Biography - James Buchanan
JAMES G. BUCHANAN. The subject of the present sketch is a prosperous and intelligent farmer of Pitman Township, Montgomery County. He was born in Belmont County, Ohio, November 12, 1848, and has been a resident of this State since 1869. He was reared and educated in the public schools of his native county, but considers the knowledge that he acquired there quite meagre compared with that which he has obtained on his journeying through life since then. His parents were William and Mary (Johnson) Buchanan, and the former was a native of Pennsylvania, while his mother came from one of the well-known families of Ohio. She still lives there, enjoying a comfortable old age, but his father has been deceased for some years.
In his native county, James grew to manhood, and there he remained until he had attained his majority. Then with the ardor and ambition of youth, he decided to move farther West, and the rich lands of Jersey County first attracted him. He remained where he first settled in 1869 for several years, working at his chosen occupation, and then was induced to come into Montgomery County, and has never regretted the step. Here he found all of the favorable conditions upon which a farmer depends for success, and decided to remain. His first labor was upon land for some other party, but he finally bought his present farm and settled upon it some years ago. He was possessed of no means when he came here, and has made, by his own efforts, all of the money required for the purchase of the eighty acres of his present place.
The marriage of our subject took place October 6, 1886, when he made Miss Anne Stevens his wife. This lady is the daughter of Riley and Charlotte Stevens, who are residents of Bois D'Arc Township, Montgomery County. One child has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Buchanan, Ray, who came into the world December 12, 1887. Should he grow up into the strength of manhood, a future record may show him to be as worthy and energetic a man as his father, although his advantages will, in all probability, be much better than those of his father.
Notwithstanding his bearing the name of one of the distinguished Democratic Presidents of this great Republic, our subject is a stanch Republican in his politics, and has been one of the most enterprising men of this section in the advancement of the county improvements. His farm is one of the best tilled in the neighborhood, and his orchards, buildings and fine cattle show that he has been successful in his endeavors. The county of Montgomery has many self-made men, and that is the reason that it is regarded in the State as one of the most solid commercial counties of the Commonwealth. There is a firm basis of honesty and industry upon which men of this kind have built, and it has told upon every branch of business in the State.
Extracted 10 Jan 2017 by Norma Hass from 1892 Portrait and Biographical Record of Montgomery and Bond Counties, Illinois, pages 440-441.
