Andrew Buchanan (April 8, 1780 – December 2, 1848) was a member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

Early life

Andrew Buchanan was born on April 8, 1780, in

Chester County, Pennsylvania Chester County (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Tscheschter Kaundi''), colloquially referred to as Chesco, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in ...

. He graduated from

Dickinson College Dickinson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1773 as Carlisle Grammar School, Dickinson was chartered on September 9, 1783, ...

Carlisle, Pennsylvania Carlisle is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2020 United States census ...

. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1798.

Career

Buchanan commenced practice in

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

. He located in Waynesburg in 1803. He served as a member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

and in the

Pennsylvania Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mi ...

. In 1834, Buchanan was elected as a Jacksonian to the Twenty-fourth Congress, defeating Andrew Stewart. He was elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-fifth Congress. He served as chairman of the

United States House Committee on Elections The United States House Committee on Elections is a former standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. Article 1, section 5, of the Constitution of the United States specifies: "Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, ...

during the Twenty-fifth Congress. He resumed the practice of his profession until his death.

Personal life

Buchanan married Rhoda Stephenson of New Jersey. They had eleven children. Buchanan died on December 2, 1848, in Waynesburg. He was interred in Waynesburg Commons and later re-interred in Green Mount Cemetery.

References

The Political GraveyardGreene Connections: Greene County, Pennsylvania Archives Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buchanan, Andrew 1780 births 1848 deaths People from Waynesburg, Pennsylvania Dickinson College alumni Pennsylvania lawyers Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Democratic Party Pennsylvania state senators Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives