The Coolidge examiner., 1935-06-07


name of the man ,sho did the christening. Bu,
q Is doubtful n one oui % a hundred could tell
anything else about hIm-vtrre he was born.
what SORT % man be grcw up 10 De- and whai
else happened % him after that high point In
bis eareeF when BE- stood on the deck % Brit
ish ship and. looking toward bomharded Fort
Mclienry 10y the dawn's early light" saw that
our Gag was stlli there"
II they want % learn more about him they
can 30 no better than 10 get a copy % the book
'Spanrled Rnnuer-Thc story of Francis Scott
Key" written by Victor weybrlght and pub.
ushed recently by Farrar and Rlnehart o. New
YoTk II is The nrsi complete biography % this
forgotten man." fulllenEth portrait of q "a.
triot who deserves better than the neglect that
has been bis lot.
Francis scott Key ike Adam. came % the
red EARTH says weybrghL ~Iic was born
August l. iT1p. az Terra Rubra his famllys
country seat In the Maryland rcdlandA- And
although be became noted lawyer and asso
ciaicd with some of the nations greatest 10 the
National Capital to the end of bis days he re
malned a son Of the soil with a passionate love
for the place of bis birth.
Key Was also q true Son Of the American
Revolution Before be vas born. John Ross
key bis father marched away 90 the siege Of
Boston a. a lieutenant % one % the Maryand
such thrill of Joy 20 Hls Ereeiicncy. Gen.
George Washington After bis birth the elder
Key rode away 10 Virginia 10 nght with lafay.
cite against Benedict Arnold aud Lord Corn
wallis
Curiously enough the man who was 10 iniu-
ence Francis Scott Keys llfe most was not a
Patriot but a Tory-his uncle. Phiiip Barton
Key. Who had heeB studying lHw 10 Phlladel-
phia at the outbreak OF the Revolution. Joined
the british army there and became m officer
In q Maryland Loynilst regiment 81 the Reyo-
luton vas a civil var for The Keys IL vas
for many another family
Francis Scott Key was slx when Uncle Philip
Bartuu kcy. the erstwhle Tory. forgiven by bis
family and par,ioned by the government. came
home from England u was a gala day. ;"
q, may have been the Influence Of Uncle Phiiip
with bis penchnnt for poetry or u may have
been an inheritance from ancestor. who vas
fifteenth century poet laureate % England.
bat ln any case Francis Scott Key began writing
versss as a boy and continued doing all his
NE AZ hrst he wrote this for the entertain.
ment of himself and of his sister. Ann Phoebe
Charlton hey. Wheu. as a youth. he began 10
fall 10 love be wooed the giri OF the moment
with verse.
Certainly 1, vas the influence OF Uncle Philip
which determined that he should become
leEe In Annapolis where be could be under the
eye % the uncle who WIS already one Of the
leadlng attorneys of Maryland
AFTER his graduation frvm 81. Johns. II was
the influence of Uncle PHILIP which placed him
In the Office of Judge jeremiah Towney Chase
60 read law. Studying Ia Judge Chase's Office
Was another hedgiing lawyer destined for fame
Roger Brooke Taney. recently graduated from
Dickinson college at Carlisle. ia. The two be-
came close friends aud their relationship became
even closer when fancy met Ann Key. fell In
love with her and married her. Years later he
vas 20 become the chief Justice Taney of the
United states supreme Court who handed down
the historic Dred Scott decision.
In the summers Key returned 10 Terra Rubra
to spend his vacation and there In two success.
slve years two significant events occurred. In
lTg7 he met fourieen-year-old Mary Tayloe
Lloyd whom be married hye-years later. "ln the
summer of i1aS. be heard for the first time
a political song 10 the tune Of To ABacreon In
Heaven the melody that was 10 make him
famous II Adams and Liberty cele-
bratinE President Adams firm notes To France
and England. and II became one OF the most
popular songs ever sung In America. Its author.
Robert Treat Paine had written II for the
fete OF Charitable Fire Society in Massachu-
setts The words were rouslng The tune was
novel Even JeHersonlans sang II Justify"
After completing his studies In Annapolis Key
went TO Frederick. Nd. 20 begin the practice OF
Law. After he was married he moved TO George
town. just outside OF Washington. the new CapI-
tai there 10 engage In the practice OF law with
his Uncle Philip. -As a lawyer. he developed
into an original peader His voice firm. sonor-
GUS mellow. his remarkably distinct enuncia-
ton his striking. erect. six-foot figure were al
most his undoing His oratory and personal
charm exceeded his logic. He neglected to pierce
failacies with reason. Instead. he resorted to
humanitarian appeals. His countenance. calm
and expressiOnless In repose, now betrayed his
sentimentality. Like tragic actor. when he
threw his whole soul into a speech his face
rejected how deeply he was moved
SO Francis Scott Key became one Of the ou:-
standing attorneys OF his time-a fact which is
all too little known by his felo,s-Americans who
think of him only as the auther OF their national
anthem. With his uncle. VINO was one OF the
cousel for the defense. he had a minor part In
the impeachment trial ot Samuel Chase Of the
Supreme court. 'the first great legal battle that
rocked the federal government"
soon after this trial. which resulted In the
Rcqulitcl OF Chase. Philip Barton Key retired
from the practice OF law and turned the business
over TO his nephew. His first important case
was the defense OF Dr. Erich Bollman and sam
pel Swarthout who were implicated In Burr's