# Philip Barton Key

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{{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](/source/Maryland)
| district                  = {{ushr|MD|3|3rd}}
| term_start                = March 4, 1807
| term_end                  = March 3, 1813
| predecessor               = [Patrick Magruder](/source/Patrick_Magruder)
| successor                 = [Alexander Contee Hanson](/source/Alexander_Contee_Hanson)
| office1                   = Chief Judge of the [United States circuit court](/source/United_States_circuit_court) for the Fourth Circuit
| term_start1               = March 3, 1801
| term_end1                 = July 1, 1802
| nominator1                = 
| appointer1                = [John Adams](/source/List_of_federal_judges_appointed_by_John_Adams)
| predecessor1              = ''Seat established by 2 Stat. 89''
| successor1                = ''Seat abolished''
| office2                   = Judge of the [United States circuit court](/source/United_States_circuit_court) for the Fourth Circuit
| term_start2               = February 20, 1801
| term_end2                 = March 3, 1801
| nominator2                = 
| appointer2                = [John Adams](/source/List_of_federal_judges_appointed_by_John_Adams)
| predecessor2              = ''Seat established by 2 Stat. 89''
| successor2                = [Charles Magill](/source/Charles_Magill_(Virginia_judge))
| pronunciation             = 
| birth_name                = Philip Barton Key
| birth_date                = {{Birth date|1757|04|12}}
| birth_place               = [Charlestown](/source/Charlestown%2C_Maryland),<br>[Province of Maryland](/source/Province_of_Maryland),<br>[British America](/source/British_America)
| death_date                = {{Death date and age|1815|07|28|1757|04|12}}
| death_place               = [Georgetown, D.C.](/source/Georgetown_(Washington%2C_D.C.))
| death_cause               = 
| resting_place             = [Oak Hill Cemetery](/source/Oak_Hill_Cemetery_(Washington%2C_D.C.))<br>Washington, D.C.
| resting_place_coordinates = 
| citizenship               = 
| party                     = [Federalist](/source/Federalist_Party)
| other_party               = 
| height                    = 
| spouse                    = Anne Plater
| partner                   = 
| children                  = 
| parents                   = 
| mother                    = 
| father                    = 
| relatives                 = [John Eager Howard](/source/John_Eager_Howard)<br>[William Howard](/source/William_Howard_(engineer)) {{small|(son-in-law)}}<br>[George Plater](/source/George_Plater) {{small|(father-in-law)}}<br>[Philip Key](/source/Philip_Key_(U.S._politician)) {{small|(cousin)}}<br>[Francis Scott Key](/source/Francis_Scott_Key) {{small|(nephew)}}<br>[Philip Barton Key II](/source/Philip_Barton_Key_II) {{small|(grand nephew)}}
| education                 = [Middle Temple](/source/Middle_Temple)<br>[read law](/source/read_law)
| alma_mater                = 
| occupation                = 
| profession                = 
| known_for                 = 
| salary                    = 
| net_worth                 = 
| cabinet                   = 
| committees                = 
| portfolio                 = 
| awards                    = 
| signature                 = 
| signature_alt             = 
| website                   = <!--Embedded templates / Footnotes-->
| footnotes                 = 
| allegiance                = {{flagicon image|Flag of Great Britain (1707–1800).svg}} Great Britain
| branch                    = [British Army](/source/British_Army)
| service_years             = 1777–1781
| unit                      = [Maryland Loyalists Battalion](/source/Maryland_Loyalists_Battalion)
| battles                   = [American Revolutionary War](/source/American_Revolutionary_War)
*[Battle of Mobile](/source/Battle_of_Mobile_(1781)) {{POW}} 
}}

'''Philip Barton Key''' (April 12, 1757 – July 28, 1815), was an American [Loyalist](/source/Loyalist_(American_Revolution)) during the [American Revolutionary War](/source/American_Revolutionary_War) and later was a [United States circuit judge](/source/United_States_federal_judge) and chief judge of the [United States circuit court](/source/United_States_circuit_court) for the Fourth Circuit and a [United States representative](/source/United_States_representative) from [Maryland](/source/Maryland).

==Education and career==
175px|thumb|left|Coat of Arms of Philip Barton Key
Born on April 12, 1757, near [Charlestown](/source/Charlestown%2C_Maryland), [Cecil County](/source/Cecil_County%2C_Maryland), [Province of Maryland](/source/Province_of_Maryland), [British America](/source/British_America),<ref name=FJC>{{FJC Bio|1273|nid=1383296|name=Philip Barton Key<!--(1757–1815)-->}}</ref> Key pursued an academic course.<ref name=CB>{{CongBio|K000159|inline=yes}}</ref> He was a [Loyalist](/source/Loyalist_(American_Revolution)) during the [American Revolutionary War](/source/American_Revolutionary_War), fighting with the [British Army](/source/British_Army_during_the_American_Revolutionary_War) from 1777 to 1781.<ref name=FJC/> He served in the [Maryland Loyalists Battalion](/source/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](/source/Pensacola%2C_Florida), Florida.<ref name=Riley/> Key was a prisoner for a month in [Havana](/source/Havana), [Cuba](/source/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](/source/Middle_Temple) in London in 1784 and [read law](/source/read_law) in 1785.<ref name=FJC/> He returned to [Maryland](/source/Maryland) in 1785.<ref name=FJC/> He was admitted to the bar and entered private practice in [Leonardtown](/source/Leonardtown%2C_Maryland), Maryland from 1787 to 1790.<ref name=FJC/> He continued private practice in [Annapolis](/source/Annapolis%2C_Maryland), Maryland from 1790 to 1794, and from 1799 to 1800.<ref name=FJC/> He was a member of the [Maryland House of Delegates](/source/Maryland_House_of_Delegates) from 1794 to 1799.<ref name=FJC/> He was [Mayor of Annapolis](/source/Mayor_of_Annapolis) from 1797 to 1798.{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}}

==Federal judicial service==

Key was nominated by President [John Adams](/source/John_Adams) on February 18, 1801, to the [United States circuit court](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Montgomery_County%2C_Maryland), 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](/source/Associate_Justice_of_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States) [Samuel Chase](/source/Samuel_Chase) during [his Senate impeachment trial in 1805](/source/Impeachment_of_Samuel_Chase).<ref name=FJC/>

==Congressional service==

Key was elected as a [Federalist](/source/Federalist_Party) from [Maryland's 3rd congressional district](/source/Maryland's_3rd_congressional_district) to the [United States House of Representatives](/source/United_States_House_of_Representatives) of the [10th](/source/10th_United_States_Congress), [11th](/source/11th_United_States_Congress) and [12th United States Congress](/source/12th_United_States_Congress)es, 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](/source/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.](/source/Georgetown_(Washington%2C_D.C.)) (then a separate municipality in the [District of Columbia](/source/Washington%2C_D.C.), 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](/source/Woodley_Mansion)” in Georgetown, D.C.<ref name=CB/> He was re-interred in [Oak Hill Cemetery](/source/Oak_Hill_Cemetery_(Washington%2C_D.C.)) in Washington, D.C.<ref name=CB/>

==Family==

Key's cousin, [Philip Key](/source/Philip_Key_(U.S._politician)), was a [United States representative](/source/United_States_representative) from Maryland.<ref name=CB/>

== See also ==
thumb|Mrs. Philip Barton Key (Anne Plater)
* [Philip Key (U.S. politician)](/source/Philip_Key_(U.S._politician)), Key's cousin
* [Francis Scott Key](/source/Francis_Scott_Key), Key's nephew
* [Philip Barton Key II](/source/Philip_Barton_Key_II), Key's great-nephew
* [John Eager Howard](/source/John_Eager_Howard), father-in-law of Key's daughter
* [William Howard (engineer)](/source/William_Howard_(engineer)), son-in-law
* [George Plater](/source/George_Plater), father-in-law

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Sources ==
{{CongBio|K000159}}
* {{FJC Bio|1273|nid=1383296|name=Philip Barton Key<!--(1757–1815)-->}}
* 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}}

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{{s-ttl|title=[Mayor of Annapolis](/source/List_of_mayors_of_Annapolis%2C_Maryland)|years=1797–1798}}
{{s-aft|after=[Nicholas Carroll](/source/Nicholas_Carroll)}}
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{{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Judge of the [United States circuit court](/source/United_States_circuit_court) for the Fourth Circuit}}|years=1801}}
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{{s-bef|before=Seat established by 2 Stat. 89}}
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{{s-bef|before=[Patrick Magruder](/source/Patrick_Magruder)}}
{{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|[United States Representative](/source/List_of_United_States_representatives_from_Maryland) from [Maryland's 3rd congressional district](/source/Maryland's_3rd_congressional_district)}}|years=1807–1813}}
{{s-aft|after=[Alexander Contee Hanson](/source/Alexander_Contee_Hanson)}}
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{{Portal bar|Maryland|Law|Politics|Christianity}}

{{Authority control}}

{{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

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Philip Barton Key](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Barton_Key) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Barton_Key?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.