author
Addie Guthrie Weaver
Best known for a lively 1898 history of the American flag, this little-known writer connected patriotism, storytelling, and family memory in a way that helped keep the Betsy Ross legend alive.
1 Audiobook
The Story of Our Flag, Colonial and National With Historical Sketch of the Quakeress Betsy Ross
by Addie Guthrie Weaver
About the author
Addie Guthrie Weaver was an American author active in the late 19th century. She is best known for The Story of Our Flag, Colonial and National, with Historical Sketch of the Quakeress Betsy Ross, published in Chicago in 1898.
Her book explores the history and symbolism of the U.S. flag and gives special attention to Betsy Ross. In the preface, Weaver says she had a family relationship to Ross, and later archival commentary describes the book as part of a fundraising effort tied to the purchase of the Betsy Ross House.
Very little biographical information about Weaver is easy to confirm today, which makes her a somewhat shadowy figure. What is clear is that her work belongs to a moment when popular history, patriotism, and memorial projects came together, and her book remains a window into how Americans of her time told the story of the flag.