Charles 'Ed' Logan, Sr.
Clan Convener
Ed Logan joined the Clan Logan Society in 2005, after attending the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games (GMHG) in North Carolina, USA. Ed had watched the documentary, The Calling of the Clans, on the Discovery Channel and decided to find out for himself what the highland games were like. Ed discovered the festivals and games were ideal for him. He contacted Vernon Logan, President of the Clan Logan Society, and asked how to establish a Clan Logan hospitality tent at GMHG and other Scottish festivals around the USA. The talks with Vernon convinced Ed that to do this thing right, he would have to gather and organize his own Clan Logan tent, displays, and handouts so he would be able to travel from festival to festival, ready for any circumstance he might find.
To date, Ed has logged many thousands of miles, and dozens upon dozens of annual festival and games attendances, actively building the Society’s membership. Ed’s work to present stories of valor of the Logan family to other clans and festivalgoers cannot be overestimated. Jon now works as the ‘Convener’ for the Society, helping new Clan Logan hospitality tent hosts to set up their tents – all while still traveling to festivals all around the USA.
Charles Edward Logan, Sr grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. He humorously says he is mostly known as ‘Ed’ because there are just too many Charleses in his family tree. After a successful career in the United States Air Force (USAF), Ed retired for the first time in 1995. He retired as the author of the Career Development Course for the Defensive Avionic B-1B Bomber for the USAF. Not wanting to sit idle, Ed began a brand-new career path as a Network Technician for AT&T, eventually retiring for a second time in 2019.
In 2004, Ed went to his first Renaissance Faire in St. Charles County, Missouri. It was at this faire that Ed decided it was time to start researching his family history to prove what his grandpa always said, “We were Irish.” Of the journey Ed says, “Well, it’s easy to say [you’re Irish] on St. Patrick’s Day, but not prove, so in 2004, the genealogy task began. It’s been an on-going project since. But you have to start somewhere, so I started with dad, which turned out to be a mistake, for me, since dad and grandpa had a falling out when he deserted the family when dad was in his early teens, and grandpa did not come back to the family til he found out I was on the way onto this earth. I at least got to know my Grandpa Logan, which I’m grateful for. I went to his gravesite to get the dates of birth and death and get my first official data. Well, grandpa did not have a headstone till I had one placed on his grave and have placed markers or memorial headstones on 12 family member’s graves, and feel honored to do it. My aunt filled me in on the rift between Dad and Grandpa.”
The genealogy work has let him compile a list of over 29,000 family members in his family tree. This list will be used for a continuation of the Descendents of James Robinson Logan, started by Elizabeth Mila Logan, the daughter of James Robinson Logan in 1891-1894. Mila’s daughter and others continued the work, including Arlan Blodgett, who produced his first book on this family line in 1992. Arlan is described by Ed as, “a true genealogist, cousin, and friend.” Ed took on the work of the book in 2019 after Arlan passed away. The preliminary edits are taking place now.
Ed also took a look at his genealogy thru DNA testing and working with the online groups The pre1800 Logans and The Logan DNA Project. Ed’s work with these groups has helped define ancestral lines for several of the family groups in the projects.
What has Ed learned from all this genealogy work? That his grandpa was right - his 6th great grandfather and 5th great grandfather were both born in Lurgan, Ireland, in 1701 and 1731 respectively, and came to America in 1742.