Name/Title
A. Buchanan, (Washington, D.C.) to Martha Ragan (Steubenville, Ohio), letter, 8 January 1839Entry/Object ID
2019.17.1Scope and Content
A. Buchanan, (Washington, D.C.) to Martha Ragan (Steubenville, Ohio), letter, 8 January 1839.
Andrew Buchanan was serving as a member of Congress at the time he wrote this letter to his daughter Martha (Buchanan) Ragan. It reads as follows:
"Washington Jan. 8, 1839
Dear Martha,
I recd. yours of the 1st inst. Was pleased to hear of your welfare. My health has been better this winter than usual. I have strong hopes, from present feelings that it will remain so. I hear from home every week, they are all well there. I suppose you heard of the marriage of your friend Mary Brown the Doctor's widow.**
I have no news, Congress is doing no good for the country, nothing but party excitement & bitter contention is the rule of the day & will remain so until after the next Presidential election & how much longer God only knows.
With affections yours,
A. Buchanan"
**Mary Hannah (Stull) (Ragan) Brown was twice related to Martha (Buchanan) Ragan as well as being her friend. Mary's first husband was Joab Ragan, Martha's brother-in-law. After his death, Mary married Dr. John N. Brown. John was himself a widower. His first wife had been Rachel Buchanan, Andrew's daughter and Martha's sister. Dr. Brown died soon too unfortunately and twice widowed Mary was for a third time united in marriage, this time to William Thomas Evans Webb.Collection
Nathan Birx CollectionLexicon
Search Terms
Brown family, Buchanan family, Letters (Correspondence), Politics, Ragan family, Stull family, Webb familyArchive Items Details
Date(s) of Creation
Jan 8, 1839Other Names and Numbers
Other Number
BIRX-AN001-0001Relationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Brown, John N. (Dr.) [1800c-1837]Person or Organization
Buchanan, Andrew [1780-1848]Person or Organization
Buchanan, Martha [1814-1886]Person or Organization
Stull, Mary Hannah [1809-1852]Provenance
Provenance Detail
Letters Series - Nathan Birx CollectionOwner/Agent
Birx, NathanAcquisition Method
DigitalNotes
The letter was acquired through online sale by Nathan Birx who subsequently sold the letter to Candice Buchanan, Andrew's fourth great-granddaughter, who owned and shared the document with the Greene Connections: Greene County, Pennsylvania Archives Project in 2019.
Source Citation: A. Buchanan, (Washington, D.C.) to Martha Ragan (Steubenville, Ohio), letter, 8 January 1839, item no. BIRX-AN001-0001, Nathan Birx Collection, owned and shared by Candice Buchanan as of 2019, Greene Connections Archives Project (www.GreeneConnections.com).