Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity returned 61 historical artifacts connected to the family of President James Buchanan during a ceremony at LancasterHistory’s Museum & Research Center.
The collection was found in an abandoned safe deposit box belonging to Barbara and Harry Buchanan. The Pennsylvania Treasury’s unclaimed property program located their daughter, Cathleen Buchanan, who traveled from Connecticut to receive the items.
The collection includes 32 historical documents, 28 stock certificates and a leather satchel. Among the items is a 1780 letter from Robert Buchanan requesting permission to remain with his militia regiment as a scout. The collection also contains a deed for land in present-day Milford, Pike County, where the Buchanan family lived for five generations.
Representatives from LancasterHistory and local, state and federal government attended the ceremony. LancasterHistory owns and operates Wheatland, President Buchanan’s former home.
Since Garrity took office in 2021, the Treasury has returned more than $1.2 billion in unclaimed property, including more than $334 million last year. The agency currently holds more than $5 billion in unclaimed property.
Unclaimed property can include dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks, stocks and physical items from abandoned safe deposit boxes. Pennsylvanians can search for property at searchandclaimpa.gov.
