Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1870-1990 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
137pp
Context area
Archival history
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].
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Materials pertaining to a set of 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: Kerby A. Miller's abstracts of the 64 Buchanan family letters held in PRONI; Miller's transcripts, and photocopies of, eight of the letters; biographical notes on James and Robert Buchanan; and secondary research on emigration to the United States from Donegal.