Undated clipping from an unnamed newspaper
obtained by Joella Barbour and shared through Carolyn Ryburn, 2009
Robert Buchanan
In a nook on the North side of Walker’s Mountain, two miles East of Saltville, have lived for more than four score years the unmarried brothers known as Mathew, James and Robert Buchanan. They were descendants of a sturdy Scotch Irish ancestry whose memory they cherished with the most devoted attachment. They were noted far and near for their open-hearted and abundant hospitality, which together with their love of lively company, their fondness for their relatives and friends, and the delight they took in rehearsing the varied incidents of the long past, made their home a place of much resort both for old and young. This is the more remarkable because of the secluded location of their home and the retirement which they kept from the common intercourse of life for many years past. They have lived for a score of years almost like monks in a monastery to themselves. They were born of Presbyterian parents whose home was a resting place for ministers of the gospel a century ago. The Rev. Charles Cummings, who planted the Presbyterian church in Southwest Virginia, AD 1773, was accustomed to spend Saturday night with them on his way to his appointment in Long Hollow – and from that day to this the ministers of the Word have ever been welcome guests in that family.
Mathew died Sept. 10, 1872, and was buried on the farm a few rods only from the old dwelling house. He was a man of strong head and decided character. Robert died Nov. 6, 1873. He was a man of lively disposition and retained it to his last days. Line a true Scotch-Irish-man, he was devoted to his friends. His family attachments, like those of his race, were very strong. The customs, the maxims, the traditions of every kind which he inherited from his ancestors he cherished with an almost idolatrous attachment. Although not in the full communion of the Presbyterian Church, yet he would have taken up arms and periled life in its defence [sic] against tyrannical oppression if necessary. For twelve months before he died his mind was deeply interested on the subject of personal salvation, and to the inmates of his home professed his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour [sic]. He was anxious to be admitted to the communion of the Church of his fathers, and a minister of the gospel was sent for to extend him the privilege, but at the time of the minister’s presence his mental condition rendered it impractical. In his last hours he manifested much concern for the welfare of his only surviving brother whose total blindness and helplessness made him so dependent upon the watchful and tender care of others. One of his last sentences was an exhortation to those at his bedside not to let his brother suffer. He was born on the 10th of May, 1793, and was therefore at the time of his death 80 years, 5 months and 27 days of age.
H.M.W.
Note: the clipping, though torn, reveals the words “Scribner’s Monthly” below the obituary. It appears to be part of an ad for the publication, which first appeared in 1870 and ran until 1881 (Wikipedia). The author of the article is identified as Dr. Henry M. White, pastor of Glade Spring Presbyterian Church at Glade Spring, Virginia, from 1866-1875