KEY
KEY
KEY, Francis Scott, poet, was born in Freder-
ick county, Md., Aug. 9, 1780; son of John Ross
and Ann Phoibe (Charlton) Key; grandson of
Francis Kej', and a descendant of Philip " Lord "
Key, the imiuigraut, who settled in Maryland
about 1720 and was Lord High Sheriff of St. Mary's county. The father of the poet was a second lieuten- ant in a rifle
^>^«^/.^P^-Af company of the ■ Maryland line (luring the Rev- olutionary war. Francis was graduated from St. John's col- lege, Md., stud- ied law in the office of his un- cle, Philip Bar- ton Key, was admitted to the bar, and practised in Frederick city, Md., 1801-09. He was married at Wye House, Tal- bot county, Md., Jan. 19, 1803, to Mary Tay- loe Lloyd, sister of the Hon. Edward Lloyd (q.v.). He removed to Georgetown, D.C., and served as U.S. district attorney for the District of Columbia during President Madison's administration, 1809-17. When the British army under General Ross reached Upper Marlboro, Md., on their way to attack the national capital, they forced Dr. William Beanes, a well-known phj'sician, to entertain them at his plantation, and for fear he would reveal their plans, he was taken prisoner and held by Admiral Cock- burn. Mr. Key, at that time a volunteer aide attached to the American forces, was a per- sonal friend of Dr. Beanes, and obtaining Presi- dent Madison's consent he visited the British fleet under a flag of truce. He was respectfully re- ceived by Admiral Cockburn, but as the fleet was about to attack Baltimore it was deemed advis- able to hold him prisoner with Dr. Beanes until after the contest. They were placed under a guard on board the SiwjJnse, commanded bj^ Sir Thomas Cockbui'n, but soon after returned to their own vessel, and from their position could distinctly see the flag floating over Fort McHenry. As the bombardment lasted through the night nothing could be seen of the flag, and toward morning the fire from the fort and fleet slackened, leaving the prisoners in great susjiense. When the day broke and the Stars and Stripes were seen still floating over the ramparts. Key found ex-
pression of his feelings in the " Star Spangled
Banner" whicii he scribbled on the back of an old
letter. Upon the retreat of the British, the piis-
oners were released and Key went to a hotel
where he copied off the poem and gave it to Capt.
Benjamin Eades, who hastened to the tavern on
Holiday street, where the actors were accustomed
to assemble. Mr. Key had written under the
title the words tune " Anacreon in Heaven " and
after the verses were read aloud, Ferdinand
Durang mounted a chair and sung them. The
verses were published bj' the Baltimore American,
being first modestly entitled " A new Song by a
gentleman of Maryland." Besides the "Star
Spangled Banner " Mr. Key wrote several other
poems, including the well-known hymn, "Lord,
with glowing heart I'd praise thee," a collection
of which were published with an introductory
letter by his brother-in-law, Chief Justice Taney,
in 1857. In 1884 James Lick, a California mil-
lionaire, bequeathed .$60,000 for a monument to
Key which now adorns Golden Gate Park, San
Francisco, and on Aug. 9, 1898, he was further
honored by the unveiling of a monument at Fred-
erick, Md., beneatli which his remains and those
of his wife, Mary Tayloe Key, were placed. In
selecting names for the Hall of Fame, Xew Y^'ork
university, his name was one of the twentj'-three
in "Class A, Authors and Editors " and received
two votes in the election of October, 1900. He
is the author of: Oration in the Capitol of the
United States on the Fourth of July, 1S31 (1831);
The Power of Literature, and its Connection with
Religion: An Oration Delivered at Bristol Col-
lege, July 23, IS.JJf, before the Philologian Society
(1834); Poems (1857); The Star S2iangled Banner
(1861). He died in Baltimore, Md., Jan. 11, 1843.
KEY, John Ross, painter, was born in Hagers-
town, Md., July 16, 1837; son of John Ross and
Virginia (Ringgold) Key; grandson of Francis
Scott and Mary Tayloe (Lloyd) Key, and of Gen.
Samuel and (Hay) Ringgold. He was edu-
cated at Washington, D.C., and studied art in
Munich and Paris, 1874-76. On his return to
America he opened a studio in Boston, Mass.,.
and in 1883 removed to Chicago, 111. He exhib-
ited at the Centennial exhibition, Philadelpliia,.
in 1876 " The Golden Gate, San Francisco," which
received a medal. He also exhibited his " Cloudy-
Morning, Mt. Lafayette," at the National Academy
of Design in 1878. He painted a series of pictures
depicting scenes atthe World's Fair, Chicago, 111.,
which attracted much attention and which were
exhibited in the art gallery of the Illinois state
building at the Trans-Mississippi exposition,
Omalia, Neb., in 1898. Among his paintings not
named above are: Marblehead Beach; Ochre
Point, Neivport;A Morning Stroll, and numerous
studies.
