John Buchanan (1772–November 6, 1844) was a Maryland politician and long-serving Justice of the

Maryland Court of Appeals The Supreme Court of Maryland is the highest court of the U.S. state of Maryland. Its name was changed on December 14, 2022, from the Maryland Court of Appeals, after a voter-approved change to the state constitution. The court, which is compose ...

, sitting on the court from 1806 to 1844, and serving as chief justice from 1824 to 1844.

Biography

John Buchanan was born in 1772, in Prince George's County, Maryland to Thomas Buchanan and Mary Cook or Anne Cooke Buchanan. He attended Charlotte Hall School in St. Mary's County, Maryland. He read law under Judge Robert White in

Winchester, Virginia Winchester is the most north western independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Frederick County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Winchester wit ...

and John Thomson Mason in Hagerstown, Maryland.Archives of Maryland (Biographical Series), John Buchanan (1772-1844)
''Maryland State Archives'' (October 7, 2002), MSA SC 3520-1622. Buchanan served in the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...

for

Washington County, Maryland Washington County is located in the western part of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 154,705. Its county seat is Hagerstown. Washington County was the first county in the United States to be named for th ...

from 1797 to 1799. In 1806, he began 38 years of simultaneous service as both Chief Judge of the Washington County Circuit Court, 5th Judicial Circuit, and justice of the

. On the latter court, he was an associate justice from 1806 to 1824, and Chief Judge from 1824 until his death in 1844. He was also a

Presidential Elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia app ...

in 1817, and director of the Hagerstown Bank from 1820 to 1825. He married Sophia Williams, with whom he has one son, Thomas Eli Buchanan. He resided at an estate named "Woodland", near

Williamsport, Maryland Williamsport is a town in Washington County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,868 at the 2000 census and 2,137 as of 2010. Geography Williamsport is located at (39.598496, −77.818464). According to the United States Census Bu ...

, and died there on November 6, 1844.

References

Judges of the Maryland Court of Appeals 1772 births 1844 deaths Members of the Maryland House of Delegates Charlotte Hall Military Academy alumni U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law {{Maryland-state-judge-stub