Benjamin Keys Buchanan1

b. 31 October 1815, d. 4 September 1901
FatherWilliam Buchanan2,1 b. 24 Sep 1787, d. 29 Mar 1846
MotherJane Keys1 b. 15 Feb 1786, d. 9 Apr 1871
Birth31 Oct 1815 Benjamin Keys Buchanan was born on 31 Oct 1815 in Washington County, Virginia.3,4 
  As a young man he worked for William King at his store in Abingdon.5 
Marriage22 Nov 1843 He married Rachel Branch Goode, daughter of John Goode and Ann Cochran Findlay, on 22 Nov 1843.1,4 
  Benjamin was 28; Rachel was 17. Eight years later Benjamin's brother Mathew married Rachel's sister Elizabeth. Elizabeth lived with Benjamin and Rachel following their marriage.6  
  Benjamin served as county coroner in 1844 and deputy sheriff in 1845.5 
Devisee30 Jan 1846 Benjamin's father, William Buchanan, wrote his will on 30 Jan 1846. He left Benjamin 1/3 interest, with his brothers Mathew and James, in the plantation known as the Spear Place. Benjamin was also to receive 2/3 interest in William's sheriffship provided the younger man pay his mother $50.00. Benjamin and his siblings received shares in over 5,000 acres of land in Johnston Co., Tennessee. Benjamin was named executor of his father's will, which was recorded in court April 27th, 1846.2 
Cens-1850Oct 1850  Benjamin and Rachel spent at least the first few years of their marriage in Abingdon, where their eldest son was born and where Benjamin was employed as a merchant.6 
Residencecirca 1859  About 1859 Benjamin acquired a large parcel of land that had belonged to the Keywood (Cawood, etc.) family for many years. It came available when the then Mrs. Caywood was murdered. Her husband, Ben Caywood, was eventually charged with arranging her murder. After 3 hung trials he was acquitted and left the area at which time his property was sold. It may have been briefly held by Solon Buchanan.7,8 [whose wife died in 1858 and is buried in the Edgehill Cemetery on the Keywood/Buchanan land] 
Cens-18605 Jul 1860  The 1860 census reflected Benjamin and Rachel's increased family size and changed circumstances. Five children were enumerated: William (14), Jack (11), Thomas (6), Jane (3) and Elizabeth (1). Benjamin was reported to own land valued at over $12,000 and personal property valued at $17,000.9 
Cens-1860- Slave16 Jul 1860 The latter figure included the 8 slaves enumerated for him on the 1860 slave schedule.10 
  Benjamin also had business interests. In 1859 he and 2 other men (George Palmer and William A. Stuart - brother of J.E.B. Stuart) leased the saltworks just north of Keywood for a 10 year period. They also purchased some wells outright. With the advent of the Civil War the production of salt from this location became crucial to the Confederacy. The company worked feverishly to produce salt at an increased capacity in order to support the war effort. They made a handsome profit in doing so but the Confederate dollars in which they were paid rapidly lost their value, resulting in the development of a complex barter system. The state eventually seized the mines, compensating the 3 men in Confederate money. Towards the end of the war the northern army reached the area and destroyed most of the equipment necessary to mine the salt. Various issues forced the company into court; the case of Stuart, Buchanan & Co. vs White was eventually heard by the Virginia Supreme Court.11 
Cens-18705 Oct 1870  In 1870 the couple were again enumerated on the federal census. Benjamin was 54 and stated that he owned land valued at $30,000, as well as personal property worth $20,000. Rachel was 43. Also present were [son] William, age 24 and [his wife] Mary, 22 (the couple had married the previous March), as well as Jack, 22, Thomas 16 and Alex 7. The household also included several domestics and a teacher in addition to William J. Moore, age 16.12 
  William was no doubt Benjamin's nephew, the son of his sister Bethia who died following William's birth in 1854. William's father was also deceased. 
Executor1876 Benjamin served as executor for Mathew Buchanan, Robert Buchanan and James Buchanan, whose combined estate was probated following the death of James in 1876. Settlement of the estate lasted 10 years, with annual reports filed at the Washington County courthouse. The relationship, if any, between Benjamin and the 3 Buchanan brothers is not known to me at this time.13 
Residence1879  The original large home occupied by Benjamin and Rachel was reported to have been built in 1857. It burned to the ground and was rebuilt in 1879. This second house was constructed from bricks that were kilned on the site. The house consisted of 2 stories with a central stairway and a kitchen at the rear of the ground floor. It sat in a beautiful and fertile valley north of Glade Spring and south of Saltville.14 
Will1 Apr 1887 As his responsibilities to the Buchanan brothers' estate came to a close, Benjamin executed his own will. In it he left his personal estate to his wife Rachel, stipulating that all money due to him be passed to her without an accounting. He also named her as his executor. He noted that he had already provided for his sons William, Jack, Thomas and Alexander, leaving only his daughter Jean to be provided for. Benjamin left her the "homestead place."15 
  Benjamin divided his land among his sons as they came of age or married. The 1900 census for the Saltville District of Washington County enumerated Benjamin (84) and Rachel (73) with their daughter Jean (43) living adjacent to the independent households of their 4 sons. In later years their son's children also established their own households in the valley.16 
Death4 Sep 1901 Benjamin died on 4 Sep 1901 at age 85.3,17 
Will-Recd24 Sep 1901 His will was recorded on 24 Sep 1901 in Washington County.15 
Burial Benjamin was buried at Edgehill Cemetery in Washington County, Virginia.3 

Related Links and Images:

Benjamin's will
The 1850 Washington Co., Virginia census listed Benjamin as the head of household number 2073. Follow the link to see who lived nearby.

Family

Rachel Branch Goode b. 9 Oct 1826, d. 1904
Children
Last Edited5 Sep 2013

Citations

  1. [S2272] Jean Keys Buchanan, The Buchanans, manuscript, 1928.
  2. [S112] William Buchanan will, Washington Co. WB 10: 89-91, FHL mf 034359.
  3. [S2] Catherine McConnell, High On A Windy Hill, p. 151. Ben K. Buchanan, 1815-1901.
  4. [S2370] G. Brown Goode, Virginia Cousins - The Ancestry and Posterity of John Goode, p. 265.
  5. [S2274] William Buchanan, "Buchanan Family History", 1984-1995.
  6. [S367] Benjamin K. Buchanan household, 1850 U.S. Census, Washington Co., VA, pop. sched., Abingdon, p. 288 (original script) after p. 211 stamped, dwelling 2073, family 2073, viewed online at Ancestry.com, May 2009, image 2 of 9. Household includes: Benjamin K. Buchanan, 34, merchant; Rachel 24; William 4; John 2; Elizabeth Goode 25; Francis Findlay 16, clark; all b. VA.
  7. [S2274] William Buchanan, "Buchanan Family History", 1984-1995. Mr. Buchanan cites p. 86-89 of the autobiography of Thomas L. Preston for the story of Mrs. Caywood's murder.
  8. [S16] Mrs. Cawood was murdered in 1823 per the following source: "Obituaries From the Family Visitor April 6, 1822-April 3, 1824" as extracted in Virginia Vital Records (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1982) and viewed as a digital image June 2009 at Ancestry.com.
  9. [S234] Benj. K. Buchanan household, 1860 U.S. cens, Washington Co., VA, pop. sched., Western district, p. 449 (added script), dwelling 600, family 587, viewed online at Ancestry.com, March 2007, image 87 of 361. Household includes: Benj K. Buchanan, 44, farmer, owns land: $12,475 and pers. prop val at $17,000; Rachel, 33; William 14; Jack 11; Thomas 6; Jane 3; Elizabeth 1; Samuel Arnett, laborer, 46; all b. VA.
  10. [S1308] Benjamin K. Buchanan, owner, 1860 U.S. census, Washington Co., Virginia, slave schedule, p. 7 (original script), line 24, viewed online at Ancestry.com. 8 slaves including 2 adult males, 2 adult females and 4 young girls; also 3 slave houses.
  11. [S2274] William Buchanan, "Buchanan Family History", 1984-1995. Mr. Buchanan cites Ella Lonn, Salt as a factor in the Confederacy (New York, Walter Neale: 1933).
  12. [S635] Benjamin Buchanan household, 1870 U.S. cens, Washington Co., Virginia, pop. sched., First Division, p. 22 (original script), dwelling 124, family 139, viewed online at Ancestry.com, Jul. 2006, image 22 of 44. Enumeration includes: Benjamim Buchanan, 54, farmer, owns land valued at $30,000, pers. prop of $20,000; Rachel B., wife, 43; William 24, merchant, marr in March; Mary 22 (b. TN), marr in March; Jack, 22, student; Thos P., 16 student; Alex F. 7; Wm J. Moore, 16, student; all b. VA.
  13. [S1015] Washington Co., Virginia probate records for James, Mathew and Robert Buchanan.
  14. [S2274] William Buchanan, "Buchanan Family History", 1984-1995. Mr. Buchanan notes that the second Keywood home burned in the 1940s. Although the walls were brick they had not been well cured; without a roof to keep the rain off the walls soon disintegrated. Nothing remains of the home which sat just down the hill from the present marker noting the site of the first Methodist conference west of the Blueridge Mountains.
  15. [S829] Benjamin K. Buchanan will (recorded 1901), Washington Co., Virginia Will Book 28 (C): 316. The will was dated 1 Apr. 1887 and recorded 24 Sept. 1901. The will, which had not been witnessed, was proved on the oath of John Stewart, _ Cosby and Findlay Harris, who stated they were familiar with the handwriting of the testator.
  16. [S634] Benjamin Buchanan household, 1900 U.S. cens., Washington Co., Virginia, pop. sched., Saltville district, ED 122, sheet 22B, dwelling 312, family 312, viewed online at Ancestry.com, Feb. 2009, image 71 of 89. Household includes: Benjamin Buchanan, 84, b. Oct. 1815, marr, b. VA, parents b. VA, farmer, owns farm; Rachel B., wife, 73, b. Oct. 1826, mother of 7 children, 5 are living; Jean K., dau, 43, b. Jul 1856 VA; Adolphus Harden, servant, 18, b. June 1872 NC.
  17. [S5] Elizabeth Kelly Allison, Early Southwest Virginia Families, p. 56. Provides full date, but not sourced.
  18. [S2169] Donald Helton, compiler, "Washington County Virginia Abstracted Death Records 1912-1939" (manuscript shared by author), p. 52. Record abstracted as: William Buchanan, b. 15 Feb. 1846, d. 20 June 1925, marr to Mary P. Buchanan; s/o Ben K. Buchanan b. VA and Rachel Goode, b. VA; bur Keywood Cem.
  19. [S2169] Donald Helton, compiler, "Washington County Virginia Abstracted Death Records 1912-1939" (manuscript shared by author), p. 78. Record abstracted as: Jack Buchahan [sic], b. 14 Jul, 1848 Saltville, VA, d. 1 May 1932, wid'r of Lizzie P. Buchanan; s/o Ben K. Buchanan b. WCV and Rachel Goode b. WCV.
  20. [S1680] Thomas & Jane (Fleenor) Colley, Washington County, Virginia Cemetery Annotations, Vol I, p. 126. The authors cite the Washington Co., VA Death registers.