Philip Barton Key

{{short description|United States federal judge (1757–1815)}} {{For|other people with the same name|Philip Key (disambiguation)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2022}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Philip Barton Key | honorific_suffix = | image = Philip Barton Key (1757–1815).jpg | alt = | caption = | state = Maryland | district = {{ushr|MD|3|3rd}} | term_start = March 4, 1807 | term_end = March 3, 1813 | predecessor = Patrick Magruder | successor = Alexander Contee Hanson | office1 = Chief Judge of the United States circuit court for the Fourth Circuit | term_start1 = March 3, 1801 | term_end1 = July 1, 1802 | nominator1 = | appointer1 = John Adams | predecessor1 = ''Seat established by 2 Stat. 89'' | successor1 = ''Seat abolished'' | office2 = Judge of the United States circuit court for the Fourth Circuit | term_start2 = February 20, 1801 | term_end2 = March 3, 1801 | nominator2 = | appointer2 = John Adams | predecessor2 = ''Seat established by 2 Stat. 89'' | successor2 = Charles Magill | pronunciation = | birth_name = Philip Barton Key | birth_date = {{Birth date|1757|04|12}} | birth_place = Charlestown, Province of Maryland, British America | death_date = {{Death date and age|1815|07|28|1757|04|12}} | death_place = Georgetown, D.C. | death_cause = | resting_place = Oak Hill Cemetery Washington, D.C. | resting_place_coordinates = | citizenship = | party = Federalist | other_party = | height = | spouse = Anne Plater | partner = | children = | parents = | mother = | father = | relatives = John Eager Howard William Howard {{small|(son-in-law)}} George Plater {{small|(father-in-law)}} Philip Key {{small|(cousin)}} Francis Scott Key {{small|(nephew)}} Philip Barton Key II {{small|(grand nephew)}} | education = Middle Temple read law | alma_mater = | occupation = | profession = | known_for = | salary = | net_worth = | cabinet = | committees = | portfolio = | awards = | signature = | signature_alt = | website =  | footnotes = | allegiance = {{flagicon image|Flag of Great Britain (1707–1800).svg}} Great Britain | branch = British Army | service_years = 1777–1781 | unit = Maryland Loyalists Battalion | battles = American Revolutionary War *Battle of Mobile {{POW}} }}

'''Philip Barton Key''' (April 12, 1757 – July 28, 1815), was an American Loyalist during the American Revolutionary War and later was a United States circuit judge and chief judge of the United States circuit court for the Fourth Circuit and a United States representative from Maryland.

==Education and career== 175px|thumb|left|Coat of Arms of Philip Barton Key Born on April 12, 1757, near Charlestown, Cecil County, Province of Maryland, British America,<ref name=FJC>{{FJC Bio|1273|nid=1383296|name=Philip Barton Key}}</ref> Key pursued an academic course.<ref name=CB>{{CongBio|K000159|inline=yes}}</ref> He was a Loyalist during the American Revolutionary War, fighting with the British Army from 1777 to 1781.<ref name=FJC/> He served in the Maryland Loyalists Battalion as a captain.<ref name=Riley>Conway Whittle Sams, Elihu Samuel Riley, ''The Bench and Bar of Maryland: A History 1634 to 1901'' (1901), p. 292.</ref> Key and his entire battalion were captured by the Spanish Army– who were at war with the British– in Pensacola, Florida.<ref name=Riley/> Key was a prisoner for a month in Havana, Cuba before being paroled and sent to New York City, New York until the end of the war.<ref name=Riley/> After the war, Key went to England and graduated from the Middle Temple in London in 1784 and read law in 1785.<ref name=FJC/> He returned to Maryland in 1785.<ref name=FJC/> He was admitted to the bar and entered private practice in Leonardtown, Maryland from 1787 to 1790.<ref name=FJC/> He continued private practice in Annapolis, Maryland from 1790 to 1794, and from 1799 to 1800.<ref name=FJC/> He was a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1794 to 1799.<ref name=FJC/> He was Mayor of Annapolis from 1797 to 1798.{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}}

==Federal judicial service==

Key was nominated by President John Adams on February 18, 1801, to the United States circuit court for the Fourth Circuit, to a new seat authorized by {{USStat|2|89}}.<ref name=FJC/> He was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 20, 1801, and received his commission the same day.<ref name=FJC/> His service terminated on March 3, 1801, due to his elevation to serve as Chief Judge of the same court.<ref name=FJC/>

Key was nominated by President Adams on February 25, 1801, to the United States Circuit Court for the Fourth Circuit, to the new Chief Judge seat authorized by 2 Stat. 89.<ref name=FJC/> He was confirmed by the Senate on February 26, 1801, and received his commission on March 3, 1801.<ref name=FJC/> His service terminated on July 1, 1802, due to abolition of the court.<ref name=FJC/>

Following his departure from the federal bench, Key resumed private practice in Montgomery County, Maryland from 1802 to 1807,<ref name=FJC/> also engaging in agricultural pursuits.<ref name=CB/> He served as counsel for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Samuel Chase during his Senate impeachment trial in 1805.<ref name=FJC/>

==Congressional service==

Key was elected as a Federalist from Maryland's 3rd congressional district to the United States House of Representatives of the 10th, 11th and 12th United States Congresses, serving from March 4, 1807, to March 3, 1813.<ref name=CB/> He was Chairman of the United States House Committee on the District of Columbia for the 10th United States Congress.<ref name=CB/>

==Later career and death==

Following his departure from Congress, Key resumed private practice in Georgetown, D.C. (then a separate municipality in the District of Columbia, now a neighborhood in Washington, D.C.) from 1813 to 1815.<ref name=FJC/> He died on July 28, 1815, in Georgetown, D.C.<ref name=FJC/> He was initially interred on his estate “Woodley” in Georgetown, D.C.<ref name=CB/> He was re-interred in Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C.<ref name=CB/>

==Family==

Key's cousin, Philip Key, was a United States representative from Maryland.<ref name=CB/>

== See also == thumb|Mrs. Philip Barton Key (Anne Plater) * Philip Key (U.S. politician), Key's cousin * Francis Scott Key, Key's nephew * Philip Barton Key II, Key's great-nephew * John Eager Howard, father-in-law of Key's daughter * William Howard (engineer), son-in-law * George Plater, father-in-law

==References== {{Reflist}}

== Sources == {{CongBio|K000159}} * {{FJC Bio|1273|nid=1383296|name=Philip Barton Key}} * Purcell, L. Edward. ''Who Was Who in the American Revolution''. New York: Facts on File, 1993. {{ISBN|0-8160-2107-4}}. * Leepson, Marc. ''What So Proudly We Hailed: Francis Scott Key, A Life''. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2014. {{ISBN|9781137278289}}.

==External links== *{{commons category-inline}}

{{s-start}} {{s-off}} {{s-bef|before=John Bullen}} {{s-ttl|title=Mayor of Annapolis|years=1797–1798}} {{s-aft|after=Nicholas Carroll}} {{s-legal}} {{s-bef|before=Seat established by 2 Stat. 89}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Judge of the United States circuit court for the Fourth Circuit}}|years=1801}} {{s-aft|after=Charles Magill}} {{s-bef|before=Seat established by 2 Stat. 89}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Chief Judge of the United States circuit court for the Fourth Circuit}}|years=1801–1802}} {{s-aft|after=Seat abolished}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{s-bef|before=Patrick Magruder}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|United States Representative from Maryland's 3rd congressional district}}|years=1807–1813}} {{s-aft|after=Alexander Contee Hanson}} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Key, Philip Barton}} Category:1757 births Category:1815 deaths Category:18th-century American judges Category:American Loyalists from Maryland Category:American Revolutionary War prisoners of war held by Spain Category:American people imprisoned in Spain Category:Burials at Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.) Category:Federalist Party United States representatives from Maryland Category:Judges of the United States circuit courts Philip Barton Category:Loyalist military personnel of the American Revolutionary War Category:Mayors of Annapolis, Maryland Category:Members of the Maryland House of Delegates Category:People from Cecil County, Maryland Category:United States federal judges appointed by John Adams Category:United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law Category:18th-century mayors of places in Maryland Category:19th-century Maryland politicians Category:19th-century United States representatives Category:18th-century members of the Maryland General Assembly