Series 1 - Buchanan brothers letters

25pp

Kerby A. Miller created his transcripts of the Buchanan brothers letters from photocopies provided by PRONI. The original letters are held in PRONI [reference number D1473].

The Buchanan brothers letters are a set of 64 letters written to Robert Buchanan, a native of Millford, County Donegal living in New York, by his brother James and their father William. Between 1870 and 1890, James lived back and forth between Millford, Philadelphia, and Brooklyn before returning to Millford permanently. Robert was a carpenter in New York City. By 1879, he owned five houses, presumably in New York in addition to the properties he co-owned with James. It is known that James and Robert co-owned multiple properties in Philadelphia. Robert, after developing an alcohol problem, also returned to Millford in 1894. Another brother, Joseph, was deceased. Per Kerby A. Miller: 'Mentions his deceased brother, Joseph Buchanan, who died in America. Joseph's wife had disappeared (apparently was a prostitute or an alcoholic), and their two children, Joe and Maggie, were destitute. James Buchanan tried to help Maggie, but she preferred street-walking to a regular job.'
The series includes: Biographical notes on James and Robert Buchanan; Kerby A. Miller's abstracts of the 64 Buchanan family letters held in PRONI; and Miller's transcripts of eight of the letters.

Miller's main body of information on the Buchanans, including the reference copies of the letters and Miller's secondary research on the family, is located in P155/44/8.