Betsy Ross, Entrepreneur

Intro: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts.

Content: Defying her parents and the Quaker community, Philadelphian Elizabeth Griscom, called “Betsy,” eloped in 1773 with Anglican John Ross. Both were apprentice upholsterers. The Rosses’ established a home and upholstery business on what was then Mulberry Street in Philadelphia.  At marriage, Betsy was not pregnant, though thirty percent of American pregnancies between 1761 and 1800 were “short-term” or pre-marital conceptions.