A forgotten safe deposit box has turned out to hold an unexpected piece of presidential history. Pennsylvania officials recently returned 61 items connected to the family of James Buchanan, the nation’s 15th president, after the collection spent years in the state’s unclaimed property system. The materials include centuries-old family documents, stock certificates and a leather satchel, with some records reaching back to the Revolutionary era. Among the discoveries are a 1780 letter from Robert Buchanan and a deed tied to land where five generations of the family lived.
The 61-Item Collection Is a Mix of Family Records
This is much more than a box of old papers. The Buchanan collection contains 61 items in total, including 32 historical documents, 28 stock certificates and one leather satchel. The materials were connected to Barbara and Harry Buchanan and ultimately traced back to the family of James Buchanan, who served as the 15th U.S. president from 1857 to 1861. The variety of materials gives the collection both personal and historical value, because it preserves pieces of the family’s financial, property and personal history in one group.
A 1780 Letter Reaches Back to the Revolutionary Era
One of the oldest and most striking pieces in the collection is a 1780 letter written by Robert Buchanan. In it, Robert requested permission to remain with his militia regiment as a scout. The document predates James Buchanan’s presidency by nearly eight decades and places one branch of his family directly within the era of the American Revolution. Its survival gives researchers a rare written connection to an earlier generation of the Buchanan family.
The letter is particularly useful because it captures a specific moment rather than simply recording a name or date. It shows Robert Buchanan communicating about his role with a militia regiment during a period when the American colonies were fighting for independence. Along with other documents in the collection, it helps push the family’s documented story well beyond James Buchanan’s lifetime and into an earlier chapter of American history.
A Land Deed Connects Five Generations
Another important document is a deed for property in what is now Milford in Pike County, Pennsylvania. The Treasury says the Buchanan family lived on that land for five generations, making the deed a tangible record of the family’s long connection to the area. Rather than simply identifying a piece of property, the document helps establish how the Buchanan family’s roots extended through multiple generations in Pennsylvania.
The connection also gives the collection significance beyond the presidential family itself. Pike County officials described the documents as tangible evidence of the county’s connection to the Buchanan family. The property record adds another geographic layer to the family’s story, showing how the historical materials can connect individual family members, places and generations across Pennsylvania.
The Safe Deposit Box Had Been Abandoned
The collection’s journey back to the family began when the materials were discovered in an abandoned safe deposit box belonging to Barbara and Harry Buchanan. The contents were subsequently received through Pennsylvania Treasury’s unclaimed property program. That program does not deal only with forgotten money. It can also take custody of physical property found in abandoned safe deposit boxes, including historical documents and other personal belongings.
Once Treasury staff examined the Buchanan materials, their historical character became clear. Officials launched an extensive search to identify the rightful family connection and eventually located Cathleen Buchanan, Barbara and Harry’s daughter. She traveled from Connecticut to Pennsylvania to receive the collection, turning what had been an abandoned set of materials in a state vault into a family history once again held by Buchanan descendants.
The Collection Is Back With Buchanan Descendants
The return was formally held at LancasterHistory’s Museum & Research Center, where Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity presented the materials to Cathleen Buchanan. LancasterHistory, which operates President James Buchanan’s former home at Wheatland in Lancaster, participated in the event and emphasized the importance of preserving the family’s history. The return means the documents are now in the care of Buchanan descendants rather than remaining in Pennsylvania’s unclaimed property system.
The family has said it plans to preserve and properly display the materials, allowing others to learn from them. The discovery also adds new material to the broader historical record surrounding James Buchanan and his family. For Lancaster and Pennsylvania, the collection offers another physical connection to a president whose roots were deeply tied to the state and whose Wheatland home remains an important part of the region’s historical landscape.
