Directions:  Fill in each blank with the word that best
completes the reading comprehension.

     Who is Elizabeth Griscom? People do not know her by
that name. She is better known as Betsy Ross. Betsy
Ross was born on January 1, 1752. She was from a
family of 17 children. Betsy was born
(1)  _______________________ in her family. Betsy's
father was a carpenter. He is best known for building the
bell tower at the Pennsylvania State House. It is also called Independence Hall.
     When Betsy Ross went to (2)  _______________________  , she learned to read and write and a trade, sewing. After completing her schooling, her father got her a sewing job at an upholstery shop as an apprentice. Today we think of upholsterers primarily as sofa-makers and such, but in colonial times they performed all manner of sewing jobs, including flag-making. She sewed many things, including (4)  _______________________  . Betsy fell in love with another apprentice that worked with her. His name was John Ross. They were later married. She had to leave her town to get married. It was against the beliefs of her church for her to marry John. Betsy was a Quaker and John who was the son of an Episcopal assistant rector at Christ Church. He did not belong to the same religion. Quakers forbid inter-denominational marriages. The penalty for such unions was severe — the guilty party being "read out" of the Quaker meeting house. Getting "read out" meant being cut off emotionally and economically from both family and meeting house. One's entire history and community would be instantly dissolved. On a November night in 1773, 21-year-old Betsy eloped with John Ross. They ferried across the Delaware River to Hugg's Tavern and were married in New Jersey. Her wedding caused a split from her family that was never mended. On their wedding certificate is the name of New Jersey's Governor, William Franklin, Benjamin Franklin's son. Betsy's family stopped talking to her when they found out she married John.
     John and Betsy soon opened up an upholstery shop of their own. They joined (5)  _______________________   church. George Washington was a (6)  _______________________   of Christ Church. Their pews were across from each others at Christ Church. He had just become president. He decided that our (7)  _______________________   needed a flag. Washington wrote of the need for new flags and how flags boosted morale. Flags were importance for identification of troops and ships. They were not yet the symbols of American unity and identity they would later become. George Washington may have met with Betsy to ask her to make the first American flag. Some people are not (8)  _______________________   if Betsy was the first flag maker for there is no evidence, only that Washington and Ross went to the same church. Washington wanted a flag for the new country. Betsy Ross was a flag maker.

     Betsy would often tell her children, grandchildren, relatives, and friends of the fateful day when three members of a secret committee from the Continental Congress came to call upon her. Those representatives, George Washington, Robert Morris, and George Ross, asked her to sew the first flag. This meeting occurred in her home some time late in May 1776.

     On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress, seeking to promote national pride and unity, adopted the national flag. "Resolved: that the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation." Washington wanted the stars on the flag to look like a constellation in the sky. The colors were chosen for the new flag. White was for purity. Red was for the bravery. Blue was stood for justice. They are the same colors that are in the seal of our country.
     The Revolutionary War had started. Fabric became hard to find. Betsy and John's business was (9)  _______________________  . John went to war and was wounded in an explosion at a munitions depot that he was guarding. Betsy tried to nurse him back to health to no avail. He died six days later.
     After becoming widowed, Betsy returned to the Quaker religion, in a way. Quakers are pacifists (against fighting) and forbidden from bearing arms. This led to a split in the Quaker religion. When Free, or Fighting Quakers — who supported the war effort — banded together, Betsy joined them.

     A year later, Betsy got married again. She married Joseph Ashburn. He was a sea (10)  _______________________ . They had two daughters, who died in infancy. The war was still going on when (11)  _______________________   soldiers forced their way into Betsy's house. They confiscated the home and (12)  _______________________   there. Betsy and her family were very upset about this. Joseph joined the war. On a trip to the West Indies to procure war supplies for the Revolutionary cause, Captain Ashburn was captured by the British and sent to Old Mill Prison in England where he died in March 1782, several months after the last major battle of the Revolutionary War.

     A year later, Betsy was married again. She married John Claypoole. They had five daughters. Betsy's daughters helped her with her upholstery (13)  _______________________  . John became sick and after many years of caring for him, he died. Betsy and the family kept the business going.

     Elizabeth "Betsy" Ross Claypoole died on January 30, 1836. She was 84. In 1776, Betsy Ross may have been the one to create a (14)  _______________________   for our country.

She may have made the first American flag. It is (15)  _______________________   flying high today, 230 years later.

One Stitch,
Two Stitch,
Red, White, and
Blue Stitch

Word Chop

Each word has been split into two parts.  Put the word parts together and write each word below.
Use each word part only once.

Back to School Index
Back to Main Page