The Betsy Ross of California - Using a piece of 3x5 unbleached cotton cloth, a strip of red flannel from a petticoat, berry juice for ink which was used to print "California Republic", the flag was stiched together by Nancy Kelsey. It happened during war with Mexico at Sonoma, California. On June 14, 1846, a group of American settlers raised the flag over Sonoma's plaza signaling an end to Mexican rule. The episode became known as the Bear Flag Revolt. It flew for 24 days, until July 7, when the U.S. Navy sailed into Monterey and raised the Stars and Stripes claiming California. Nancy Kelsey was the first white woman to cross the plains to California in the Spring of 1841. Her arrival was followed by years of hardship and wandering from place to place in the western part of the country. After the death of her husband in Los Angeles, she moved to what today is the Los Padres National Forest located in Santa Barbara County. The forest is dotted with old pioneer graves, many lost but the burial place of Nancy is preserved and located on private land in Cottonwood Canyon in the Cuyama Valley near the little settlement of Cuyama. Here she died at the age of 73. Her last wish was to be interred in a store bought coffin. Someone went to Santa Maria and purchased one bringing it back to Cuyama. It was then enclosed in a larger wooden box that was made of rough lumber. Relatives and friends dug the grave and Father Yla came over the mountains from Ojai and conducted the funeral service. In 1937 the "Native Daughters of the Golden West" placed a monument at her grave, dubbing her "The Betsy Ross of California."
The Betsy Ross of California - Using a piece of 3x5 unbleached cotton cloth, a strip of red flannel from a petticoat, berry juice for ink which was used to print "California Republic", the flag was stiched together by Nancy Kelsey. It happened during war with Mexico at Sonoma, California. On June 14, 1846, a group of American settlers raised the flag over Sonoma's plaza signaling an end to Mexican rule. The episode became known as the Bear Flag Revolt. It flew for 24 days, until July 7, when the U.S. Navy sailed into Monterey and raised the Stars and Stripes claiming California. Nancy Kelsey was the first white woman to cross the plains to California in the Spring of 1841. Her arrival was followed by years of hardship and wandering from place to place in the western part of the country. After the death of her husband in Los Angeles, she moved to what today is the Los Padres National Forest located in Santa Barbara County. The forest is dotted with old pioneer graves, many lost but the burial place of Nancy is preserved and located on private land in Cottonwood Canyon in the Cuyama Valley near the little settlement of Cuyama. Here she died at the age of 73. Her last wish was to be interred in a store bought coffin. Someone went to Santa Maria and purchased one bringing it back to Cuyama. It was then enclosed in a larger wooden box that was made of rough lumber. Relatives and friends dug the grave and Father Yla came over the mountains from Ojai and conducted the funeral service. In 1937 the "Native Daughters of the Golden West" placed a monument at her grave, dubbing her "The Betsy Ross of California."
Bio by: Paul S.
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