LANCASTER, PA — Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity returned a 61-item collection of Buchanan family documents and artifacts Tuesday after the materials arrived in the state’s unclaimed property program from an abandoned safe deposit box, restoring records dating to the Revolutionary War era to descendants of President James Buchanan’s family.
The collection belonged to Barbara and Harry Buchanan and includes 32 historical documents, 28 stock certificates and a leather satchel. Treasury located the couple’s daughter, Cathleen Buchanan, who traveled from Connecticut to receive the property during a ceremony at LancasterHistory’s Museum & Research Center.
Among the oldest 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 property in present-day Milford, Pike County, where the Buchanan family lived for five generations.
“There is something deeply moving about reconnecting a family with its legacy,” Garrity said. “These items being returned today are more than objects — instead, they are threads in the fabric of history.”
LancasterHistory, which operates Wheatland, President James Buchanan’s former Lancaster home, participated in the return.
“We are grateful that Buchanan’s descendants are now the caretakers of these documents and that the history found within them is no longer lost,” Stephanie Celiberti, manager of President James Buchanan’s Wheatland, said.
The collection illustrates a less common component of Pennsylvania’s unclaimed property system. In addition to dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks and forgotten stocks, Treasury can receive physical property from abandoned safe deposit boxes, including documents, collectible coins, jewelry and savings bonds.
Garrity’s office has returned more than $1.2 billion in unclaimed property since she took office in 2021, including a record of more than $334 million last year. Treasury is holding more than $5 billion in additional unclaimed property for potential owners.
More than one in 10 Pennsylvanians have unclaimed property, according to Treasury, with the average claim worth more than $1,000.
Pennsylvanians can search for property held in their name at searchandclaimpa.gov.
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