Thank you very much to kingskerswell and captainbeecher for all you information, and to aghadowey. Yes, you are correct! The place where the other Buchanans lived was Maghabera. You must understand that I do not come from Ireland. It may well be that my Buchanans are related to yours, as these Buchanas also used the name William.
James Buchanan came to Australia on 1 July 1853 on the 'Ghengis Khan' with his wife Catherine and their son William James. They settled in Waterloo; five miles from Beaufort. In the mid-1860s, Catherine left James and went to live with his brother William Buchanan. William had come to Australia a couple of years later and married a lady from Manchester named Matilda Walton. William James Buchanan died in a mining accident near Stawell in 1899. He moved from Beaufort to Stawell in the late 1870s, after his father had remarried. He was a popular man in Stawell, but never married.
Catherine Buchanan died in Beaufort around 1874. In 1876, James married a young lady named Mary McGuire who was 17 and hose mother was a Convict from Londonderry - Anne Agnew. Anne had been transported in 1841 at age 14 for stealing a loaf of bread! Her father was John Agnew and mother unknown. Mary's father was John McGuire from Manchester. James Buchanan was about 48 and put his age down to 38 on the marriage certificate!! I am the GG Granddaughter of James and Mary Buchanan.
James worked as a Carrier (goods etc), with cattle, and as a Blacksmith. He was what I would call a crusty old curmudgeon. He did have some minor incursions with the Victorian Police. He had a big argument with a man on the streets of Stawell in 1903 and they both went to Court. The Judge fined James quite a bit of money. He liked to dress well and always had a walking stick with him as a fashion item. He always spoke his mind and didn't have much respect for authority. James and Mary had the following children:
Nancy Jane, Robert, John (died young), Mary, Herbert, Augusta. I will get the DOB and post these soon. Robert was my GGrandfather.
James died in April, 1915 in Stawell, and William died in 1922/23 in Beaufort. I will post the exact dates when I look through what I have.
Now to the contact from Ireland and or America. I had been told by one of my senior cousins that a letter was sent from Scotland to Australia in the late 1950s by one of the Buchanans. I have been asked to try and find out who sent the letter. I honestly don't think that this letter came from Scotland, as this dear cousin hadn't at all known that the Buchanans came from Londonderry. The fact is that James' son Robert Buchanan never told anyone about the Buchanans. The family were a complete mystery, although I knew that James had come from Londonderry, not Scotland. I cannot find his birth certificate in Ireland. It is a better bet that the letter came from Jane's family in Ireland. Whoever wrote that letter knew my grandfather's name. My grandfather was James' grandson. The contact had continued with the Buchanan relatives for over 100 years. Unfortunately, the letter was never answered by any relative in Australia.
It is much less likely that the letter came from Mingo in America, as sister Elizabeth Brown (Buchanan) wrote in 1894 to the Victorian Police asking for the whereabouts of her brothers James, William and Robert who had come to Victoria about 30-40 years ago. This is the letter I have ordered and will post on this site as soon as it arrives. This will arrive in about two-three weeks.
Last week my most senior cousin who is 90 said that she knew the family came from Londonderry, and that she knew that 'half of James Buchanans siblings had gone to America, and the other half had come to Australia'. Their parents William and Mary Buchanan (nee Norris) may have had more children, but I do not know who they are. Perhaps more stayed in Londonderry. My cousin's recollection may not be entirely correct as to the number of siblings who went to America.
I also do remember one of the Sherrard's immigrating to New York. I have an idea that it was Robert Sherrard's brother, but I am uncertain.
So, yes, captainbeecher, you are certainly a cousin! The longevity of your GGrandfather would definitely be assisted by the Buchanan line. It would be very rare for a Buchanan to die before the age of 80. Robert and James as names have always remained in the family, as has Elizabeth. The Buchanans over here were staunchly Presbyterian and quite fanatic about it in the previous generations. None of them were tall people, and the women were quite 'fey'. I will look up some more information and post it. Will attach photos in a minute.
Christine
