John Ross Key

John Ross Key (September 19, 1754 – October 11, 1821) was a lawyer, a commissioned officer in the Continental Army, a judge, and the father of writer Francis Scott Key. Early life Key was born in Redland, Frederick County, Maryland, 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 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 in Captain 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, July–August 1775. By 1781 Key was a captain. He commanded a Frederick County Company of Cavalry during the Yorktown Campaign.