Logan, James, American colonial statesman and scholar

Logan, James, 1674–1751, American colonial statesman and scholar, b. Ireland. While engaged in the shipping trade, Logan met William Penn Penn, William, 1644–1718, English Quaker, founder of Pennsylvania , b. London, England; son of Sir William Penn .

Early Life

He was expelled (1662) from Oxford for his religious nonconformity and was then sent by his father to the Continent to
..... Click the link for more information. and became (1699) his secretary. He emigrated to Philadelphia with Penn and remained his confidential adviser for many years. He served as provincial secretary and clerk of the provincial council, where he was a member from 1702 to 1747. A leader of the aristocratic proprietary party, he often came into bitter conflict with David Lloyd Lloyd, David, c.1656–1731, political leader in colonial Pennsylvania, b. Wales. Having been commissioned attorney general of Pennsylvania by William Penn, Lloyd arrived in Philadelphia in 1686.
..... Click the link for more information. . Logan became mayor of Philadelphia (1722), justice of the court of common pleas (1727), and chief justice of the supreme court (1731). He was acting governor of the province from 1736 to 1738. Logan became very wealthy through land investment and trade with Native Americans. He maintained a large estate, where his hospitality to the Native Americans established their long-lasting friendship with the colony. Logan's wide scholarly interests included botanical research that received recognition from Carolus Linnaeus, who named the genus Logania after him. He was also the author of numerous scientific works, and at his death he left his large library of classical and scientific books to Philadelphia.

Bibliography

See Correspondence between William Penn and James Logan, ed. by D. Logan and E. Armstrong (2 vol., 1870–72, repr. 1972); biography by F. B. Tolles (1957).

Logan, James, chief of the Mingo

Logan, James, c.1725–1780, chief of the Mingo, b. Pennsylvania. He took his name from James Logan (1674–1751) and is frequently called simply Logan. He was a leader of the Native Americans on the Ohio and Scioto rivers. Logan was long the friend of the whites, but when his family was massacred by white settlers (1774), his attacks against them helped bring on Dunmore's War. Logan refused to participate in making the treaty, and his eloquent speech became famous. He served with the British during the American Revolution.

Bibliography

See biography by G. S. Haber (1958).

Logan, James

orig. Tah-gah-jute

(born c. 1725, probably at Shamokin, Pa.—died 1780, near Lake Erie) American Indian leader. He was the son of the Oneida chief Shikellamy, who was a friend of the secretary of the Pennsylvania colony, James Logan (1674–1751). He moved to the Ohio River valley, where he became friendly with Indians and white settlers. After his family was massacred by a frontier trader in 1774, he led Indian raids on white settlements in Lord Dunmore's War. He refused to participate in peace negotiations, sending his grievances in a message known as “Logan's Lament.” He was allied with the British in the American Revolution.

Logan, James (1674–1750) colonial statesman, judge; born in Lurgan, Ireland. A Scottish schoolmaster's son, he worked as a merchant in Bristol, England; becoming William Penn's secretary in 1699, Logan emigrated with him to Pennsylvania that year. He held a series of government appointments in the colony, and sat on and eventually presided over the ruling Provincial Council (1702–47). He also accepted a judgeship in 1726, and was chief justice of the colony's supreme court (1731–39). He advised Penn's descendants for five decades and himself made a fortune in land speculation and trade with the Indians. He had long shown an interest in translating classical literature such as M. T. Cicero's Cato Major, printed in 1744 by Benjamin Franklin; after retiring from public life in 1747, he devoted his final years to his scholarly interests, including a notable work on botany.