Harriet Lane was born in 1830 in Mercersburg, Franklin County. Her mother was James Buchanan’s sister. After both her parents died when she was a child, she asked that her uncle become her guardian.
Buchanan, a lifelong bachelor, took her in. She lived with him in Lancaster and later at Wheatland, his home.
In London and Washington
When Buchanan served as minister to Britain in the 1850s, Lane joined him in London and became a favorite at Queen Victoria’s court.
After he became president in 1857, she served as White House hostess, a role usually filled by the first lady. She was stylish and popular, and her fashions were copied. The press called her the “Democratic Queen.”
Later life
She married Baltimore banker Henry Elliott Johnston in 1866. Their two sons died young.
Lane collected art throughout her life. When she died in 1903, she left her collection to the government, and it became the start of what is now the Smithsonian American Art Museum. She also left money for a children’s hospital at Johns Hopkins, the Harriet Lane Home.
The Coast Guard has named ships after her. Her years at Wheatland are part of the house tour in Lancaster.