The speaker at the June 17 meeting of the Rootseekers Genealogical Society was Carrie Anne Wilson Woolverton. The meeting took place at the Tri-County Library in Mabank. Carrie was dressed in period costume of the day. Her topic was Betsy Ross.
Betsy Ross was originally buried in the Free Quaker burial ground on North 5th Street in Philadelphia with her husband John Claypoole. Twenty years later, their remains were exhumed and transferred to Mt. Moriah Cemetery in the Cobbs Creek Park section of Philadelphia. In 1975 in preparation for the United States Bicentennial, the city ordered the remains moved to the courtyard of the Betsy Ross House. In 1976, the remains of Betsy Ross and John Claypoole were exhumed and transferred a third time to the garden of the Betsy Ross House where they can be visited today.
Born Elizabeth Griscom of Quaker parents, Jan. 1, 1752, Betsy Ross attended Friends Schools until her apprenticeship as an upholster. Marriage on November 4, 1773 to John Ross, an Anglican, caused her to be read out of Meeting. Ross was a member of the militia. He died in Jan., 1776. There were no children. George Ross, John’s uncle, was a member of the Continental Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
He suggested that Betsy sew the Flag, which she did in late May or early June, 1776. Betsy Ross married Joseph Ashburn, a sea captain, on June 15, 1777 in old Swede’s Church. Ashburn was captured by the British, imprisoned in Plymouth, England, where he died March 3, 1782 while in prison. There were two daughters. On May 8, 1783, Betsy Ross was married in Christ Church to John Claypoole who had been a fellow prisoner of Joseph Ashburn’s. He and Betsy lived in this house until 1786. They had five daughters. Claypoole died August 3, 1817 and he is buried with his wife, Betsy, who died in Jan. 30,1836.
Carrie was born in Oklahoma and has ancestors who came to North America in the early 1600’s. Her ancestors fought for the United States and Texas in every war from the American Revolution, French and Indian War, War of 1812, Texas Revolution and Battle of San Jacinto, War Between the States, WW1, WW11, Korea and Viet Nam. Her son-in-law serves in the Texas Army National Guard and recently finished a year-long tour in Afghanistan. She is married to Ben Woolverton and they reside in Kaufman County where they raise beef cattle, hay and American Foundation Arabian Horses.