Descendant of Betsy Ross donates sewing table to her house and will stop in Philadelphia on historic bike ride

A historic donation to a historic home — the family of Betsy Ross is donating an important piece of history this month to the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia. 

CBS News Philadelphia caught up with Eric Conrad ahead of the unveiling in Old City.

Last month, he started the “Original 13 Odyssey” bike journey. It’s a 60-day, 3,600-mile tour of America’s original 13 colonies. 

“I’m going to the original 13 states. I’m going to the original capitals, and so I’m going down the coast, mainly,” Conrad said.

On June 14 — Flag Day — the dad from Maryland is making a stop in Philadelphia at the Betsy Ross House.

“I’m related to Betsy Ross. She is my great, great, great, great grandmother,” Conrad said.

Conrad shared that his family still owns several things from Ross. Her original sewing table was one of those items.

“I’ve always been used to seeing an old sewing table that belonged to her and pulling drawers open and seeing the little piece of material and bobbins and things like that,” Conrad said.

Conrad’s family passed it down from generation to generation.

“And my mom, same thing, she had it right next to her kitchen,” Conrad said. “When my mom passed, it came to me, and it always sat right next to our kitchen.”

It’s currently missing a drawer. Why? Well, the Betsy Ross House team notes that historians believe Betsy used the drawer as a sewing basket to carry around all of her supplies. The drawer, they say, was later replaced, and now the team is working alongside woodworkers to match the piece.

“We need to remind people what they fought for. Betsy and her husband all had gone through the war and such an effort to get freedom,” Conrad said.

That’s Conrad’s reason for donating the sewing table that sat next to his kitchen all those years. 

As for his bike journey, he did that before — in 1976 — for the nation’s bicentennial.

“I did a 44-day trip, 3200 miles, rode about 85 miles a day. No phones, no cellphones, no internet, all paper maps,” Conrad said with a laugh.

So this trip … “I’m calling it twice in a lifetime,” Conrad finished the sentence.

And twice this trip, he’ll be in America’s birthplace, on Flag Day and the Fourth of July.