Description: Betsy Ross, Seamstress. Mini boxes for tiny treasures.
Measurement:  2in h
Interior Design: Original American Flag
Manufacturer: Harmony Ball
Material: Crushed Marble, with look and feel of antique ivory

Perhaps the most famous seamstress in the US, Betsy Ross is credited as the maker of the first American flag. She was born Elizabeth Griscom in Philadelphia in 1752, the eighth of seventeen children of Samuel and Rebecca Griscom. Educated at the Friends' School, Ross was also taught needlework by her mother. Her marriage to John Ross, an Anglican, in 1773 resulted in her expulsion from the Quaker church. Undaunted, she supported her husband in his upholstery business. In 1776, her husband was killed on the Philadelphia waterfront by an explosion of gunpowder during militia duty. Ross continued to run the upholstery business and supplemented her income by sewing flags for the state of Pennsylvania. She acquired some property in Philadelphia and 190 acres and livestock in Cumberland County. Less than a year after John Ross' death, Ross met and married Joseph Ashburn, first mate of the brigantine Patty. They had two children. It was during their marriage that, according to legend, Ross was supposed to have been asked by the Continental Congress to create a flag for the nation-to-be. When shown a rough sketch of what was required, she suggested that a five-point, rather than a six-point, star be used; as such a star could be easily cut out of cloth. There is no documentation that supports that Ross was commissioned to create a flag. Still, the story is embedded in the history of the nation. Her marriage to Ashburn ended when he died in an English prison after being captured by the British. His fellow inmate, John Claypoole, sought Ross upon his return to the US to deliver farewell messages from Ashburn. Within a year, Ross and Claypoole were wed in 1783. They had five daughters. Legend has it that Ross sewed flags for the government until her death in 1836.