Francis Buchanan was born on 23 March 1825 in Bridgend, in the parish of Kinnoull, Perth. His father was James Buchanan, a master joiner and cabinet maker from Callander. His mother was Catherine Ewan from Kinfauns. His parents, and four siblings who died in infancy were buried at the Old Kinnoull graveyard. A surviving brother, James Buchanan, became a successful High Court Solicitor in Edinburgh. Their only sister, Catherine, was not in a good state of health. Francis was educated at Kinnoull School, and often played truant in favour of spending time in the solitude of the woods on Kinnoull Hill. He was apprenticed to a draper, which he disliked intensely, and tried running away to become a sailor. When aged about twenty-two Francis was elected Bard of the Worshipful Brotherhood of the Royal Arch Freemasons of Perth. His first volume of poems, The Crusader, with Other Poems and Lyrics, was published in 1848 by Thomas Richardson of Perth.
Shortly afterward, Francis reluctantly left behind his beloved Kinnoull Hill, River Tay and North Inch, in search of work. He spent some time in Lancashire, and married Susannah Lloyd (who hailed from Oswestry, Shropshire) in Manchester, in 1852. Some of their children were born in Manchester, and by 1860 the family settled in Sheffield. During the 1870s, Francis opened a drapery, and occasionally submitted poems for publication in local and Scottish newspapers.
His second volume of poetry, entitled Sparks From Sheffield Smoke: A Series of Local and Other Poems, was published by Leader and Sons, Sheffield, in 1882. His circumstances altered somewhat, when incapacitated by an accident, Francis was unable to work, and one of his sons ran the business for a time. Two of Francis’ sons had relocated to New South Wales, Australia, and their daughter to the United States of America, with her husband – and they were joined by Francis and his wife in 1895. Francis died in Nashville, Tennessee on 23 January 1901.