By consideration and consolidation of the various bits and pieces that have come my way, I have discovered that I am related to the writer of "The Star-Spangled Banner".
Phillip Keye (1696-1764) and Susannah Barton Gardner (1705-1742) moved to Maryland in 1740, which was obviously not so great for her; they were my 7xgreat grandparents.
Richard's daughter Mary Key (1752-1796) was my 5x great-grandmother. Her first cousin was John Ross Key (1754-1821).
Mary married Daniel Charles Heath (1744-1797) and their daughter Susanna Gardner Heath (1780–1827) was my 4x great grandmother. Her second cousin Francis Scott Key (1779-1843) was the writer of "The Star-Spangled Banner". They all lived in Maryland and the various generations were close in age, so they probably knew each other.
Susanna married the somewhat older Matthias Bordley (1757-1828); they moved to Pennsylvania, and their multiply named daughter Sally Rebecca Heath Sims Bordley (1805–1884) was my 3x great-grandmother.
She also married a somewhat older man, a homeopathic doctor (!!!), Richard Grafton Belt (1784-1855), and the love letters of their daughter Fanny, my great-great-grandmother, survive.
So, it's a small world sometimes. Francis Scott Key was my second cousin, six times removed. Am chasing another interesting Maryland connection, but one of the crucial early links is weak…
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