Who Was Betsy Ross - Who Was . . .? Author:James Buckley, John O'Brien (Illustrator), Nancy Harrison (Illustrator) Born the eighth of seventeen children in Philadelphia, Betsy Ross lived in a time when the American colonies were yearning for independence from British rule. Ross worked as a seamstress and was eager to contribute to the cause, making tents and repairing uniforms when the colonies declared war. — By 1779 she was filling cartridges for the Contin... more »ental Army. Did she sew the first flag? That's up for debate, but Who Was Betsy Ross? tells the story of a fierce patriot who certainly helped create the flag of a new nation.« less