BUCHANAN, SARAH ELIZABETH (1840-1939). Sarah Elizabeth Buchanan, writer, was born in Wilkes County, Georgia, on October 18, 1840, the daughter of a Methodist minister. After attending Andrew Female College, Cuthbert, Georgia, she moved to Texas with her husband, John Brown Buchanan, and their growing family in 1883. Buchanan, a veteran of the Fifth Georgia Regiment of Infantry, C.S.A., was an architect and land agent. Of the couple's ten children seven reached adulthood and careers in business, education, and medicine. Mrs. Buchanan published journalism and short stories. About 1896 she joined the staff of Farm and Ranchqv magazine as editor of the women's section ("Household") and sections for young people ("Cousin's League") and young children ("Our Juniors"). Farm and Ranch, which sought to improve the lives of rural people, circulated widely in the South and Southwest. Known as "Aunt Sallie," Mrs. Buchanan stressed health standards and crusaded against alcohol in her writing. After some years of commuting or mailing her copy from Waxahachie, she moved with her family to Dallas, where she remained the rest of her life. John Brown Buchanan died on January 26, 1917. "Aunt Sallie" Buchanan continued her editorship in Farm and Ranch until she was ninety-five. For about half a century she belonged to the Texas Press Association;qv she was one of the organizers and a president of the Dallas Pen Women; she was eventually made honorary president for life. After three weeks of illness, she died on March 21, 1939, and was buried in Dallas.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Farm and Ranch, April 1939. Vertical Files, Barker Texas History Center, University of Texas at Austin.
Deolece M. Parmelee
