Background
Buchanan, John Alexander was born on October 7, 1843 in in Smyth Company, Virginia, United States.
lawyer politician representative
Buchanan, John Alexander was born on October 7, 1843 in in Smyth Company, Virginia, United States.
He received his early education in local schools and later attended Emory and Henry College.
During the war, he served in the Stonewall Brigade until he was captured at Battle of Gettysburg and held as a prisoner for two years until 1865. He then entered the University of Virginia to study law. After being admitted to the bar, he began private practice at Abingdon in Washington County.
He was elected to the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals in 1895 and served as a judge until his term expired in 1915.
In 1885-1887, he was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates and, in 1888, was elected to Congress as a representative of the ninth Congressional District of Virginia and returned for a second term.