Tag

Buchanan Surname

The Buchanan Family sparked my interest in researching our family history. When I was a little girl, I heard that former President James Buchanan was my 5x great-uncle. So, naturally, I set out to see if that was true…and how he was related exactly. More on that later. And now here we are today.

I did a quick search on Ancestry.com to find the origin of the surname Buchanan. Buchanan originated in Scotland. Interestingly, my great aunt visited Scotland once, and when she returned, she reported that she felt at home there, like she belonged there.

Fortunately, Ancestry seems to have over 3 million records for the Buchanan surname, which is fantastic!  Researching this line of genealogy should be pretty straightforward, right?

The Buchanan families seem to have immigrated all over the United States.

While it appears that most of them immigrated to the eastern regions of the United States, many also immigrated to Texas and California.

I don’t yet know where her parents were born, so I’m not sure how far back in the Applegate line they immigrated. Based on the time frame, I would venture to guess that it would’ve been her grandparents or great-grandparents who immigrated.

I wonder how our ancestors decided where to immigrate to.  How did they decide where to go?

My DNA shows that I am 28% Irish, including Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.  I think it’s safe to say I inherited a bit of Buchanan blood here.

According to Ancestry.com, most Buchanans came from Scotland and Ireland, with a select few from England, Great Britain, and Germany.

I would be interested in traveling to Scotland to see if I feel the same connection that my great aunt did when she went there.

That would be so cool to feel a deep-rooted connection in my ancestors’ area.

The Buchanan family probably immigrated to the United States between 1851 and 1891.

Again, I’d very much like to know why they immigrated.  What prompted their decisions to leave?  Where did they intend to go?  What did they intend to do?

There are just so many questions!

The biggest spikes seem to be around 1870 and again around 1885. I wonder if something was going on in Scotland and Ireland in those years that prompted a decision to leave. I’ll have to look into that further. Maybe I could at least get a general idea of why they may have left.

Most Buchanans seem to have been farmers, which is pretty consistent with my research so far.

I’ve found that most wives prior to the 1900s were housekeepers or housewives, so it’s not surprising that 6% are included in this chart.

Farmers and Laborers were pretty typical jobs in the 1800s and early 1900s. I’ve seen many of each in all the lines I’ve researched.

I will be looking for any Buchanans with interesting jobs besides farming. I know there was a Methodist Pastor in this line, so that’s different from the norm.

I wonder what other interesting occupations I’ll find in my research.

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Buchanan Members Researched So Far

Finally, the Buchanan family’s life expectancy has been pretty close to that of the general public.

It seems as though many lived to see their 70s.

I do find it interesting that life expectancy spiked in the late 1950s by over 20 years! It’s commonly known that technological advances began in the 1950s; perhaps this is the reason for the spike.

Researchers are still trying to determine the reasons for such differences. So, I will continue focusing on my own ancestors and let the scientists tackle that question.

There is not much information on this line just yet, as I’ve only researched one person so far. But, as always, I will come back and update this page as I find more information. There is so much to do, so little time!

It would be nice to know more about these ancestors.  Where did they come from before Indiana?  Why did they immigrate to the United States?  Are there any notable or famous ancestors in this line?

Have you found Buchanan in your family tree yet?  If so, I’d love to hear from you!

Even if you haven’t, have you found reliable places to research the history of your family name? I’d love to know where to go to find out accurate facts about surnames that can provide some of the history behind the name. Do share and let us know how you do it. Just drop a line in the comments below.

That’s all for now, I’ll check back regularly and update this page as I find additional information.

Happy searching!

~Kris