The indefatigable collector of the elder national minstrelsy, Peter
Buchan, was born in Peterhead in the year 1790. Of a somewhat
distinguished descent, he was on the father's side remotely connected
with the noble house of Buchan, and his mother was a lineal descendant
of the Irvines of Drum, an old powerful family in Aberdeenshire. Though
he was disposed to follow a seafaring life, and had obtained a
commission in the Navy, he abandoned his early intentions at the urgent
solicitation of his parents, and thereafter employed himself as a
copperplate engraver, and was the inventor of an ingenious revolving
press for copperplate printing. At Edinburgh and Stirling, he afterwards
qualified himself for the business of a letterpress printer, and in 1816
opened a printing-office in his native town. In 1819, he compiled the
"Annals of Peterhead," a duodecimo volume, which he printed at a press
of his own contrivance. His next publication appeared shortly after,
under the title, "An Historical Account of the Ancient and Noble Family
of Keith, Earls-Marischal of Scotland."
After a period of residence in London, where he held for some time a
remunerative situation, Buchan returned to his native town. In the
metropolis, he had been painfully impressed by the harsh treatment
frequently inflicted on the inferior animals, and as a corrective for
the evil, he published at Peterhead, in 1824, a treatise, dedicated to
his son, in which he endeavoured to prove that brutes are possessed of
souls, and are immortal. His succeeding publication, which appeared in
1828, proved the most successful effort of his life; it was entitled,
"Ancient Ballads and Songs of the North of Scotland, hitherto
Unpublished, with Explanatory Notes," Edinburgh, two vols. 8vo. This
work occupied upwards of ten years in preparation. Among his other
publications may be enumerated, a volume of "Poems and Songs," printed
in 1814; "The Peterhead Smugglers, an original Melodrama," published in
1834; "The Eglinton Tournament, &c.;" "Gleanings of Scarce Old Ballads;"
and the "Wanderings of Prince Charles Stuart and Miss Flora Macdonald,"
the latter being published from an old MS.
At different periods Buchan resided in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, and Glasgow.
For a short period he owned the small property of Buchanstone, near
Dennyloanhead, Stirlingshire, which being sold, he proceeded to Ireland
in 1852, where he resided for some time at Strandhill, county of
Leitrim. In the early part of 1854, he went to London, with the view of
effecting arrangements for the publication of another volume of "Ancient
Scottish Ballads;" he was there seized with illness, of which he died on
the 19th September of the same year. His remains were interred in the
beautiful cemetery of Norwood, near London.
Mr Buchan was justly esteemed as a zealous and industrious collector of
the elder Scottish minstrelsy. His labours received the special
commendation of Sir Walter Scott, and he was a frequent guest at
Abbotsford. He was also honoured with diplomas of membership from some
of the leading literary societies of Scotland and England. Two
unpublished volumes of his "Ballad Collections" are now in the
possession of Dr Charles Mackay of London, and may at a future period be
submitted to the public. His son, the Rev. Dr Charles Forbes Buchan,
minister of Fordoun, is the author of several theological publications.