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1799. After moving to Georgetown in 1801, he
served as a representative in the U.S. Congress
for three consecutive terms, 1807-1809, 1809-
1811, and 1811-1813. He married Anne (1774-
1834), daughter of George Plater (1735-1792).
SISTER: Elizabeth Scott, (1759-1832), who mar-
ried Henry Maynadier. FIRST COUSIN: Philip Key
(1750-1820). MARRIED on October 19, 1775, Ann
Phoebe Penn Dagworthy (ca. 1756-1830),
daughter of Arthur Charlton (?-1771) and wife
Eleanor Harrison (?-by 1797). Her brothers were
Thomas; John Usher. Her sisters were Eleanor
(1747-1828), who married George Murdock(1742-
1805); Alice, who married Caspar Schaff; Mary,
who married Peter Grosh; and Jane. CHILDREN.
SON. Francis Scott (1779-1843), a lawyer and poet,
author of "The Star-Spangled Banner." In 1802
he married Mary Tayloe, daughter of Edward Lloyd
(1744-1796), and shortly thereafter moved to
Georgetown, D.C., where he practiced law with
his uncle Philip Barton Key (1757-1815). He
served as U.S. attorney for the District of Co-
lumbia, 1833-1841, and in 1833 was sent by Pres-
ident Jackson to Alabama to negotiate a settle-
ment between the state and federal governments
concerning Creek Indian lands. DAUGHTERS: Ann
Charlton (1777-died in infancy); Catherine
Charlton (1781-1782); and Ann Arnold Phoebe
Charlton (1783-1855), who married in 1806 Roger
Brooke Taney (1777-1864), chief justice of the
U.S. Supreme Court and son of Michael Taney
(1750-1820) and wife Monica Brooke (?-1814).
PRIVATE CAREER. EDUCATION: literate. RELIGIOUS
AFFILIATION: Protestant. SOCIAL STATUS AND AC-
TIVITIES. Gent., by 1783; Esq., by 1790. OCCU-
PATIONAL PROFILE: farmer. PUBLIC CAREER. LEG-
ISLATIVE SERVICE: Lower House, Frederick
County, 1778-1779, 1791-1792. LOCAL OFFICES:
Committee of Observation, Frederick County,
elected 1775; justice, Frederick County, 1777- at
least 1791; associate justice, Levy Court, Fred-
erick County, in office 1800. MILITARY SERVICE.
2nd lieutenant, Maryland Rifle Company, 1775;
1st lieutenant, Stephenson's Maryland Rifle Bat-
talion, 1776; captain, 1776; lieutenant colonel,
47th Regiment, Maryland Militia, 1794; colonel,
Maryland Militia, 17%; brigadier general, 9th
Brigade (upper part of Frederick County), Mary-
land Militia, 1801-1808. WEALTH DURING LIFE-
TIME. PERSONAL PROPERTY: 1 slave inherited from
grandfather, 1764; 9 slaves inherited from father,
1770; owned 26 slaves, 1790; wife inherited
£311.18.8 as her share of parents' estate, 1797;
owned 18 slaves, 1800; assessed value $1,181.00,
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1815-1816, 1818, and 1820; owned 14 slaves, 1820;
assessed value $1,056.00, 1821. LAND AT FIRST
ELECTION: ca. 2,500 acres in Frederick County.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Key's father died with-
out duly executing his will. Therefore, legal title
to the entire estate (over 4,500 acres in Frederick
and Cecil counties) devolved to John Ross Key,
the elder son. Ann Key's petition to the legisla-
ture to allow the will to stand was rejected in
1773. When he came of age in 1775, John Ross
Key distributed 650 acres to his sister and 1,120
acres to his brother. His father's plantation in
Cecil County and houses and lots in Charlestown
were advertised for sale in 1776. SIGNIFICANT
CHANGES IN LAND BETWEEN FIRST ELECTION AND
DEATH: Key was extensively involved in the buy-
ing and selling of Frederick County land, 1783-
1798. In 1798 he was assessed for 1,800 acres in
Frederick County. In 1800, as a result of a judg-
ment recovered in 1792 by Ann Ogle (ca. 1724-
1816), widow of Samuel Ogle (ca. 1694-1752),
Key conveyed his real estate to Philip Barton Key
and Samuel Ridout to be held in trust and sold
for the payment of his debts. Litigation continued
through 1811, when 716 acres were sold to his
son, Francis Scott Key, for $8,500.00. By 1813
John Ross Key's debts, totaling $8,379.49, were
settled. WEALTH AT DEATH. DIED, on October 12,
1821, in Frederick County. The size of Key's es-
tate is unknown, but in 1821 he was taxed $1,056.00
for personal property and $1,602.00 for real prop-
erty, all in Frederick County.
KEY, PHILIP (1696/97-1764). BORN: on March
21, 1696/97, in St. Paul's Parish, Covent Garden,
London, England. IMMIGRATED: ca. 1720. RE-
SIDED: at "Bushwood Lodge," St. Mary's County,
which Key built ca. 1730. The house was de-
stroyed by fire early in the 19th century. FAMILY
BACKGROUND. FATHER: Richard Key of Co-
vent Garden, London. MOTHER: Mary (?-1706).
ADDITIONAL COMMENT: The Keys were a landed
family who originated in Oxfordshire. MARRIED
first, Susannah, daughter of John Gardiner (?-
1717), Gent., of St. Mary's County and wife Mary
Boreman (?-1744/45). Susannah was the step-
daughter of Gerard Slye (1679-1733), of St. Mary's
County, and the granddaughter of both Richard
Gardiner (?-1687) and William Boreman (ca. 1630-
1709). Her brothers were Richard; Willfred; John
(?-ca. 1743); and Clement. Her sisters were Eliz-
abeth; Mary Ann; and Henrietta Maria. MARRIED
second, by 1747, Theodosia Lawrence (?-1772),
widow of Rev. John Humphreys (ca. 1686-1739),
507
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