I wrote the following in response to a family history query I received today.

I have been interested in family history for a long time. When I was about 9 years old I told my Dad. "I know the story of Mom's ancestors, but what id the story of the Buchanans?"

He said "My grandfather, John was a teenager when they left Ireland in 1847 during the worst of the great Irish famine. A million people starved to death during this famine. Andrew and Jane Buchanan and their children booked passage on a wooden sailing ship for Canada. When they were out to sea 10 days they ran into a terrible storm that damaged the ship. The ship never sank but had to return for repairs. On their second try they reached Canada but a plague of fever killed some of the passengers. They were quarantined on shipboard at Kingston, Ontario, where the father Andrew and a baby granddaughter died of the fever. They became pioneer settlers in an area densely forested with huge trees."

I think I was hooked on family history at that point. Of course over the years I have found additional sources and made friendships with fellow researchers. As you probably know, the name Buchanan was originally the name of the place granted to Anselan O'Kyan (O'Cahan).

Anselan was said the to be an Irish prince, a son of Dermid O'Cahan a regional king in northern Ireland. According to tradition, Anselan arrived in western Scotland with a band of followers in 1016 and helped King Malcolm II drive off two Viking invasions. His descendants used the name McAusland de Buchanan for a few generations, then Buchanan.

The two best historic records of the Buchanans that I have found are "Strathendrick, and its inhabitants from early times" and "Historical and genealogical essay upon the family and surname of Buchanan" by William Buchanan of Auchmar. Both date about 700 years after the time of Anselan, and appear to be compiled from earlier records that often are no longer available. Both these books can be found at the National Library of Scotland https://www.nls.uk/

The recent state of the Buchanan family tree in FamilySearch is somewhat confusing, as well-meaning people have sometimes merged different people together and added details without sources.

The two histories I refer to give very few details. Specific dates and places are usually missing, but other things are sometimes specified in detail.

There is a good Buchanan YDNA project at familytreeDNA,com (Wayne Buchanan is my second cousin once removed.) My line is described as "a typical chiefly line of Clan Buchanan".

By Auchmar's count, when the 22nd chief died in 1682 the estate was sold to the Marquis of Montrose to pay the debts. The ruins of Castle Buchanan at Drymen, Sterlingshire are of a castle built by the Montrose family, much later. Remains of the older Buchanan castle, "Buchanan Auld House" can be found at the Castle Buchanan Golf and Country Club at Drymen, (I think this is used as an address by the current Duke of Montrose.)

The clan was without a chief until a new one was recognized by the Scottish government in just the last few years, (Laird John Baillie Hamilton Buchanan, whose own Arnprior and Leny [Buchanan] lines contain amusing and inspiring stories.)

Perhaps you will be able to correct some of the errors that have crept into the Buchanan family tree at familysearch. Or maybe this winter I will see what I can do, or maybe we will both make our own contributions.

Thank you for contacting me. Bill Buchanan