In search of Buchanan : 'Clarior hinc honos' : the stories of some Buchanan ancestors before and after the emigration of James Buchanan of Ramelton, County Donegal, Ireland, in 1783
iii, 152, [17] pages : illustrations (some color), maps (some color), portraits (some color), facsimiles ; 25 cm
Notes
Sub-title on cover: from Anselan to President James Buchanan.
"Some of these stories are incorporated in the BBC1 TV documentary, 'Are you related to an American President?', produced by Big Mountain Productions."
Presents a biography of James Buchanan's niece who was the White House hostess during her uncle's presidency, helped create the National Gallery of Art, and started the first pediatrics hospital.
Publications of the Pennsylvania German Society ; ser. 2, v. 46
Notes
Illustrated lining papers.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 285) and indexes.
Contents
Berks County: the center of it all -- Daniel Schumacher: a Fraktur artist of some note -- Henrich Otto, 1784 -- Friederich Krebs, August 4, 1790 -- Johann Valentin Schuller -- The greatest development of Fraktur writing, 1800-1835 -- Johann Ritter: a century of influence -- Conclusion: The last flickering -- Appendix 1. Fraktur artist who routinely made Taussscheine for Berks County families -- Appendix 2. Scriveners who routinely infilled Taussscheine for Berks County families -- Appendix 3. Berks Couny printers of Taussscheine in order by active dates -- Appendix 4. Translations.
A study was made of the wood in the log cabin which is said to be the birthplace of President James Buchanan. Since there is no proof that he was born in that particular cabin, the researchers wished to know if this cabin could have been his birthplace. They concluded that the " largest portion of the cabin beam samples were cut at or before 1785, six years before the birth of President Buchanan." This showed that the cabin existed at the time of his birth.
Introduction: Remembering -- Leavening, 1786-1819 -- Hardening, 1820-1834 -- Messing, 1834-1840 -- Wooing, 1840-1844 -- Ministering, 1844-1848 -- Running, 1848-1853 -- Presiding, 1853-1868 -- Epilogue: Preserving -- Washington residences of James Buchanan and William Rufus King (1834-1853) -- Percentage correlation of roll call votes of James Buchanan with senators of the Bachelor's Mess, 23rd to 28th Congresses (1834-1844) -- Calendar of correspondence of James Buchanan / Harriet Lane Johnston and William Rufus King / Catherine Margaret Ellis (1837-1868.
Summary
"Politicians James Buchanan (1791-1868) of Pennsylvania and William Rufus King (1786-1853) of Alabama has excited much speculation through the years. Why did they never marry? Might they have been gay, or was their relationship a nineteenth-century version of the modern-day 'bromance'? Then, as now, they have intrigued by the many mysteries surrounding them. In Bosom Friends : the Intimate World of James Buchanan and William Rufus King, Thomas Balcerski explores the lives of these two politicians and discovers one of the most significant collaborations in American political history. Unlikely companions from the start, they lived together as messmates in a Washington, DC, boardinghouse. There developed a bosom friendship that blossomed into a significant political partnership. Before the Civil War, each man was elected to high executive office, William Rufus King the vice-presidency in 1852 and James Buchanan as the nation's fifteen president in 1856. This book offers a dual biography of James Buchanan and William Rufus King. Special attention is given to their early lives prior to elected office, the circumstances of their boardinghouse friendship, and the juicy political gossip that has circulated about them ever since. In addition, the author traces their many contributions to the Jacksonian political agenda, manifest destiny, and the debates over slavery, while finding their style of politics to have been disastrous for the American nation. Ultimately, Bosom Friends demonstrates that intimate male friendships among politicians were, and continue to be, an important part of success in American politics"-- Provided by publisher.