Thomas BUCHANAN, Sr.

GEDCOM Note

Notes for THOMAS BUCHANAN by cousin/researcher Garth E. Staples: Presbyterian and later Methodist. Emigrated from Ireland to Ontario in 1857 with his brother's, sister's, mother, step-father and step-brothers by the name of Gordon. Worked on the railway in Ontario. Sailed from Quebec, about 1866, to Nova Scotia and worked on the Windsor & Annapolis Railway (W.&A. R.), later the Dominion Atlantic Railway (D.A.R.) and the Interncolonial Railway (I.C.R.), a forerunner of the Canadian National Railway (C.N.R.). He was a Section foreman and lived for sometime in Belmont. He and his wife were active in the Belmont Methodist Church and community social events including various house parties to raise money for the church. They lived in what is now the Ron Tatterie house on the Lightbody Road. Resident of Belmont, 1881 census. The following is a paraphrase: June 11th, 1908 Truro Daily News --- Belmont Items: Mr & Mrs Thomas Buchanan left Belmont for Toronto where they will visit relatives in the city and vicinity (who? G.E.S.). Then they will proceed to Mr. Buchanan's daughter, Mrs Wm. Hurst, at Gore Bay, Manitoulin Isl.. They plan to revisit Toronto and relatives in Boston and other adjacent cities (who? G.E.S.). My brief recollections of grandmother Staples are of a pleasant, happy person who was kind, generous and fun-loving. She was born Henrietta ‘Etta’ Buchanan at Belmont, Nova Scotia, Canada in 1880. She died in 1947. We were often visited by Buchanan's from the nearby town of Truro, a railway hub in those days. I really didn’t know how they were related to me at the time. As my interest grew in family history, I learned and appreciated this "great" family connection. Donald Buchanan, my first cousin once removed and I became very good friends to the point of being "like" brothers. A recently discovered cousin, Jani Carless from Ontario, who has brought a good deal more information to the family tree. I am indebted to her. Researchers will appreciate how inaccurate some records can be. I always laboured under the notion that my Buchanan's were born in Scotland. Not so. Eventually I discovered they were born in Northern Ireland in the Tyrone area. I found by process of elimination that my Irish/Scottish (Ulster-Scots) ancestor was James Buchanan. He died young leaving a wife with four children: Jane, Thomas, Samuel and James. I learned she re-married to a Charles Gordon and emigrated to the Simcoe area of Ontario, Canada in 1857. This was confirmed by Jani who is a descendant of the second marriage. A few years later Thomas and Samuel married Jane Brown and Mary Gollan, respectively, and as railroaders moved to Nova Scotia, "New Scotland", where they spent the rest of their lives raising families and working for the railroad in supervisory capacities. Jane, the only daughter, as far as we know, by the Buchanan marriage, married Dixon Reid and remained in Ontario. Some years ago I discovered that James, the youngest son, married Elizabeth Colbert and remained in Lefroy, Simcoe, Ontario. He too was a railroader as a section foreman. It is through this branch that Jani and I discovered our family relationship and for me a lot more about the family in Ireland. James had married Mary Purviance. Jani has developed a good deal of information on this family, especially Mary’s marriage to Charles Gordon. In Nova Scotia, Thomas lived in the Truro area including the villages of Debert and Belmont. Some of his children remained in the area, others migrated to Ontario and the Boston area of the USA. He was twice married (death of first wife), short in stature and a Presbyterian until 1925 when he joined the newly founded United Church of Canada (U.C.C.). Samuel lived in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia, later Truro and Halifax. He too was twice married (death of first wife). His children also moved on to other Canadian centres and the USA. He was a Presbyterian. His oldest son, also Samuel, lived an interesting life as a world traveller and railroader. More will be written about his travels at a later date. All of James (of Ireland) Buchanan’s children were involved in railroading as were his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Many of Thoma's and Samuel's descendants can be found today in Truro, Halifax, Toronto, Los Angeles, Lansing and Boston. Still others are in England and Australia. Anyone wishing additional information may contact: Garth E. Staples..., gestaples@eastlink.ca