Another Special Life in Christ:

Francis Scott Key:

His Life Before Jesus Came In:

What kind of a man was he, the man who wrote the poem that has ever since thrilled his fellow citizens? Francis was born on August 1, 1779, while the young United States was waging an earlier war with Britain-- the war that bought American independence. Among the strong influences on his character was his grandmother, Ann Arnold Ross Key. She lost her eyesight rescuing two servants from flames, but bore her affliction with Christian fortitude. The sensitive Francis was deeply impressed by her strong faith and became a man of faith himself. Died in 1843.

His Life Since Jesus Came In:

Francis studied law and practiced it in Washington, D.C. Even in the busiest times, however, he never failed to conduct family prayers in his home twice a day--and always included the servants. He loved his children. Once he had the gardener prepare a surprise for each of them: a tiny round garden. When the seeds sprouted, the plants took the shape of their names.

A member of the Episcopal Church, Francis was a cofounder of the American Sunday School Union. He gave generously of time and money to seminaries, missions and organizations that educated poor children and relieved their needs. When John Randolph of Roanoke's faith was shaken by reading Voltaire and other skeptics, Francis wrote to him: "Men may argue ingeniously against our faith, as indeed they may against anything--but what can they say in defense of their own--I would carry the war into their own territories, I would ask them what they believe--if they said they believed anything, I think that they might be shown to be more full of difficulties and liable to infinitely greater objections than the system they oppose and they were credulous and unreasonable for believing it. If they said they did not believe anything...they would be insane, or at best ill qualified to teach others..."

Francis Scott Key was a respected young lawyer living in Georgetown just west of where the modern day Key Bridge crosses the Potomac River (the house was torn down after years of neglect in 1947). He made his home there from 1804 to around 1833 with his wife Mary and their six sons and five daughters. At the time, Georgetown was a thriving town of 5,000 people just a few miles from the Capitol, the White House, and the Federal buildings of Washington.

Since May 30th, 1949 the US flag has flown continuously, by a Joint Resolution of Congress, over the monument marking the site of Francis Scott Key's birthplace, Terra Rubra Farm, Carroll County, Keymar, Maryland. The copy that Key wrote in his hotel September 14,1814, remained in the Nicholson family for 93 years. In 1907 it was sold to Henry Walters of Baltimore. In 1934 it was bought at auction in New York from the Walters estate by the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore for $26,400. The Walters Gallery in 1953 sold the manuscript to the Maryland Historical Society for the same price. Another copy that Key made is in the Library of Congress.

What is the Gospel...the "good news" of Jesus?