The Buchanan's of
It is a McCorkle family tradition
that Sarah Buchanan was the wife of Samuel McCorkle of Augusta County, Virginia.
I have never been able to confirm Sarah’s maiden name, but considering the
close relationship between the McCorkles and Buchanans in Virginia and
Kentucky, I believe that the legend is probably true. For instance, Samuel
McCorkle Jr. served in the Augusta militia under Capt. Patrick Buchanan in
1781. This was probably the same Patrick Buchanan that Samuel McCorkle Sr.
named as an executor for his will written in 1785. The American McCorkles and
Buchanans are first recorded in early18th century Pennsylvania and
Augusta County, Virginia. The families that lived in this area have been
extensively investigated by many researchers, but very little information has
been discovered about Sarah, the wife of Samuel McCorkle. In an effort aimed at adding a few more facts
to the Buchanan/McCorkle connection, I decided to investigate the Buchanans
that lived in Green County, Kentucky near Samuel McCorkle Jr., the son of
Samuel and Sarah McCorkle of Augusta.
In 1799, Samuel McCorkle Jr. was
taxed Green County, Kentucky where he had moved soon after selling the McCorkle
farm in Augusta. In the 1810 Green County census he was living on the farm
adjacent to Alexander Buchanan and the next four dwellings were occupied by
Buchanans. The heads of these Buchanan families were as follows:
Alexander, born before 1765
Mary, born before 1765
David, born before 1765
John, born between 1765 and 1784
William, born between 1765 and 1784
In addition to some of the 1810
Buchanans and their descendants, a Catherine Buchanan was recorded in the 1820
and 1830 Green County censuses.
Catherine also deposed for Samuel McCorkle Jr. in connection with his 1832
Revolutionary War pension application. She gave her age as 76 (i.e.; born circa
1756).
On 14 July, 1809, James Buchanan
signed his will in Green County. In this instrument, he named his brother
William and his sisters Mary and Catherine. The executors were John and
Alexander Buchanan. The will was probated on
In October, 1819, Mary and Catherine Buchanan, heirs and legalees of James Buchanan, dec'd, deeded property to Alexander and David Buchanan in Green County. Witnesses were Sam'l McCorkle, Archibald S. Buchanan and James Buchanan.
The executors for the 1840 Green
County will of Samuel McCorkle Jr. were John and James W. Buchanan.
The 1736 map of Beverly Manor in
Augusta County shows the farm of John Buchanan near the headwaters of Christian
Creek. Samuel McCorkle Sr. and his family resided a short distance away. From
the conservative work of others (RootsWeb Buchanan List, 26 Jan 1999), I have
learned that this John Buchanan was born circa 1714 and that he and his family
had lived in Beverly Manor prior to their purchase of their farm in 1741.
Although there has been speculation as to the parents of John, they have not
been proved. On 22 Oct 1776, John signed
his will naming his wife Margaret and ten children. This will was proved 20 Apr
1790 in Augusta County. This
research also resulted in estimates of the children’s birth dates. The children
of John and Margaret Buchanan are listed below:
Martha, born 1739
William, born 1741- c 1805
Patrick, born 1743
John, born 1745
Robert, born 1747
James, born 1749
Mary, born 1752
Catherine, born 1756 - c 1822
Alexander, born 1757
David, born 1760
Although the descendants of most of the oldest five children have been
documented, nothing had been discovered about the descendants of the youngest
five.
Conclusion: The names of John Buchanan’s five youngest children exactly
match the Buchanan data found in early Green County. Except for William, the
estimated birth dates also correlate very well with the
Although I was unable to shed much more light on Sarah, the wife of
Samuel McCorkle of Augusta County, this research has resulted in a Buchanan
link that I have not seen published before. It is unfortunate that the parents
of John Buchanan are not known since Sarah was most likely his sister or aunt
and the Patrick Buchanan that was executor for the will of Samuel McCorkle was
most likely his son or brother.
The descendants of the original Green County Buchanans can be found in
the Green and Taylor County censuses through at least 1880. Green and Taylor
County marriage, deed and will information is available for this period. Those
interested in documenting their Green/Taylor County Buchanan linage should make
use of these data.
Thanks to the excellent research of Diana Powell, most of
the above conclusions have been verified by the 1776 Augusta Co., Virginia will
of
Additionally, in 1995, Paul C. Buchanan published his excellently sourced research on the Buchanans of Early Augusta County, Virginia. This short pamphlet reinforces the above conclusions and is available as a PDF for download from the Books Section of the LDS FamilySearch Website.
Revised Apr 5, 2019