cherished figures of American history and I felt honored to have toured her home.

Facts About Our First Flag

What do the red, white, and blue of the flag represent? The Continental Congress left no record to show why it chose the colors. However, in 1782, the Congress of the Confederation chose these same colors for the Great Seal of the United States and listed their meaning as follows: white to mean purity and innocence, red for valor and hardiness, and blue for vigilance, perseverance, and justice. According to legend, George Washington interpreted the elements of the flag this way: the stars were taken from the sky, the red from the British colors, and the white stripes signified the secession from the home country. However, there is no official designation or meaning for the colors of the flag.

Why are the stars in a circle? The stars were in a circle so that no one colony would be viewed above another. It is reported that George Washington said, “Let the 13 stars in a circle stand as a new constellation in the heavens.”

If Betsy sewed the flag, who designed it? Betsy Ross’ daughter, Rachel Fletcher, testified in 1870, the following: “[The committee] showed her [Betsy Ross] a drawing roughly executed, of the flag as it was proposed to be made by the committee, and that she saw in it some defects in its proportions and the arrangement and shape of the stars. That she said it was square and a flag should be one third longer than its width, that the stars were scattered promiscuously over the field, and she said they should be either in lines or in some adopted form as a circle, or a star, and that the stars were six-pointed in the drawing, and she said they should be five pointed.”

Why would Betsy Ross be chosen to make the flag? It was usual in that day for upholsterers to be flag makers. As Betsy Ross prayed in the pew next to George Washington and had already sewn buttons for him, and she was a niece of George Ross, it is not exceptional that these members of the Flag Committee formed by the Continental Congress would call upon Betsy Ross to make the flag.

Where is the first flag? No one knows what happened to the first flag. Very few flags from that time have survived.

(All photos from the Betsy Ross House,  Elfreth’s Alley, Independence Hall and U.S. History websites.)

© Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung.  All Rights Reserved.  Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

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