Buchanan: James Buchanan Family Papers, Part 8 Papers of Others (Not Part of the Family), Series 1 Correspondence

Call Number: JBFP, Part 8, Series 1

1 box     27 folders, 34 items, 69 pages     .5 cubic feet

Scope and Content Note: Series 1, Correspondence, contains letters from various individuals who, although not familiarly related to James Buchanan, may be related through business, distant family relations and friends and guests of Wheatland. Named recipients and authors not listed under Subject Headings include Joseph C. Passmore (1843), Virginia Pleasonton (1849), Ann Elizabeth Foster Buchanan (1850), George S. Bryan (1855); H. S. Gara (1855), George Steinman (1857), Morrison Foster (1859), D.G. Eshleman (1860), Hiram B. Swarr (1860), H. M. North (1860), William E. Cooper (1861, 1862, 1864, 1866, 1888), Harry N. Howell (1862), P. S. Dechert (1862, 1864), George W. Birdseye (1863), M. J. Nevin (1877), S. M. L. Barlow (1881), R. J. Brown (1885), William Anderson (1886), Elizabeth C. Hobson (1905), C. H. Robb (1905), Bernard Carter (1905), May S. Kennedy (1905), Mary Speer (1905), and Louisa Anderson Henry. Subject matter varies greatly from politics to family issues. There is mention of the political figures and climate in Lancaster and Chambersburg, Pennsylvania just prior to and after the start of the Civil War. There are also letters discussing the publication of Stephen Foster’s songs, George Curtis’ biography of James Buchanan, the death of Louisa Anderson Henry and the status of Harriet Lane Johnston’s paintings after her death. The majority of the letters were either from or to Pennsylvania, particularly Lancaster County, with a few from New York and Washington, DC. The letters are arranged in chronological order and range from 1843 through 1905, evenly dispersed throughout.

The digital collection is available at James Buchanan Presidential Library.