Name/Title
Jno. C. Buchanan, (Logansport, Indiana) to Geo. W. Ziegler (Green Castle, Pennsylvania), letter, 21 September 1843Entry/Object ID
2008.5.49Scope and Content
Jno. C. Buchanan, (Logansport, Indiana) to Geo. W. Ziegler (Green Castle, Pennsylvania), letter, 21 September 1843; privately held by Candice Buchanan, Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, 2018. John C. Buchanan wrote to announce the death of his father Rev. James Buchanan, which occurred on 16 September 1843. purchased via online auction from an antiques collector, no provenance known. Candice Lynn Buchanan owned and shared the document with the Greene Connections: Greene County, Pennsylvania Archives Project in 2018.
Transcribed by Candice Buchanan, the letter reads:
"Mr. Geo. W. Ziegler
Green Castle
Franklin County
Penna.
Logansport Sept. 21st 1843
Esteemed Friend
I write to communicate to you, the painful intelligence of Father's sudden death, which occurred on Saturday morn last 16th at 5 o'clock. He was taken ill the Sabbath morn preceding his death, but thought himself able to preach, and went to church with that intention at the usual hour. Having advanced probably halfway in his discourse, he became so unwell as to [words hard to read] to express his inability to proceed, and after giving out the first two lines of a hymn, left the church. He continued more or less indisposed, but not seriously so until Wednesday morn, when he became so much better as to be [words hard to read] himself, but at noon was unexpectedly seized with a malignant chill which was followed by all the alarming symptoms, of that very fatal [word hard to read] affection in this country, congestion of the brain, which terminated his life on Saturday.
His remains were taken to the church on Sabbath at the usual hour of holding services there, a funeral sermon was preached by Rev. [Wm. ?] Brown & by a short appropriate address by Rev. I. Wright. We were then conducted to the place interment where his remains were deposited and shall rest until the Resurrection morn. There was nothing very special in his last hours, his disease being of such a character as to incapacitate him for much of any satisfactory conversation, but the [word hard to read] conclusive evidence of his entire resignation to the will of Heaven, and that his sole hope of salvation was in the atoning blood of Christ. We are left to mourn the loss of one of the kindest and best of parents, who labored long, and arduously, under the pressure of many trying difficulties, for our temporal & spiritual welfare, broken health & straightened circumstances compelled him to seek a home & a living in the west, during the period of his short sojourn here he experienced much to discourage and distress him, a portion of his time residing in a cabin, which would scarce shelter him from the tempests, and living on a salary so small, that oftentimes he was destitute of the common necessaries of life, but he bore with the patient resignation of a Christian.
He has gone to reap the reward of his doings on earth, and though to us his death is a loss, to him to gain. He ceased not to labor for the spiritual labor of his little flock, who waited on his ministration, which tho unable to reward him with much of this world's goods, yet appeared cheerfully to extend with [words hard to read] hand, out of the little they possessed, that which contributed or somewhat to his support, [word hard to read] while living, his solace & comfort on a dying bed, & respect for his memory when no more. And to us his surviving relatives, every attention & kindness which sympathy & affection could prompt was shown - from our memory the grateful remembrance of which no time or change can affect - I write particularly to you because it was Father's intention to have written to express his grateful sense of the esteem & regard you manifested for him & tender to you his thanks for that expression of your kindness [word hard to read] by his work. The rest of the members of the family are well. [Word hard to read] mother who by this unexpected situation of Providence has been plunged into the deepest sorrow & her health very delicate, indeed I apprehend she will ere long join Father in the Realm of eternal life, painful as such an affliction would prove to us. Yet it would be selfish to desire Her sojourn in a world where she must be subjected to many sorrows & [word hard to read], partly the result of the disappointments & misfortune of her Sons. May you dear sir & I & all profit by this dispensation of Providence & prepare to meet him in Heaven.
No doubt [Wm. ?] McClain & wife Caroline, Miss [I. ?] McCullough & [name hard to read] would be pleased to hear the particulars of Father's death, to whom please present the respect of our family & accept for yourself the assurance of our highest regard & esteem.
Yours truly,
Jno. C. Buchanan
Mr. G. W. Ziegler [Written Bottom-Left]"Collection
Candice Lynn Buchanan CollectionLexicon
Search Terms
Buchanan family, Letters (Correspondence)Archive Items Details
Date(s) of Creation
Sep 21, 1843Other Names and Numbers
Other Number
CAND-AN004-DOCU-0006Relationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Buchanan, James (Rev.) [1783-1843]Person or Organization
Buchanan, John C. [1812-1891]Provenance
Provenance Detail
Buchanan Series - Candice Lynn Buchanan CollectionNotes
Source Citation: Jno. C. Buchanan, (Logansport, Indiana) to Geo. W. Ziegler (Green Castle, Pennsylvania), letter, 21 September 1843, item no. CAND-AN004-DOCU-0006, Candice Lynn Buchanan Collection, Greene Connections Archives Project (www.GreeneConnections.com).