Philip Barton Key

Philip Key
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 3rd district
In office March 4, 1807 – March 3, 1813
Preceded by	Patrick Magruder
Succeeded by	Alexander Hanson
Chief Judge of the United States Circuit Court for the Fourth Circuit
In office February 20, 1801 – July 1, 1802
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Judge of the United States Circuit Court for the Fourth Circuit
In office February 20, 1801 – July 1, 1802
Appointed by	John Adams
Preceded by	Seat established
Succeeded by	Seat abolished
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates
In office 1794-1799
Personal details
Born	April 12, 1757 Charlestown, Maryland, British America
Died	July 28, 1815 (aged 58) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political party	Federalist
Alma mater	Middle Temple

Philip Barton Key (April 12, 1757 – July 28, 1815) was a Representative from the third district of Maryland, and later a United States federal judge. Unusually for a politician in the early United States, Key had been a Loyalist in the American Revolution.

Born in Charlestown. Cecil County, Maryland, Key pursued an academic course. During the War of Independence he served in the Maryland Loyalists Battalion as a captain.^[1] He fought with the British Army from 1777 to 1781, until he was captured by the Spanish in Pensacola, Florida with the rest of his battalion. He was kept as prisoner for a month in Havana, Cuba, before being paroled and sent to New York City until the end of the war.

After the war Key traveled to England to study law at the Middle Temple. In 1785 he returned to Maryland and read law to be admitted to the bar. He began practicing law in Leonardtown, Maryland in 1787, before moving to Annapolis in 1790, becoming a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1794 until 1799. He served as Mayor of Annapolis from 1797 to 1798. He returned briefly to private practice in Annapolis from 1799 to 1800.

On February 18, 1801, Key was nominated by President John Adams to a new seat on the United States circuit court for the Fourth Circuit, created by 2 Stat. 89. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 20, 1801, and received his commission the same day. He served as chief judge of that court from 1801-1802. Key's service was terminated on July 1, 1802, with the abolition of the court.

Key then returned to private practice, from 1802 to 1807. He was a Counsel to Justice Samuel Chase during Chase's Senate impeachment trial in 1805. During this time he built and lived in Woodley Mansion in Washington, DC.

In the fall of 1806 Key moved to Montgomery County, Maryland and became interested in agriculture. Between March 4, 1807 and March 3, 1813, he was elected as a Federalist to the Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth U.S. Congresses. He also served as chairman for the Committee on District of Columbia during the Tenth Congress.

Key died in Washington County, D.C., and was interred on his estate, known as "Woodley". Later, he was re-interred at Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

See also

• 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

References

1. Conway Whittle Sams, Elihu Samuel Riley, The Bench and Bar of Maryland: A History 1634 to 1901 (1901), p. 292.

• United States Congress. "Philip Barton Key (id: K000159)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Philip Barton Key at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• Purcell, L. Edward. Who Was Who in the American Revolution. New York: Facts on File, 1993. ISBN 0-8160-2107-4.