John Ross Key (September 19, 1754 – October 11, 1821) was a lawyer, a commissioned officer in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

, a judge, and the father of writer

Francis Scott Key Francis Scott Key (August 1, 1779January 11, 1843) was an American lawyer, author, and amateur poet from Frederick, Maryland, who wrote the lyrics for the American national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner". Key observed the British bombardment ...

Early life

Key was born in Redland,

Frederick County, Maryland Frederick County is located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Maryland. At the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 271,717. The county seat is Frederick. Frederick County is included in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ...

, to Francis Key (c.1731-1770) and his wife Ann (or “Anne”) Arnold Ross (1727-1811). Ross Key’s grandfather was English settler Philip Key who resided near Leonardtown around 1726, he married Susannah Gardiner and had seven children. His mother Anne Arnold Ross was the daughter of English parents John Ross (1696-1766) and Alicia Arnold (1700-1746) who married in St James's Church, Westminster. Ann was a strong influence on her grandson Francis Scott Key when he lived with her near

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

when he was in school there.

Military, law career

Mustered into service at Frederick on June 21, 1775, Key was commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Thomas Price's Maryland Rifle Company. It was one of the first military forces from outside New England that came to aid General Washington at the

siege of Boston The siege of Boston (April 19, 1775 – March 17, 1776) was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War. New England militiamen prevented the movement by land of the British Army, which was garrisoned in what was then the peninsular town ...

, July–August 1775. By 1781 Key was a captain. He commanded a Frederick County Company of Cavalry during the

Yorktown Campaign The Yorktown campaign, also known as the Virginia campaign, was a series of military maneuvers and battles during the American Revolutionary War that culminated in the siege of Yorktown in October 1781. The result of the campaign was the surren ...

. He was later a justice of the peace, a judge, and associate justice of his judicial district, which comprised Allegany, Washington and Frederick Counties. His brother Philip Barton Key, also an attorney arranged for his nephew Francis to study law under his friend, Judge

Jeremiah Townley Chase Jeremiah Townley Chase (May 23, 1748 – May 11, 1828) was an American lawyer, jurist, and land speculator from Annapolis, Maryland. He served as a delegate for Maryland in the Continental Congress of 1783 and 1784, and for many years was c ...

in 1800 and with whom he would later be a partner in Georgetown. Francis took the practice over entirely when his uncle ran for Congress.

Personal life

He married Ann Phoebe Penn Dagworthy Charlton at the city of Frederick on October 19, 1775. Six children were born to the couple, but only three reached maturity. Francis Scott Key, his sister Anne Arnold Phoebe Charlton Key who would marry

Roger Brooke Taney Roger Brooke Taney (; March 17, 1777 – October 12, 1864) was the fifth chief justice of the United States, holding that office from 1836 until his death in 1864. Although an opponent of slavery, believing it to be an evil practice, Taney believ ...

and John Alfred Key who died at Edgefield, South Carolina.

Death

Key died at the age of 67 in Frederick City and was interred there at Mount Olivet Cemetery.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Key, John Ross 1754 births 1821 deaths People from Frederick County, Maryland Continental Army officers from Maryland Maryland state court judges Burials at Mount Olivet Cemetery (Frederick, Maryland) Key family of Maryland