Philip Carlin Buchanan

Birth & Family Roots (1913)

Philip Carlin Buchanan came into the world on January 4, 1913, in Shawneetown, Illinois, the son of a preacher, Maurice Buchanan, and his wife, Pearl Wilton. He was one of four children — with his twin brother Charles sharing the day of his arrival.

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Childhood in a Preacher’s Household (1920–1930)

By 1920, the Buchanan family had settled in Winslow, Pike County, Indiana, living on Lafayette Street. The home bustled with children — Versa (9), Charles and Carlin (7), and Lois (5) — while Maurice ministered to his congregation.

Ten years later, the 1930 census places the family in Loogootee, Martin County, where Maurice was serving as a Methodist pastor. The twins were now 17, standing on the threshold of adulthood.

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Striking Out on His Own (1934–1935)

The 1934 Indianapolis City Directory lists Carlin at 1233 N. State Avenue, making his own way during the Great Depression.

On April 17, 1935, he married Theresa Louise Owens in their home at 2407 Brookside Drive in Indianapolis.

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Early Family Life (1936–1937)

In 1936, Carlin and Theresa lived at 2036 Houston Street, where he worked as a shipping clerk for the Royal Typewriter Co.

That same year, on April 19, they welcomed their first daughter, Theresa Anita.

A year later, on June 13, 1937, they welcomed their second daughter, Carolyn Lois.

By then, the family had moved to 3347 E. 20th Street, and Carlin was working as a salesman for a vacuum sweeper company.

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Building a Life in Indianapolis (1940–1952)

The 1940 census shows the family at 2831 Kenwood Avenue. Carlin had returned to typewriter sales, earning $832 that year and paying $20 in monthly rent.

On October 16, 1940, Carlin registered for the WWII draft. He was described as 5’7”, 130 pounds, with a light complexion, red hair, and brown eyes. He named Theresa as his next of kin.

City records from 1952 still place him in Indiana, working and raising his family.

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Final Years & Passing (1967)

By the time of his death, Carlin had moved to Glendale Heights, Illinois. He passed away on January 5, 1967, at St. John’s Hospital in Anderson, Indiana, the day after his 54th birthday. The cause was complications from a ruptured esophageal varicose vein, after years of struggling with a nutritional illness.

He was laid to rest at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis on January 9, 1967.

His obituary names his daughters — Mrs. Ben Conn, Mrs. Mike Feeny, and Carolyn Buchanan — and mentions six grandchildren, as well as extended family through his mother’s remarriage and his siblings’ marriages.

Carlin’s life was one of constant motion — moving between towns, careers, and roles as son, husband, father, and salesman.

Want to help fill in the rest of Carlin’s story?
We’ve pieced together the key moments of his life, but there’s always more between the lines. Visit Philip Carlin Buchanan’s Introduction Page to share your memories, stories, and family lore so his life can be remembered in full color.

That’s all for now,

~Kris

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Revisited by Bones 🕵🏻‍♂️

Ah, dear Carlin — the records paint him as a preacher’s son turned typewriter man, his life stamped neatly across city directories and census lines. But if you linger around certain family whispers, a different picture takes shape. There’s talk of him being more spirited than the church registry might suggest — the kind of man who could sell you a typewriter in the morning and know exactly where the “good stuff” was by nightfall.

Of course, we have no ledger or court paper to prove such rumors… but let’s just say, when someone’s final years bear the telltale marks of a hard-drinking life, the story all but writes itself in the family imagination. Still, until the day we uncover a dusty arrest record or a confession tucked into a Bible margin, it remains just that — a story.