Person talk:Thomas Buchanan (19)

More than one Thomas [20 November 2013]

There are two Thomas Buchanans floating around which are connected as the son of John Buchanan and Jane Russell. The first is Thomas Buchanan (12) supposedly born abt 1759 in Blairlush, Tyrone, Donegal, Ireland. The second is this Thomas Buchanan. Unfortunately, while there are many GEDCOM trees which show both relationships as 'valid', records to support either relationship are non-existent thus far.

Thomas Buchanan (12) is the current more likely candidate of their family based on biographies of the life of President James Buchanan, which indicate that the President's father was raised by his mother's family, not by his parents. Klein's Biography, 1962, pg 1 indicates that the parents, John Buchanan and Jane Russell, likely died young --

"As a baby, he had been brought to the forty-acre farm in County Donegal called the "Big Airds," the home of his mother's brother, Samuel Russell. Samuel's daughter, Molly, remembered the cold, rainy day when her father came riding in with little James bundled up snugly under his greatcoat. What happened to the parents of James Buchanan remains a mystery. His father, John Buchanan, had married Jane Russell in 1750, and the couple had several children before James was born in 1761. There is some evidence that the mother died about that time and that the father then disappeared. After 1764, no trace of the parents can be found."

The footnote for this quoted section uses "Buchanan Chart" by L.D. Buchanan, Houston, Texas, and Genealogy and History (Washington D.C.), Aug. 15, 1940 as sources. Unfortunately, L.D. Buchanan is connected with the Buchanan Estate Scam from the 1930s, therefore, this reference is suspect. Genealogy and History is a reference which currently eludes me.

The secondary option would be that Thomas Buchanan (12) and this Thomas Buchanan are one and the same.

Until such time as either can be proven, John and Jane Buchanan have been removed as parents from this Thomas Buchanan and replaced as SpeculativeParents.--Khaentlahn 18:50, 20 November 2013 (UTC)

The more I dig into genealogies compiled before the Estate Scam, the less likely either Thomas is the son of John and Jane (Russell) Buchanan, but more research needs to be done.