Buchanan History

Buchanan History

THE BUCHANANS

[This summary of the family history was written by me [Bill Buchanan] and included in the photocopies I made of the Buchanan Family Tree book for relatives about 1978.]

Clan Buchanan

The clan Buchanan is said to be descended from Anselan O'Kyan, a prince from Ulster province, Ireland. He was granted land in Lennox by King Malcolm II of Scotland in return for his services in battles against Danish raiders. The land granted was the district of Buchanan on the east shore of Loch Lomond, and included Ben Lomond. Anselan's descendants eventually adopted the district's name as their own. Over the centuries the clan grew in numbers and in prominence, both at home and abroad.

Resettlement of Ulster

The resettlement of Ulster saw some Buchanans return to the homeland of their ancestor, Anselan O'Kyan. Among these enterprising people were our own ancestors. Whether or not they gave any thought to their ancestral connection to their new home, we may never know in this life.

"They lived in Omagh, County of Tyrone, Ireland and knew they were of Scotch origin. The Buchanans had left Scotland during a rebellion.", as Belle Hunter explained it. By the time they come into our knowledge, they had spent a few generations in Ireland, and considered themselves to be Irish Buchanans, with Irish traditions. And it was the Irish problems of famine and religious strife that turned their thoughts towards a new land with seemingly boundless opportunities.

I remember my father, George (William George) Buchanan, saying that he had heard that the family had lived near Londonderry right on the coast and often caught fish in the sea, and that John's grandfather died in Ireland at over 90 years of age - he slept more and more, and finally he never woke up. George mentioned someone telling about someone going by with a large fish he had caught. William Henry Buchanan in Neepawa referred to Samuel Buchanan mentioning that he had walked the walls of Derry. George said that he understood that the family lived at Strabane, County Tyrone. [Of course these stories become somewhat garbled in retelling, and so they could come from other family lines.]

Jane Buchanan Watson's tombstone at Neepawa, Manitoba, says that she was born at Omagh, County Tyrone, 27 February, 1836. The death certificate of John Buchanan states that he was born in County Tyrone. These are the localities in Ireland that seem to have family connections.

Emigration From Ireland

In the 1800s many families were leaving Northern Ireland to escape the famine and for more freedom of worship. The Buchanan family had lived on the line separating the Protestants from the Catholics. As in Ireland today, friction existed between the two groups. Annie B. McMane said, "Some thought they were leaving hardships behind, but I understand that great grandfather Andrew Buchanan sr. was a thinker and realized that there would be hardships ahead, and so appreciated the fact that his family were all grown to young manhood."

William George Buchanan also said that the family spent 9 weeks on the water. They were out to sea for 10 days when a storm forced them back to Ireland. The ship was refitted and the trip was then completed in 7 weeks.

"Andrew sr. was a man of quick wit. Some man on the boat said to him, 'You have a large family.' and he answered "Yes, I have seven sons, and every son has a sister.' 'Oh, that is a grand family, fourteen - largest family on the boat!', was the reply."

Andrew and his wife Jane (nee McNeilands) had seven sons: William, Charles, Andrew, Robert, James, John, and Samuel , and a daughter Jane. Charles and William seem to be the only sons married at the time of the immigration. Apparently, one or two of Ann Thompson's brothers came with them, but went to Michigan. They were referred to by Annie B. McMane and Elizabeth Hardie.

In the year 1847 the family sold their belongings and bought passage to Canada. Many other families came at government expense, but our ancestors paid their own way. The ship had been at sea for about 10 days when it was so badly damaged in a storm, that it had to return for repairs. On the second attempt, the Atlantic was crossed successfully, but at a great cost.

Fever and Death

An outbreak of "immigrant fever" (typhus) took the lives of about 20 people on board, and the ship was quarantined in Kingston, Ontario. Some of the family were very ill when they disembarked. Andrew sr. died there, and also William's first child, a young daughter. They were buried in a pioneer cemetery in Kingston.

In 1847, out of the 89,738 passengers bound for Upper Canada, 15,333 died of disease, usually typhus or cholera. Perhaps our everyday cares will seem a little lighter if we think back to those faced by our ancestors.

Settlement in the Queen's Bush

They traveled to North Easthope, where the women and children spent the winter, and the men traveled to Stratford, partly on foot, then walked 30 miles north into the "Queen's Bush" (crown land). Then, whenever they needed supplies they had to walk to Stratford and back, sometimes carrying a sack of flour on each shoulder. Some may have carried tents, for they all settled along a creek within 2 square miles.

There, they started clearing land and building log shanties and dugouts. There was no land survey for some years after they settled. The next spring, the men went back to bring the women and children to their new homes. Annie B. McMane writes "How they ever grew enough to eat for the first few years has always puzzled me, for that part of the country was a dense forest of huge trees."

"Three years later, in 1851, the area was surveyed and named Elma Township in Perth County.

"Soon after settling in the bush, William's wife had a new daughter named Margaret. She was the first white child born in Elma Township. She was about 10 when the first school in the area opened - in William's old log barn. The teacher could read a little, and write and add up figures, but no other subjects. The teacher got $50.00 a year and worked around the farms for his board. How times have changed!

"The mother, Mrs. Andrew sr, died and was buried in an old Anglican cemetery one and a half miles south of William's homestead. The grave was one of the early ones and was dug between the stumps of trees, where the trees had recently been cut down and cleared away. It is supposed that only wooden markers were used. Anyhow, when the cemetery was later (much later) surveyed and arranged in an orderly plan for future care, it was said that no account was given of the grave.

"Robert died young in years, leaving two small sons. His widow later married Alex Long, and went to Manitoba about the time of the great move (1879), taking her sons also. William, Charles and Andrew remained in Elma. Andrew's wife dead and buried in Donegal cemetery, he then made several trips to Manitoba and back, and was finally buried in Donegal.

The Big Move to Manitoba

"John Buchanan, Samuel Buchanan, and James Watson (Jane's husband) and their families left for Manitoba by train about 1879, except James Watson's daughter Lizzy, who was engaged to be married to William Buchanan's son Robert." James Buchanan also went to Neepawa, Manitoba, but he didn't take his wife, as he planned on going to the mountains prospecting for gold. His son Andrew went with him. His son started back from B.C., but drowned just a few miles from where they said 'Good-bye'. James didn't find out about the tragedy for a long time. In fact, I believe it was about seven years later that he arrived back at Neepawa and learned the news. He never went back to Ontario. He stayed in Manitoba.

The trip west to Manitoba was an eventful journey, although it wasn't as terrible as the ocean-crossing a generation earlier and the trek to Elma Township. The railroad was something new and wonderful in those days, and it must have been really exciting to take a trip to the very end of civilization, as represented by the railway line. At that time Fort Garry or Winnipeg was the end of the railway, and from there they would have to travel by covered wagon to the Neepawa area. Once there, they would need to travel all the way to Portage la Prairie whenever they needed supplies. Again they would be pioneers. Nevertheless, there were a few problems they hadn't anticipated.

Stranded on the Railway Tracks

One night a coupling failed, and the train sped off into the darkness, unaware that some of its cars and some of its passengers had been left behind. As the cars coasted to a halt, the passengers waited for the train to stop and recouple. Instead, the train disappeared out of sight, and eventually, out of hearing range. Then came the realization of their danger. If the train came speeding back looking for them in the dark, a terrible collision could result, and a second train was expected shortly. To avert a collision, men with lanterns were sent ahead and back along the tracks. When the train reached its next stop the problem was discovered and it came back for its missing cars.

When the train would stop to take on water, Solomon Watson would climb into the stock car, then while the train chugged along he would do the milking, and return to the coach with the milk at the next water stop.

Public Kitchens

Some sort of public kitchens were available for the new arrivals at Winnipeg. Apparently the facilities were too limited to handle the number of new arrivals in this frontier boom town. A woman would set her stew on the stove, then leave to take care of some of her other chores while the stew was cooking. When she returned later to fetch the dinner, she would find her stew pot sitting stone cold on the floor, while some other woman's kettle was boiling merrily in its place. Then the sparks would sure fly! Some of the women were Irish, and I guess some terrible fights took place.

Gold Miners, Outlaws, and Vigilantes

The Nevada Vigilantes

[I recently found two pages of old notes from about 1962. Among them is an account I made from memory of the story told to me by Mabel Watson Henry of Riding Mountain, Manitoba. She said that Sam Buchanan used to like to tell the kids about the "Club 101" vigilantes, and she gave this account:]

Since money was scarce, some of the men left their farms in the care of their wives and children and worked as miners in California and at Gold Hill, Nevada. Samuel and John Buchanan and James and David Watson were among those who did mining in Nevada and California. The trip by train and on horseback took 11 days. Gold mining was a very different life from farming. Robbery, assault and murder were frequent occurrences.

At Gold Hill, the bad element was centered in a group of "bush rangers", outlaws who had been chased out of Australia. They were a pretty bad bunch. Very often miners with money disappeared after having been seen in the company of some of these men. These men always had money but they seldom (if ever) worked. Any witnesses usually turned up dead or missing or else changed their minds. Each time a witness dared to accuse them of a crime, the rest of the gang would provide the accused member with an alibi. One day the whole situation came to a head. A reliable witness had definitely seen one of the gang commit a murder, but the murderer escaped, and when he was confronted he denied the whole thing. He had been in an all-night poker game, he said, and that was where he had won the loot. Furthermore, he had lots of witnesses to prove his story.

That was the last straw. That night, a bunch of miners formed a vigilante group called "Club 101". When people woke up the next morning, the bodies of members of the gang were found hanging from trees and store fronts around the town. A note was left advising any surviving members of the gang to get out of town if they ever wanted to see another sunrise. By noon they had all left town

These are just a few of the stories from our family history.

- Bill Buchanan