Mr. Stearnes married, on February 10, 1892, Miss Margaret Buchanan, of Greenbrier County, West Virginia. Mrs. Stearnes's mother, nee Mary Flood Bocock, born in Appomattox County, Virginia, was the youngest sister of Thomas S. Bocock, who was Speaker of the Confederate Congress in Richmond. Her father was Captain John Rice Buchanan, of Rockbridge County, Virginia. He was a grandson of James Buchanan, who emigrated from Scotland and settled in Rockbridge County, Virginia, where, at the old Buchanan homestead, Mrs. Stearnes was born. Buchanan's father was a first cousin of President James Buchanan. 
Captain Buchanan served in the Confederate Army as Captain of one of the Rockbridge companies, participating with his company in many of the important battles of the war, and made a splendid record for gallantry and faithful service.
- Note: based upon what is known about the ancestry of President James Buchanan and this James Buchanan, the claim listed of the relationship with the two Buchanan families is highly unlikely.
