In my previous Betsy Ross post, part one, I posed a question to myself and my genealogical researcher, Kim has responded with the following report.
The American Flag House and Betsy Ross Memorial Association
By the late 19th century, many Colonial-era buildings were being torn down. The house that Betsy Ross purportedly created the first American flag was in danger of being razed. A group of concerned individuals in Philadelphia led by George Canby—grandson of Betsy Ross, Charles Weisgerber--the artist who painted ‘Birth of Our Nation’s Flag’, and Charles W. Smith—a Philadelphia Coal Merchant decided to act. They formed the American Flag House and Betsy Ross Memorial Association with a stated mission to raise funds to buy the house at 239 Arch St. from the current owners.
Other notable founders included John Q. Adams, Robert E. Pattison (former PA Governor) and other prominent personalities from government and academia.
The Association sold lifetime memberships to their organization for a mere 10 cents in return for which they received a membership certificate and a request to form their own “clubs.” Those who did earned a ten-color chromolithograph of the Weisgerber painting, suitable for framing, in addition to certificates for each club member.
The original 1892 work is a 9′ x 12′ painting that depicts Betsy Ross presenting the first American flag to George Washington, Robert Morris, and George Ross.
In 1898, Weisgerber—son of German immigrants--moved his wife and daughter Augusta into the upstairs floors of the house. Eventually Weisgerber’s wife gave birth to a son whom Weisgerber named Vexildomus, which is Latin for flag house.
Charles and Vexildomus
The family opened two rooms on the first floor to the public where they could see the back room where the meeting between Betsy and the Flag Committee was said to have occurred and shop for souvenirs in the front room.
To protect the House from fire and other dangers, in 1929 the Memorial Association purchased two adjacent lots which later became the courtyard you see today. Charles Weisgerber lived in the house as its caretaker until his death in 1932.
In 1937, the house was completely restored to its original, Colonial-era appearance by A. Atwater Kent, Jr, at the cost of $55,000. By 1941, the Association was in financial trouble, and an arrangement was worked to allow the City of Philadelphia to assume ownership of the house and surrounding lots and in return pay the outstanding mortgage, taxes and fees associated with the property.
The association was still tasked with the care and management of the premises under a trusteeship administered by the city, and the name was changed to American Flag House and Betsy Ross Memorial—removing the word ‘Association’ from the title. It was around this time the association ceased offering lifetime memberships and focused on sales of souvenirs and postcards to finance upkeep of the house. At the present time, fund-raising for the Betsy Ross House and other tourist attractions is managed by Historic Philadelphia, Inc.
And what of the famous 1892 original painting? It’s 9’ x 14’ size limited the spaces where it could be housed and displayed. It stayed in the Weisgerber family, who would loan it to various exhibits from time to time. Sometime in the 1950s, it was put on exhibit at the old State Museum in Harrisburg, PA, where it was vandalized. This act led the family to decide to keep the painting from public view. The painting went into storage. From 1962 until about 1997, it sat in a Gloucester, PA dye-making workshop. Finally, in 2001 it was restored for a cost of $40,000 and found a permanent home in the State Museum of Pennsylvania, located in the capitol, Harrisburg.
Thanks to the vision and preservation efforts of this group of early visionaries, the Betsy Ross House still stands as the nation’s only interpretation of an 18th century upholstery shop and allows hundreds of thousands of visitors each year the opportunity to learn about the life of Betsy Ross, a working class, 18th century tradeswoman and American legend.
While the ‘Lifetime Membership’ represented by the certificate doesn’t come with any privileges or correspond to a list—either on display or in archives—be assured it was instrumental in saving one of our nation’s historical treasures.
According to Charles Weisgerber’s grandson, about $25,000 was raised through the sale of the memberships.
End of Kim’s report ——————————
Now we have a greater perspective and a backstory, let's play with the numbers, if my grandfather paid $.10 in 1917 for the certificate, what that would be in 2024 value relative to his wages/income at that time.
To find out how much $0.10 in 1917 is worth in today's dollars, we need to account for inflation over the years. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and other reliable sources, we use the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to measure this change.
In 1917, the CPI was approximately 12.8, and in 2023, the CPI was about 306.0. Using these values, we can calculate the equivalent value of $0.10 in 2023.
The formula for the inflation adjustment is:
Value in 2023=Value in 1917×(CPI in 2023CPI in 1917)
Value in 2023=0.10×(306.012.8)
Value in 2023≈2.39
So, $0.10 in 1917 is approximately worth $2.39 in 2023 dollars
In 1910, my grandfather was working for Western Union in New York City at the age of 14, here's an image of his first paycheck. I'm going to assume, hopefully assume that that was a weekly wage which means he was making $260 per year.
Louis left the employment of Western Union and went to work as a bookkeeper in an automobile dealership, again at age 14.
On August 18 of 1913, Louis started his next employment with the Metropolitan life insurance company at 1 Madison Ave., New York City. He is 17 now, there's a picture of a happy, successful young man.
On September 7, 1916 at age 20, he transferred from being a clerk and became a Metropolitan life insurance agent with a base salary of $15 a week, within the next year he married and acquired additional responsibilities, financial matters being foremost.
Being a very frugal individual at a young age, I can envision Louis purchasing a patriotic certificate & investing in a worthy charitable cause!
Till the next story,
Nice Story Lou!! Interesting pics too.