Papers, Library of Congress). And what a surprise! Early in 1874 a long letter drifted in from dilatory Mr. William B. Reed. He now wanted to resume work on the biography of James Buchanan. The letter, preserved by the Lan- caster County Historical Society, is as follows. New York No 36, East 21st. St

the days of their planting and her part in the ceremony.2 James Buchanan purchased Wheatland in December, 1848, from Mr. William Morris Meredith. Buchanan became established at Wheatland in mid-May, 1849. 3 Knowing that he would be a political contender for the presidential nomination, he began to

us to a better understanding of an era which is now long past, but still fundamental in our American heritage. Robert Coleman's native land was Ireland, and his place of birth was known as CastleFinn, near Strabane in County Donegal, not far from the ancestral home of James Buchanan. He was more

`College Hill,' and it thundered forth its hoarse notes of acclamation." The day was June 10, 1856, and that morning news had reached Lan- caster that James Buchanan had been chosen by the Democratic National Convention as its candidate for the Presidency. Since 11 o'clock, people had been streaming out to

States. About 1910, he and two other men organized a subscription drive to purchase a permanent meeting place for the local chapter, Zeta,' and in September, 1919, a house on James Street was purchased for $7,500.12 Theta Chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Fraternity was chartered at Franklin and Marshall in

as it touched Lancaster County. The area at that time was served with four local dailies and it may be of interest to look at the political complexions of these newssheets. The oldest was the Intelligencer which had its beginning in 1799. During the years that James Buchanan was aspiring to the

presidential elections of 1808 and 1812 substantiated this claim. The State maintained an unbrok- en loyalty to the national administration throughout this period. The first decade of the nineteenth century was marked by a suc- cession of Democratic Governors, United States Senators and Con- gressmen; and the

in Pennsylvania as a Republican." He progressed rapidly, however, and was able to attend the 1860 Chicago Presidential Convention with his dele- gates pledged to vote "Cameron for President" on the first ballot." John W. Forney, who had directed much of the Buchanan pres- idential campaign, and now a

Democrats, now fearing the worst, tried to sal- vage the election by unleashing their big political gun, James Buchanan, the Friday night (October 9, 1829) prior to the election. At that time he made "a flourishing speech at a meeting in the Court House against the anti-masons and in favor [as the Anti

of the world. His rise was quick in Boston and nine years after his arrival we find him directing the Salem Massachusetts Brass Band in a march down Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D. C., at the inauguration exer- cises for President James Buchanan. The Salem Band was such a standout under his

the author. The staff at the library of the Lancaster Newspapers Incorpor- ated was always more than willing to aid in procuring the news- papers used in this paper. The facilities of the Lancaster County Historical Society were indispensable as were the services of Mrs. Charles Lundgren, the Society