Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Betsy Ross

Betsy-ross

In reality, little is known about Betsy Ross (1752-1836). History reveals she probably did not make the first flag, but was one of many seamstresses working on the project. She had three husbands and three graves. First buried in a Quaker cemetery, her body was moved to a public cemetery in 1856. In 1976, moving her remains for burial at her home for the Bicentennial, workers found no bones and speculated which bones in the family plot were hers. Her "grave" is now at her home but it is uncertain if the remains are hers. What is certain is that stars on the original flag were to have six points, but Betsy Ross devised a way to make five-pointed stars with a single cut from fabric folded just right. Were it not for her, today's flags would have six-pointed stars. At the time she worked on the flag project, she was married to Brother John Claypoole and to the degree that myth matches reality, it may well be the first American flag was made in the home of a Freemason.

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