ENTRY

John Buchanan (1748–1822)

SUMMARY

John Buchanan was an Episcopal clergyman who served as the rector of Henrico Parish (1785–1822) and the treasurer of the Diocese of Virginia (1793–1822). Born in Scotland, he may have attended university there and received his license to minister in Virginia in 1775. A decade later he became rector of Henrico Parish and, after inheriting a large estate from his half brother, lived an easy and social life. Buchanan, who preached at Saint John’s Church in Richmond, was famously close friends with the Presbyterian minister John D. Blair, and after the Richmond Theatre fire in 1811 the two helped raise money for the construction of Monumental Church on the site of the disaster. While they may have intended to share the church, the Episcopalians appropriated it for themselves. Buchanan died in 1822.

Buchanan was born near Dumfries, Scotland, in 1748. His father’s name may have been Archibald Buchanan, but his mother’s name is not known. His elder half brother James Buchanan moved to Virginia about 1757 and became one of the most influential and prosperous merchants in Richmond. John Buchanan briefly studied law in London, but the subject did not interest him, and about 1771 he joined his brother in Richmond. Commerce did not satisfy him either, and after fifteen months he returned to Scotland and may have received an AM from the University of Edinburgh in April 1774. On August 13, 1775, the bishop of London licensed Buchanan for the ministry of the Church of England in Virginia.

Saint John's Church

Buchanan lived in or near Richmond for about three years while serving at Deep Run Church in Henrico County as curate to Miles Selden, the rector of Henrico Parish. Buchanan supplemented his income with work as a tutor for Jaquelin Ambler‘s family. On October 1, 1779, he began preaching in Lexington Parish in Amherst County and became its rector in January 1780. On May 10, 1785, he succeeded Selden as rector of Henrico Parish and minister of Saint John’s Church in Richmond. He inherited much of the large and valuable estate of James Buchanan, who was one of the directors of the state’s public buildings in Richmond when he died on October 10, 1787, and he was probably the principal heir of his one known full brother, Alexander Buchanan, who died in Richmond about 1802. Buchanan’s inheritances enabled him to live an easy life and indulge his social nature. A jovial man with a subtle sense of humor who became one of the most popular people in Richmond, he hosted the Richmond Quoit Club at his farm just outside the city and contributed to many philanthropic causes. Buchanan also served for several years as president of the Amicable Society.

The College of William and Mary awarded Buchanan an honorary DD in 1794, and he was the founding president of the Bible Society of Virginia in 1813. For several years when Saint John’s Church was in disrepair he preached to his congregation in the Virginia State Capitol, alternating Sundays with the Presbyterian minister John D. Blair. Buchanan and Blair became close friends. A lifelong bachelor, Buchanan spent many hours in Blair’s household and with Blair’s children. Buchanan and Blair traded puns and doggerel verse in a lighthearted way, and they preached religious tolerance and set an ecumenical example that distinguished them from some of the Methodists and Baptists of the city.

A Representation of the New Church at Richmond Virginia.

After the loss of seventy-six lives in the Richmond Theatre fire of December 26, 1811, Buchanan and Blair led the campaign to construct Monumental Church on the site of the disaster. The two clergymen may have intended that they and their congregations share the church, but the more numerous Episcopalians appropriated the building for themselves. The division between the congregations did not disrupt the friendship between the ministers. Their legendary friendship and the example of religious tolerance they set was well known to their contemporaries and embellished many years later in George Wythe Munford‘s Two Parsons (1884). The winning personalities of the two principals and Munford’s nostalgic prose style made the book a popular interpretation of Richmond’s early history.

Buchanan served for thirty-seven years as rector of Henrico Parish and for twenty-nine years as treasurer of the Diocese of Virginia. He turned down the proffered post of bishop after the death of the incumbent James Madison, citing his own advanced age. Buchanan died in Richmond on December 19, 1822, about three weeks before his friend Blair, and was buried beneath the chancel of Saint John’s Church in Richmond.

MAP
TIMELINE
1748
John Buchanan is born near Dumfries, Scotland.
1771
John Buchanan joins his elder half brother James Buchanan in Richmond.
April 1774
John Buchanan may have received an AM from the University of Edinburgh.
August 13, 1775
John Buchanan is licensed for the ministry of the Church of England in Virginia.
October 1, 1779
John Buchanan begins preaching in Lexington Parish in Amherst County.
January 1780
John Buchanan becomes rector of Lexington Parish in Amherst County.
May 10, 1785
John Buchanan succeeds Miles Selden as rector of Henrico Parish and minister of Saint John's Church in Richmond.
1794
The College of William and Mary awards John Buchanan an honorary DD.
December 26, 1811
A fire destroys the Richmond Theatre during a performance, killing more than seventy people, including the governor of Virginia.
1812—1814
Monumental Church, designed by the architect Robert Mills for the site on the Richmond Theatre fire, is constructed.
1813
John Buchanan is the founding president of the Bible Society of Virginia.
December 19, 1822
John Buchanan dies in Richmond and is buried beneath the chancel of Saint John's Church there.
FURTHER READING
  • Duke, Maurice. “Buchanan, John.” In the Dictionary of Virginia Biography, Vol. 2, edited by Sara B. Bearss, John T. Kneebone, J. Jefferson Looney, Brent Tarter, and Sandra Gioia Treadway, 368–369. Richmond: Library of Virginia, 2001.
CITE THIS ENTRY
APA Citation:
Duke, Maurice & Dictionary of Virginia Biography. John Buchanan (1748–1822). (2020, December 07). In Encyclopedia Virginia. https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/buchanan-john-1748-1822.
MLA Citation:
Duke, Maurice, and Dictionary of Virginia Biography. "John Buchanan (1748–1822)" Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Humanities, (07 Dec. 2020). Web. 07 Dec. 2023
Last updated: 2021, December 22
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