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Beatrice <I>Tiffany</I> Key

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Beatrice Tiffany Key

Birth
Springfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts, USA
Death
10 Oct 1892 (aged 32)
New York County, New York, USA
Burial
Baltimore, Baltimore City, Maryland, USA Add to Map
Plot
AA, lot 36
Memorial ID
View Source
Youngest daughter of Osmond & Ann Tiffany, she was a reigning Baltimore belle whose fall from a window at her home on E. Hoffman Street into the snow on 13 February 1888 was the talk of the town. Was it an accident? or had she attempted self-harm, as several papers implied ("she was melancholy from unrequired love," said the Chicago Tribune the next day).

She married Francis Scott Key, a descendant of the poet, in Baltimore on 29 June 1889. They moved to New York City.

Not long afterward, she scandalized society, her husband and her parents by going on the stage. Good notices ensued, but in May of 1892 she was fired by the Harris, Britton & Dean Opera Company for "habitual unreliability" after a matinee "when [she] appeared on the stage in such a condition that the management felt warranted her resignation." It made the national news, and more than a few papers did not shrink from reporting that she was both high-handed and an alcoholic. A subsequent engagement with a New Orleans company ended on similar terms.

The Boston Glove reported on 12 October (p. 1) that "her friends said death was caused by blood poisoning ... There appears to be some mystery about her death, but little information can be obtained from her relatives ..."

Her marriage did not produce any children.
Youngest daughter of Osmond & Ann Tiffany, she was a reigning Baltimore belle whose fall from a window at her home on E. Hoffman Street into the snow on 13 February 1888 was the talk of the town. Was it an accident? or had she attempted self-harm, as several papers implied ("she was melancholy from unrequired love," said the Chicago Tribune the next day).

She married Francis Scott Key, a descendant of the poet, in Baltimore on 29 June 1889. They moved to New York City.

Not long afterward, she scandalized society, her husband and her parents by going on the stage. Good notices ensued, but in May of 1892 she was fired by the Harris, Britton & Dean Opera Company for "habitual unreliability" after a matinee "when [she] appeared on the stage in such a condition that the management felt warranted her resignation." It made the national news, and more than a few papers did not shrink from reporting that she was both high-handed and an alcoholic. A subsequent engagement with a New Orleans company ended on similar terms.

The Boston Glove reported on 12 October (p. 1) that "her friends said death was caused by blood poisoning ... There appears to be some mystery about her death, but little information can be obtained from her relatives ..."

Her marriage did not produce any children.

Inscription

Wife of Francis Scott Key

Gravesite Details

Marker is worn & hard to decipher.



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  • Created by: E. Hanson
  • Added: Jun 15, 2023
  • Find a Grave Memorial ID:
  • Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/255452777/beatrice-key: accessed ), memorial page for Beatrice Tiffany Key (1 Nov 1859–10 Oct 1892), Find a Grave Memorial ID 255452777, citing Green Mount Cemetery, Baltimore, Baltimore City, Maryland, USA; Maintained by E. Hanson (contributor 48269281).