Betsy Ross
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- Pentru articolul referitor la vice-guvernatorul statului New York, vedeţi articolul Betsy McCaughey Ross.
Betsy Ross (n. 1 ianuarie 1752 - d. 30 ianuarie 1836) a fost o femeie americană, despre care se spune că ar fi cusut primul steag american.
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[modifică] Anii timpurii
Betsy Ross s-a născut Elizabeth ("Betsy") Griscom în Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (după alte surse s-ar fi născut în Collingswood, New Jersey) fiind al optulea copil din cei 17 ai lui Samuel şi Rebecca Griscom, care erau ambii membrii ai grupării religioase a Quaker-ilor. Tatăl său a fost un maistor constructor. Betsy a urmat Friends School, numele şcolii pentru copii quaker-ilor, unde a învăţat să scrie şi să citească şi o meserie (probabil cele de cusătoreasă şi de tapiţer). De aici a rezultat şi ucenicia sa ulterioară într-o mică firmă de tapiţerie.
[modifică] Prima căsătorie
Pe când lucra în primul său serviciu, Betsy s-a îndrăgostit de un alt ucenic, John Ross, care era fiul unui demnitar din biserica numită Christ Church din Pennsylvania, fiind el însuşi un membru al clerului episcopal. Dar cum quakerii dezaprobau total căsătorii între diferite comunităţi religioase, aidoma mamei şi tatălui său, cuplul a părăsit Pennsylvania, trecând în 1773 "clandestin" Delaware River în New Jersey, unde au fost căsătoriţi de William Franklin, fiul lui Benjamin Franklin. Ca urmare, ambii tineri au fost dezmoşteniţi de comunitatea quaker-ilor.
În mai puţin de doi ani, cei doi au pornit o afacere în domeniul pentru care se pregătiseră, tapiţerie. Oricum, deşi o porniseră bine, afacerea lor a fost puternic afectată de Revoluţia americană, datorită restricţiilor comerciale care afectau puternic obţinerea materiilor prime şi a reducerii semnificative a cererii. John s-a alăturat miliţiei din Pennsylvania, fiind rănit mortal de o explozie în 1776. După decesul soţului său, Betsy a preluat total afecerea pe care cei doi o porniseră ca parteneri.
[modifică] Legenda realizării primului steag cusut al Statelor Unite
Conform legendei create în jurul primul steag american, în iunie 1776, Betsy ar fi fost vizitată de George Washington, George Ross and Robert Morris, la vremea respectivă toţi fiind trei membri ai Congresului Continental. Betsy se întâlnise anterior cu Washington, datorită afiliaţiei lor cu biserica Christ Church (în plus ea cususe nasturi şi butoniere pentru jachetele acestuia), iar George Ross era unchiul lui John. They announced they were a "Committee of Three" (perhaps self-appointed, under the circumstances) and showed her a suggested design that was drawn up by Washington in pencil. The design had six-pointed stars, and Betsy suggested five-pointed stars instead because she could make a five-pointed star in one snip. The flag was sewn by Betsy in her parlor. It was this flag that flew when the Declaration of Independence was read aloud at Independence Hall on July 8, 1776.
No contemporary record of this meeting was made; the information is based solely on oral affidavits from her daughter and other relatives, and made public in 1870 by her grandson William J. Canby in a paper read before the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. There is no further supporting documentation that Betsy Ross was otherwise involved in federal flag design although the Pennsylvania State Navy Board did commission her for work in making "ships colors & c."
Some historians believe it was Francis Hopkinson and not Betsy Ross who designed the official "first flag" of the United States (13 red and white stripes with 13 stars in a circle on a field of blue). Hopkinson was a member of the Continental Congress and a signer of the Declaration. [1]
[modifică] Carieră
After John's death, Betsy joined the "Fighting Quakers" which, unlike traditional Quakers, supported the war effort. In June 1777, she married sea captain Joseph Ashburn at Old Swedes Church in Philadelphia. British soldiers forcibly occupied their house when they controlled the city in 1777.
The couple had two daughters together. Capt. Ashburn was captured by the British on a trip to procure supplies and was sent to Old Mill Prison, where he died in March 1782, several months after the surrender of Gen. Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown.
In May 1783 she married John Claypoole, an old friend who had told her of Capt. Ashburn's death. The couple had five daughters together. He died in 1817 after 20 years of ill health. She continued working in her upholstery business until 1827. After her retirement, she moved in with her married daughter, Susannah Satterthwaite, who continued to operate the business.
Betsy Ross died in Philadelphia at the age of 84 and was buried at the Free Quaker burial ground. Later her remains were removed to Mt. Moriah Cemetery, and today her remains are located in the courtyard of the Betsy Ross House. Despite being one of the three most visited tourist sites in Philadelphia, the claim that Ross once lived at her current place of rest is a matter of dispute [2].
[modifică] Legături externe
- USHistory.Org (Independence Hall Association) page on Betsy Ross with the highly detailed paper by William J. Canby, read before the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1870 on the origin of the flag, the origin of the Betsy Ross story.
- Critical analysis of the Betsy Ross story.
[modifică] Referinţe
- Karin A. Wulf. "Ross, Betsy"; http://www.anb.org/articles/01/01-00795.html; American National Biography Online Feb. 2000. Access Date: Thu May 12 2005 18:21:32
- Vedeţi şi Evolution of the United States Flag for tracking the history of the Betsy Ross and Francis Hopkinson stories related to the creation of the first American flag.
