Betsy Ross

Elizabeth Phoebe "Betsy" Ross (January 1, 1752 – January 30, 1836), née Griscom, also known by her second and third married names, Ashburn and Claypoole, is widely credited with making the first American flag purportedly in 1776, according to family tradition, upon a visit from General George Washington, commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, and changing the shape of the stars he had sketched for the flag from six-pointed to five-pointed by demonstrating on the spot that it was not difficult to cut the latter. However, there is no archival evidence or other recorded verbal tradition to substantiate this story of the first American flag, and it appears that the story first surfaced in the writings of her grandson in the 1870s (a century after the fact), with no mention or documentation in earlier decades.

Early life and family

Betsy Ross (disambiguation)

Betsy Ross is the name of:

See also

Betsy Ross (film)

Betsy Ross is a surviving 1917 American silent historical film starring Alice Brady and produced and distributed by her father William A. Brady.

Plot

As described in a film magazine, Betsy Griscome (Brady), against the wishes of her Quaker parents, keeps a tryst with a British officer, Clarence Vernon (Mayo), who promises to marry her upon his return. Clarissa (Cook), her sister, falls in love and marries Joseph Ashburn (Bowers), a trader. Suspecting Vernon of duplicity, Joseph and Vernon fight a duel and Vernon is struck down. A year later Betsy marries John Ross (Kennard), and upon his death she operates a little shop for a living. Here she shields her sister, who was driven from home when she could not produce her marriage certificate. Betsy is commissioned by General Washington (MacQuarrie) to make the first American flag and later is accused of harboring a spy - in reality, her sister's husband. The film ends happily when all relations are explained.

Cast

Betsy Ross Bridge

The Betsy Ross Bridge, also known as the Ross Memorial Bridge is a continuous steel truss bridge spanning the Delaware River from the City of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania to Pennsauken, New Jersey. Built from 1969 to 1974, and opened in April 1976, during the American Bicentennial Year, it was originally planned to be named as the "Delair Bridge", after a paralleling vertical lift bridge owned by Pennsylvania Railroad (which is now used by Conrail and New Jersey Transit's Atlantic City Line), but was instead later named for Betsy Ross, a Philadelphia seamstress and reputed creator of the first American flag in 1776, making it the first automotive bridge named for a woman in America and the second bridge overall (after Iowa's Boone High Bridge was renamed the Kate Shelley High Bridge in 1912).

History

Construction began in 1969, and was completed in 1974. However, the bridge did not open to traffic until April 30, 1976 due to numerous problems with the communities where the bridge's ramps to and from Richmond Street were located. The problems (concerns over traffic, especially heavy trucks) were also related to the highway route's planned extension to the northwest from the Delaware River, across Northeast Philadelphia to connect with the Roosevelt Expressway. The cancellation of this extension, the planned Pennsylvania Route 90 (PA 90 - known as the Pulaski Expressway) resulted in the so-called "Evel Knievel" ghost ramps – with unfinished bridges and fly-over ramps, some of which were later constructed to serve nearby Aramingo Avenue in the city's Bridesburg section. Currently, the route serves as a high-level multi-lane (six lanes, separated by a concrete median barrier) bypass of the three-lane Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, which has a drawbridge on the span.

Ross Bridge

Ross Bridge is an historic bridge in the town of Ross in central Tasmania, Australia, completed in July 1836. It crosses the Macquarie River.

The sandstone bridge was constructed by convict labour, and is the third oldest bridge still in use in Australia. Commissioned by Lieutenant-Governor George Arthur, the bridge was designed by architect John Lee Archer, with the convict work team including two stonemasons, James Colbeck and Daniel Herbert, the latter being credited with the intricate carvings along both sides of the bridge. The bridge was registered on the Register of the National Estate in 1978.

References

Further reading about the Bridge

External links

Ross Creek Bridge

Ross Creek Bridge is a former railway bridge, now used as a pedestrian walkway in Ross Bridge park, Hoover, Alabama, USA. The text of the sign posted nearby by the Hoover Historical Society reads as follows: "In 1858 James Taylor Ross, a Scotchman migrated to the South, acquired land and homesteaded in what is now Shades Valley. He provided land for the construction of a railway, including a bridge spanning Ross Creek. After the Ross family moved westward, his property was purchased in 1907 by TCI, a predecessor of U.S. Steel. In 2002, U.S. Steel, Daniel Corp. and the Retirement Systems of Alabama combined to develop the community of Ross Bridge."

References

External links

Coordinates: 33°36′22″N 85°35′20″W / 33.6062182°N 85.5888468°W / 33.6062182; -85.5888468

Northeast Regional

The Northeast Regional is a higher-speed rail service operated by Amtrak in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. In the past it has been known as the NortheastDirect, Acela Regional, or Regional. It is the busiest Amtrak route, carrying 8.04 million passengers in fiscal year (FY) 2013, a 0.4% increase over the 8.01 million passengers in FY2012. The Northeast Regional service earned over $568.7 million in gross ticket revenue in FY2013, a 6.2% increase over the $536 million earned during FY2012.

There is daily all-reserved service about every hour during the day. Trains generally run between Boston, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C. with more between New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington. Extensions and branches extend to Springfield, Massachusetts and Richmond, Newport News, Norfolk, and Lynchburg, Virginia.

Travel times are about 4.5 hours between Norfolk or Newport News and Washington, 3.5 hours between Lynchburg and Washington, two hours between Washington and Philadelphia, 1.5 hours between Philadelphia and New York, 3.5 hours between New York and Springfield, and four hours between New York and Boston. Travel times between Washington and New York are typically slightly faster than the equivalent travel time by car.