This collection contains 10 letters written by James Buchanan, an attorney in Tidioute, Pennsylvania. Composed over a three-year period and all addressed to Philadelphia attorney John Samuel, Buchanan commented on politics and literature, as well as concerns related to his profession.
The first two letters, written in January and March of 1866 from Tionesta, Pennsylvania, reveals that Buchanan's struggle with "isolation" was tempered by reading Charles Dickens' Our Mutual Friend and remaining abreast of current political events, despite the fact that, by the time news reached his area, "the waves of political excitement [were] gentle ripples." In his March 1, 1866, letter, Buchannan described President Andrew Johnson as having "the traits of character which belong so often to men of mind who rise from obscurity." He also suggested that Johnson had "imagined slights" and emphasized the president's "first rate" abilities as a speaker.
Beginning in October of 1866, Buchanan, then living in Tidioute, struggled to decide if he should return to Philadelphia on account of the lack of clients for his law practice. Later letters reveal his thoughts on judicial appointments in Warren County, his inquiry "with regard to the prospects of Democratic success," and a prospective marriage between him and "a young lady of 18." He continued to lament the life of a "countryman." In May 1869, he requested that Samuel inquire into the possibility of having a lecture, previously delivered by him, published. He hoped to see "some profit" given that the "subject is one in which many thousands of persons are interested." In June 1869, he decried the "exorbitant price" that the publisher charged for "so small a pamphlet." His final letter relayed his desire to leave the law practice because of health concerns.
The History of Warren County Pennsylvania states that James Buchanan registered as an attorney in Tidioute, Pennsylvania, on September 4, 1866 (Schenck, 315).
John Samuel was born October 21, 1829, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the second child of David Samuel and Esther "Hetty" Samuel, née Moss. An attorney-at-law in Philadelphia, Samuel married Rebecca Hendriks Levy (1840-1915) on November 5, 1856. Together they had three sons: Bunford (1857-1949), Frank (1859-1934), and John David (1869-1954). Samuel died on August 22, 1913, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
