b. 31 October 1815, d. 4 September 1901
Birth | 31 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 |
Marriage | 22 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 |
Devisee | 30 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-1850 | Oct 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 |
Residence | circa 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-1860 | 5 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- Slave | 16 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-1870 | 5 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. |
Executor | 1876 | 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 |
Residence | 1879 | 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 |
Will | 1 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 |
Death | 4 Sep 1901 | Benjamin died on 4 Sep 1901 at age 85.3,17 |
Will-Recd | 24 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 |