History of Mercersburg, (Franklin County) Pennsylvania United States of America

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Biographies:

Edward Young Buchanan, clergyman, was born in Mercersburg, Pa., May 30, 1811; son of James and Elizabeth (Speer) Buchanan, and brother of James Buchanan, fifteenth president of the United States. He was graduated at Dickinson college in 1828, and began his studies in theology at Pittsburg, Pa., concluding them at the General seminary of the Protestant Episcopal church in New York city. He was ordained as deacon in 1832, and as priest in 1835, and filled various pastorates in the diocese of Pennsylvania. He received the degree of D.D. from Trinity college in 1853, and S.T.D. from Dickinson in 1868. He was the last survivor of the American clergy ordained by Bishop White, and died Jan. 20, 1895.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

James Findlay, representative, was born in Mercersburg, Pa., about 1775; son of Samuel and Jane (Smith) Findlay and a brother of Governor William Findlay and Representative John Findlay. He removed to Cincinnati in 1793, and subsequently practised law. In 1798 he was a member of the territorial legislative council, and after 1803 served several terms in the state legislature. In the war of 1812 he commanded the 2d Ohio regiment. He was receiver of public moneys for the district of Cincinnati for several years and was a Democratic representative in the 19th, 20th, 21st and 22d congresses, 1825-33. He was candidate for governor of Ohio in 1834. He died in Cincinnati, Ohio, Dec. 28, 1835.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

James Buchanan, fifteenth President of the United States, was born at Cove Gap, near Mercersburg, Pa., April 23, 1791; second son of James and Elizabeth (Speer) Buchanan. His mother was the only daughter of James Speer, who came of Scotch Presbyterian ancestry, and immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1756. His father was a native of County Donegal, Ireland, came to America in 1783, engaged in business as a clerk in Philadelphia, and in 1788 set up business for himself. James received his primary education in the schools of Mercersburg, and in 1807 entered Dickinson college in the junior class. After graduating in 1809 he removed to Lancaster, and was admitted to the bar in 1812. As a Federalist, he disapproved of the war with England, but did not shirk the duties of an American citizen when the war became a fact, and his patriotism was voiced in a speech delivered to the people shortly after the city of Washington was captured by the British. He urged the enlistment, and was himself one of the first volunteers, under Judge Shippen, to march to the defence of Baltimore. He was elected a member of the house of representatives in the Pennsylvania legislature, Oct. 14, 1814. On the first of February following, in considering "an act for the encouragement of volunteers for the defence of the Commonwealth," he urged the passage of the bill, and afterwards speaking of the incident he said: "So open and decided was I in my course in favor of defending the country, notwithstanding my disapproval of the declaration of war, that the late William Beale, the shrewd, strong-minded and influential Democratic senator from Mifflin county, called upon me and urged me strongly during the session to change my political name and be called a Democrat, stating that I would have no occasion to change my principles." On July 4, 1815, in an oration delivered at Lancaster he characterized the action of the government in its prosecution of the war as disgraceful, while he eulogized the spirit of the American people. He retired from the legislature at the end of his second term of service with a fixed determination to abandon political life, and devote himself exclusively to the practice of law. In 1820 he was elected by the Federalists a representative to the 17th Congress from Lancaster, York and Dauphin counties. Among his important early speeches in Congress were those on the deficiency in the military appropriation, in January, 1822; on the bankrupt law, in March following, when he successfully opposed its extension to all citizens, whether traders or not. There was in his speech on this subject a perceptible tendency to that line of politics which he subsequently adopted and to which he always adhered. This may be described as a forbearance from exercising federal powers of acknowledged constitutional validity, in ways and on occasions which may lead to an absorption of state jurisdictions. In the next Congress Mr. Buchanan spoke twice on the tariff?March 23 and April 9, 1824. His views on protection were conservative. He held that in imposing duties necessary to defray the expenses of the government, care should be taken, while extending protection to infant industries, not to injure at the same time the interests of the producers of wealth. In his speech in the house he said: "The American system consists in affording equal and just legislative protection to all the great interests of the country. It is no respecter of persons. It does not distinguish between the farmer who ploughs the soil in Pennsylvania and the manufacturer of wool in New England. Being impartial it embraces all." He uttered grave warnings against forming alliances with Mexico and the South American republics, and insisted on the great importance of Cuba, both commercially and strategically to the United States. On questions of internal policy Mr. Buchanan had voted for the imposing of tolls for the support of the Cumberland road. When he first had occasion to act on this subject as a member of Congress, he was inclined to accept the doctrine that Congress had power to establish and support this road. Mr. Monroe's veto affected him deeply, as it was the first time he had been brought to distinguish between federal and state powers. At a subsequent session of Congress he endeavored unsuccessfully to have the road retroceded to the states through which it passed, on condition that they would support it by levying tolls. During the canvass of 1828, in which the supporters of the administration had taken the name of national Republican, and the opposition that of Democrat, Mr. Buchanan was one of the most able and ardent supporters of General Jackson, and it was mainly through his influence that the twenty-eight electoral votes of Pennsylvania were secured. In 1829 he succeeded Daniel Webster as head of the judiciary committee, and in this capacity conducted the trial on impeachment of Judge Peck. In March, 1831, Mr. Buchanan retired from Congress, with the avowed intention of resuming his law practice, but President Jackson, in 1832, appointed him envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to St. Petersburg, and urged his acceptance of the mission so strongly that he could not well decline. He sailed from New York, April 8, 1832, on board the Silas Richards, a sailing vessel, and reached St. Petersburg the June following. His mission was to negotiate the first treaty of commerce between Russia and the United States, to establish a tariff system and to provide for consuls. He was thirty-eight years old when he undertook this important commission, and although without official experience in diplomacy, he had been a close student of the diplomatic history of his own country and of public law, and what he did not know about trade between Russia and the United States he mastered soon after reaching St. Petersburg. He also perfected himself in the French language, which proved of invaluable assistance to him in conducting the negotiations. He referred to himself in a letter home, as "a tyro in diplomacy, with no weapons but a little common sense, knowledge and downright honesty?with which to encounter the most adroit and skilful politicians in the world." The encounter was by no means a sinecure, but his fair mind, even manners, and unfailing tact served him well, and by adhering tenaciously to his purpose and exercising astute diplomacy in his dealings with the diplomats, he was eventually successful in arranging a commercial treaty by which important privileges in the Baltic and the Black sea were secured for the United States. He made a warm friend of Count Nesselrode, and when the treaty was at length accepted by the cabinet against the strenuous opposition of some of the members, it was, by the dexterous management of the count, seconded by Mr. Buchanan's skilful course and ample knowledge of the points in question. He began his journey homeward, Aug. 8, 1833. On Dec. 6, 1834, he was elected United States senator by the Democratic members of the Pennsylvania legislature, to fill the unexpired term of Senator Wilkins, resigned. In his letter of acceptance he wrote: "I want language to express my feelings on the perusal of your kind letter. Elevated by your free and unsolicited suffrages to the only public station I desire to occupy, it shall be my constant endeavor to justify by my conduct the generous confidence which you have thus reposed." When he took his seat in the senate, Dec. 15, 1834, General Jackson was in the second term of his office, Mr. Van Buren presided over the senate, the opposition had become consolidated and classified under the name of the Whig party as substituted for that of national Republicans; there was a third party known as the anti-masons, and the Whigs controlled the senate by a two-thirds majority. In the great struggle between President Jackson and the Whigs, headed by Mr. Calhoun, Buchanan at all times warmly defended the President and his claims. In the course of a speech in defence of the President in his exercise of the right to remove Presidential appointees from office without the consent of the senate, Mr. Buchanan said: "Washington, the elder Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and the younger Adams removed whom they pleased from office; but after the accession of Jackson to office the [p.21] existence of this power is denied. We are now required to believe that all which former presidents have done was wrong; the first Congress was entirely mistaken in its construction of the constitution, and that the president does not possess the power of removal without the concurrence of the senate. If ever a question has occurred in the history of any country that ought to be considered and settled it is that one. A solemn decision at first, adopted in practice afterwards by all branches of the government for five and forty years makes the precedent one of almost irresistible force." In the next session of Congress, December, 1836, he delivered a speech defending the President's action in the removal of the public deposits and in support of Senator Benton's "expunging" resolutions, which proposed the cancellation on the journal of Mr. Clay's resolution, condemning President Jackson for the act. In his speech, which has been characterized as the ablest effort in the senate, he deftly separated what was personal or partisan in the controversy from the serious questions involved, and covering the whole field of argument upon the really important topics in a temperate, courteous, but firm discussion, placed his side of the debate upon its true merits. The resolutions were adopted by a strict party vote. During the latter part of General Jackson's administration the subject of slavery began to be agitated, and numerous petitions were made to Congress for its suppression in the District of Columbia. One from the Quakers of Pennsylvania was presented by Mr. Buchanan. His attitude at that time upon the slavery question is best expressed in his own words in the senate. Jan. 7, 1836: "The memorial which I have in my possession is entitled to the utmost respect from the character of the memorialists. If any one principle of constitutional law can at this day be considered as settled, it is that Congress has no right, no power, over the question of slavery within those states where it exists. The property of the master in his slave existed in full force before the Federal constitution was adopted. It was a subject which then belonged, as it still belongs, to the exclusive jurisdiction of the several states. For one, whatever may be my opinions upon the abstract question of slavery?I am free to confess they are those of the people of Pennsylvania,?I shall never attempt to violate this fundamental compact. The Union will be dissolved and incalculable evils will arise, the moment any such attempt is seriously made by the free states in Congress." In June, 1836, when a bill was proposed in the senate to restrain the use of the mails for the circulation of incendiary publications in the south, Mr. Webster addressed the senate in opposition to the bill, and Mr. Buchanan argued against him. In 1836, when Michigan sought admission to the Union, Mr. Buchanan spoke in favor of admitting the territory as a state. His whole career showed him to be preeminently a state rights man. Among his many loyal friends President Jackson had none more staunch than Mr. Buchanan. He supported him in his financial measures, advocated the recognition by Congress of the independence of Texas, and at a later time its annexation. Mr. Buchanan supported the principal measures of the administration of Mr. Van Buren, including the establishment of an independent treasury. He was re-elected to the senate January, 1837, for a full term, being the first United States senator re-elected by the legislature of Pennsylvania. President Van Buren invited him to his official family as attorney-general to succeed Mr. Grundy, but Mr. Buchanan declined, claiming that he could best serve his country in the senate. On Feb. 2, 1842, in reply to Mr. Clay, he delivered a speech on the veto power of the president, in which he said: "Of all the executive powers it is the least to be dreaded. It cannot create, it can change no existing law, it can destroy no existing institution. It is a mere power to arrest hasty and inconsiderate changes until the voice of the people, who are alike masters of senators, representatives and President, shall be heard." In 1842 he opposed the ratification of the treaty between the United States and England, which Mr. Webster had negotiated with Lord Ashburton. In 1843 the legislature of Pennsylvania re-elected him senator for a third term, and in 1844 his political and personal friends were anxious to propose him as Democratic candidate for the presidency. But he saw that if he permitted his friends to have their way, his interests would clash with those of Benton, Van Buren and other prominent men in the party. Mr. Buchanan accordingly promptly withdrew his name in a public letter, and James K. Polk was nominated and elected, and at the invitation of the President Mr. Buchanan accepted the position of secretary of state in his cabinet. Here he had some critical questions to adjust, including the settlement of the boundary line between Oregon and the British possessions, and the annexation of Texas, from which arose the war with Mexico. He also advised President Polk to strongly reassert the Monroe doctrine, which was in effect that no European nation should in future be permitted to settle a colony on the American continent or in any way to interfere with American affairs; and he also advocated cultivating the most friendly relations with the Central American states. When the Whigs came into power in 1849, Mr. Buchanan retired for a time from [p.22] politics, and acquired a small estate a little outside the city of Lancaster, known as Wheatland, and this henceforth became his home. The death of his sister, Mrs. Lane, in 1839, left to him the care and education of four children, and the youngest of them, Harriet, was of such a tender age that it was possible for her natural guardian to mould her character as he wished; to direct the education of the young girl, to form her religious and moral principles, to guard her against temptation that would naturally come in the paths of one of her impetuous disposition, and to develop in her the character of a true woman, became one of the chief objects of his busy life. His letters to her, which began in her early youth, reveal a beautiful side of his character, of which the world knows but little. He wrote numerous public letters during his retirement, and the compromise measures of 1850, offered by Mr. Clay, the abolition of slave trade in the District of Columbia, and the fugitive slave law received his commendation and approval. When the Democratic party regained power in 1853, President Pierce offered to Mr. Buchanan the position of minister to England. In urging his acceptance the President said: "I can assure you if you accept the mission Pennsylvania shall not receive one appointment more or less on that account. I shall consider yours as an appointment for the whole country, and I will not say that Pennsylvania shall not have more in case of your acceptance than if you should decline the mission." The pressure brought to bear was so strong that he finally accepted. The fisheries reciprocity with Canada, and the Monroe doctrine as relating to Central American states, which had not been satisfactorily established by the Clayton-Bulwer treaty, were the uppermost subjects for discussion and settlement. President Pierce decided that the questions of reciprocity and the fisheries should be negotiated at Washington, and the Central American question was referred to London. Mr. Buchanan was the originator and one of the three members of the Ostend conference that met in 1854 to consider the subject of the acquisition of Cuba by the United States, and with his colleagues maintained that on the principle of self-preservation from dangers of the gravest kind, an armed intervention of the United States and the capture of the island from the Spaniards would be justifiable. He returned to the United States in the latter part of April, 1856, accompanied by his niece, Harriet Lane, who had been for over a year his guest, and upon his arrival in New York was accorded a public reception from the authorities and people of the city, which evinced the interest that was everywhere manifested towards him as an able statesman and the probable coming chief executive. He returned to Wheatland, and there received news of his nomination as the Democratic candidate for President by the convention held at Cincinnati in 1856. The Whig party had passed from existence. The anti-slavery party adopted the name of Republican, nominated John C. Fremont as their candidate for President, and the question of slavery in the territories was made the issue of the campaign. The repeal of the Missouri compromise and the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which had been followed in Kansas by an internecine contest between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers, gave the canvass a sectional fervor which was smothered but not extinguished by the election in November, when Mr. Buchanan secured the electoral vote of Arkansas, Alabama, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, one hundred and thirty-nine electoral votes, which made him President of the United States. He was inaugurated March 4, 1857, and was welcomed to the presidency by many anxious and patriotic citizens outside of his own party supporters, who saw danger in the radical doctrines of the minority party. His niece, Harriet Lane, became mistress of the White House, and was admirably qualified to make the new administration a social success. In the selection of his cabinet he made Lewis Cass, of Michigan, secretary of state; Howell Cobb, of Georgia, secretary of the treasury; John B. Floyd, of Virginia, secretary of war; Isaac Toucey, of Connecticut, secretary of the navy; Jacob Thompson, of Mississippi, secretary of the interior; Aaron V. Brown, of Tennessee, postmaster-general, and Jeremiah S. Black, of Pennsylvania, attorney-general. The state of the country when this administration was organized was ominous to its peace and welfare. The autumn of 1857 saw a financial crisis of that kind which is apt to recur in an expanding country as the cycle advances from booming prosperity to the over-confident and over-productive stage. Although the severity of the times gradually relaxed, and both confidence and activity were by another twelve months fairly restored, it took a long time to do away with the effects of the panic. The preceding administration had left a legacy of trouble in the repeal of the Missouri compromise. The Kansas-Nebraska Act was a bone of contention between two factions of the Democratic party, and the President had to consider what was the limitation imposed by the Constitution of the United States upon the operation of this newly created right. He stood by the decision of the supreme court in the famous Dred Scott case, and [p.23] all his official influence was used through the territorial government to induce the people of Kansas to act in the questions of slavery at the proper time, and in the only practical way, by voting for delegates to the constitution called under the authority of the territorial laws, and then voting on the constitution which that convention should frame. In 1857 he appointed Alfred Cumming, of Georgia, governor of Utah, and filled the judicial and other vacancies which existed. This roused the opposition of Brigham Young and his followers. The President and his secretary of war petitioned the existing Congress for necessary troops to quell the incipient rebellion, but the Lecompton controversy was raging, and the use of Federal troops to put down the free-state movement in Kansas had caused such mistrust and irritation that none but the President's staunchest supporters were inclined to place more troops at his disposal. The bill for an army increase was lost, though both houses passed a measure authorizing the President to accept for the Utah disturbance two regiments of volunteers; these were not called out, but the President mustered a military force out of the regulars strong enough to overawe and overpower Utah's rebellious inhabitants. Two peace commissioners also bore to Utah a proclamation from the President, dated April 6, which offered free pardon except to those who still persisted in disloyal resistance. These conciliatory efforts, backed by an irresistible show of military strength, brought the Mormons to a speedy acknowledgment of their allegiance. The question of British dominion in Central America, which Mr. Buchanan had advanced when minister to England, was settled during his administration under his advice and approval. A settlement with the Central American states was effected in accordance with the American construction of the Clayton-Bulwer treaty. He also succeeded in compelling the English government to recognize international law in favor of the freedom of the seas. He recommended to Congress sending aid to the constitutional party of Mexico, then forcibly suspended from exercising the functions of government by military rule, and to redress with force the wrongs of our citizens who were resident there, and whose claims against Mexico aggregated ten million dollars. He also instructed the United States minister to Mexico, Mr. McLane, to make a treaty of "Transit and Commerce," and a "convention to enforce treaty stipulations and to maintain order and security in the territory of the republics of Mexico and the United States." Congress did not uphold him in his efforts; Louis Napoleon interfered; in 1864 an empire under Maximillian was established, and the claims of the American citizens were for the time ignored. In 1858 the President concluded a treaty with China which established satisfactory commercial relations between the two countries. On June 22, 1860, he vetoed a bill "to secure homesteads to actual settlers in the public domain, and for other purposes"; the other purposes pertained to donations to the states, his objections being that the United States had no right to donate her public land to the states for domestic purposes. In 1860 the President was authorized by Congress to settle the claims against the government of Paraguay, by sending a commissioner to that country, accompanied by a naval force sufficient to exact justice should negotiations fail. This expedition was started on a considerable scale, was entirely successful and resulted in a permanent peace with that country, at no cost to the government beyond the usual small annual appropriation for the navy. The election of Mr. Lincoln in 1860 was the signal for South Carolina to renew her old doctrine, and she seceded Dec. 20, 1860. Mr. Buchanan refused to receive the commissioners sent by the state to treat with him as with a foreign power. He emphatically denied the right of any state to secede from the Union, and held that the only remedy for a dissatisfied state was open revolution. In the October preceding the election, he received communication from General Scott, commanding-general of the army, which subsequently became known as "General Scott's Views," in which paper the general said in view of Mr. Lincoln's probable election he anticipated the secession of one or more southern states, and warned the President against leaving the forts in the south without additional garrison. As Mr. Buchanan had publicly denied the right of secession, he could not consistently reinforce the forts as if he anticipated revolution; besides the entire United States troops available for garrisoning the nine forts in the six excited southern states was four hundred men, and the recommendation was plainly impracticable. He adhered to his policy of non-action, for which he has been censured, but which was identical with that adopted by President Lincoln until the overt act of firing upon Fort Sumter. After the actual secession of South Carolina, the President's chief aim was to confine the area of secession and induce Congress to prepare for war. But again he was not seconded by the legislative body, and when his term of office expired, March 8, 1861, seven states had already seceded, and President Lincoln found himself sadly embarrassed by the apathy of Congress in not preparing for the conflict, which could no longer be averted. Excepting the short drive from the White House to the Capitol in the same carriage with Mr. Lincoln, [p.24] in compliance with that time-honored custom, when the retiring President turns over the administration of affairs to his successor, it does not appear that Mr. Buchanan and Mr. Lincoln ever met, Mr. Buchanan remained in Washington until March 9, settling private affairs, and on that day, accompanied by Miss Lane and the other members of his household, returned to Wheatland. He continued to take a deep interest in politics, and supported with his influence as a private citizen the war that was raging for the maintenance of the Union. His declining years were saddened by the many calumnies with which he was assailed; but he bore all with a dignified fortitude and was willing to leave the vindication of his course to a future, when perception would not be dimmed by sectional feeling. He published Buchanan's Administrations, a vindication of the policy of his administration during the last months of his term. During the last years of his life he fell a victim to rheumatic gout, from which be finally died. His remains were laid at rest in Woodward Hill cemetery, near Lancaster, Pa. A simple monument marks his grave, and the passer-by reads, "James Buchanan, fifteenth President of the United States, born April 23, 179l; died June 1, 1868."

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

John Findlay, representative, was born in Mercersburg, Pa.; son of Samuel and Jane (Smith) Findlay and a brother of Governor William Findlay and of Representative James Findlay. He was educated in the public schools and removed to Chambersburg, Pa., where he held various local offices. He was a representative front Pennsylvania in the 17th, 18th and 19th congresses, 1821-27. He was subsequently appointed postmaster of Chambersburg and held the office at the time of his death, which occurred in Chambersburg, Pa., Nov. 5, 1838.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor