John Buchanan | |
|---|---|
| Born | County Donegal, Ireland |
| Died | 1769 Greenfield (Fincastle, Virginia), Botetourt County, Virginia, Colony of Virginia |
| Years active | 1741-1769 |
| Known for | Virginia leadership and development |
| Title | Augusta County magistrate, Augusta County Sheriff, Justice of the Peace, coroner, surveyor, collector of duty on skins and furs, tax collector and exterminator of wolves |
| Spouse | Margaret Patton |
| Parent(s) | James Buchanan and Jane Sayers |
| Relatives | Children: Mary, James, John, Margaret, Jane, William, Anna |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | Colony of Virginia |
| Years of service | 1742-1769 |
| Rank | Colonel of the Augusta County Militia |
| Unit |  Virginia militia, Augusta County militia |
| Battles / wars | Battle of Galudoghson (1742), Sandy Creek Expedition (1756) |
John Buchanan (died 1769) was a colonial Virginia landowner, magistrate, colonel in the Virginia Militia, deputy surveyor under Thomas Lewis, and Sheriff of Augusta County, Virginia. As a surveyor, Buchanan was able to locate and purchase some of the most desirable plots of land in western Virginia and quickly became wealthy and politically influential. As magistrate, sheriff and a colonel the Augusta County Militia, he was already well-connected when his father-in-law Colonel James Patton was killed in 1755. Buchanan had replaced Patton in several key roles by the time of his own death in 1769.
Buchanan is often referred to in official documents as "John Buchanan, Gent.", while his brother-in-law, Captain John Buchanan, is usually referred to as "John Buchanan, yeoman." Both men owned land on the New River and the Holston River and are frequently confused.[1] Captain Buchanan married Colonel Buchanan's sister Martha.[2]: 294