May 2024 by Sean Logan, Genealogist for Clan Logan Society International
Hello, as I hit notable milestones, I will release a research report as I am today. My goal is to keep you all informed on what we are learning and where we will focus. I invite your feedback on both the format and content.
We are at an exciting time as we have a Derbhfine scheduled in April of 2025. Because of this, my focus remains on the Logan’s of that Ilk. This will likely continue until I have pulled most of the loose threads that I have found (see below). Once done, I will likely turn my attention to the Highland Logans. Below you will find the details of what I have discovered and what I plan to do.
Status:
In April I completed reviewing the research left to me by John Logan Majoribanks. This has allowed me to document the line of succession from Alexander Logan of that ilk (born late 1400s) to Hugh Logan of ilk (died without heir 1802). This means we know, with a high degree of certainty, the succession of the Logan Chief of Name and Arms from the late 1400s to 1802.
This allowed me to move on to my next goal which was to provide all our members with access to as much information as possible. To do so I have been working to get our “Chief Tree” loaded on WikiTree. Today I am pleased to advise that I have all of the known chiefs and their siblings loaded. There will always be more to do, but at this point I would like to invite you to review and to contribute. Please let me know if you make a change.
I suggest you start with the Logan that registered arms, George Logan of that Ilk:
Findings:
Below I would like to share with you some of the interesting findings, specifically those that have led me to ask further questions. These questions are those “loose threads” that I plan on investigating. For simplicity sake, I will list this by known chief:
Walter Logan of that Ilk (chief in 1296) - He is first found listed on the Ragmans Roll as Walter Logan “del counte de Lanark”.
Action - I would like to establish if he was also sheriff of Lanark and how he is related to Alexander Logan of that Ilk. Note, this will be part of my “Ancient Logan project” so will not start this right away.
Alexander Logan of that Ilk (abt. 1480 – aft 1516) - My biggest question is if Alexander Logan of that Ilk is Patrick Logan of that Ilk’s father. For now all we know for sure is that in 1516, “Patrick Logane asked from Alexander Logane a copy of a precept of the king, raised upon Alexander Logane of that ilk”. I would love to know exactly what was on the precept, the guess is that it was land that he wanted to ensure he inherited. While it is natural to assume that this is a father son relationship, especially as Patrick is listed as Patrick Logan of that Ilk in 1531, we just don’t know. Therefore, for now you will see that Alexander Logan of that Ilk is not connected to Patrick Logan of that Ilk in WikiTree, something I hope to resolve some day.
As a side note, on the same entries, there is an Alexander Logan of Flat and Overlogane. He for sure had a son Patrick. I wonder if he is the same person as Alexander Logan of that Ilk. The issue is he is referenced in the same document in 1531. If he is, then one interpretation could be that Alexander Logan of that Ilk transferred key lands to Patrick around 1516 as he no longer wished to (or was able to) fulfill the roles required. I am not sure if we can ever resolve this, or if I can even get to a point where I can make a guess one way or the other.
Action – See if I can find any additional information on either Alexander Logan of that Ilk or Patrick Logan of that ilk
Patrick Logan of that Ilk (bef. 1516 – aft. 1558) – see Alexander above for my findings.
William Logan of that Ilk (bef 1558 – bef. 1603) – we know almost nothing about him. The only reason we know he exists is one document where he was on a panel with his father Patrick Logan in 1558. He will remain on the radar for further investigation, but for now no action.
George Logan of that Ilk (abt. 1565 – aft. 1633) – Note, the birth year is a total guess. We have known for quite some time that he is the father of William Logan of that ilk. However, it has also come to light that he had a 2nd son. In the Register of Edinburgh Apprentices, there is a document that mentions that Patrick Logan son of George Logan of that Ilk is to be apprenticed to a Patrick Maknach.
Action – see if I can find a marriage record and/or if Patrick Logan had any children.
William Logan of that Ilk (abt. 1590 – 1647) - in addition to his son George Logan of that Ilk he also had two daughters (at least), Agnes and Jonet. Agnes died young, but Jonet married Patrick Crawford.
Action – see if Jonet and Patrick had any children and if they can be traced to living heirs
George Logan of that Ilk (abt. 1619 – 1647) – He is the father of the George Logan of that Ilk who registered arms. It is not actually known if he was ever Chief of Name and Arms as he may have predeceased his father William Logan of that Ilk. Otherwise it is well known who his children were.
Action – see if I can find an exact date of death.
George Logan of that Ilk (1636 – 1704) – He registered arms in 1672. In addition in 1671 he was nominated by James Logan of Boig as Cautioner for the Testament Dative for James Logan of Farden. Who are they?
Note, in a future lawsuit James of Boig borrowed 200 “merks” from Hugh son of James of Ferden. Later on, James of Boig made a testament appointing George Logan of that Ilk as tutor to his son William and daughter Elizabeth. William died young so George was chasing Elizabeth for recompense for his work as tutor. Note it appears it was resolved when George purchased land in Over Knockray.
Action – See if I can find out if they are related. Given they were “of” the land vs. “in” it indicates ownership increasing the odds of a relationship. To accomplish this I will likely work to create a timeline of lands owned by the Logans of that ilk.
George Logan of that Ilk had a brother named Allan who had a son named James Logan. This James is a bit of a mystery as there is a record that may indicate that he went into the army and therefore gave his inheritance to his younger brother. However, there are several other records that could indicate a marriage and children.
Action – See if I can solve this mystery.
The same Allan as above also had a son named Charles Logan brother who had several children all of whom are nearly impossible to follow given the amount of George and Allan Logans in that area.
Action – Though this has been thoroughly researched I will give it another look.
William Logan of that Ilk (bef. 1678 – bef 1717) In 1705, William Logan of that Ilk purchased debt from a James Logan in Little Mains. This is a location that keeps popping up and make me wonder if they are they related?
Action – see if I can identify James Logan in Little Mains. In addition, what other Logans could be of interest in Little Mains. Note, the “in” indicates he is a renter, reducing odds of a direct relationship in my opinion.
Allan Logan of that Ilk (bef 1679 – 1733) Allan Logan was a reverend in Culross. There is also a marriage document showing a Rev Alland Logan marrying Mistress Mary Colville (see below), if this is him then he had a son George one year later, who unfortunately died as a child. They also had a daughter who lived to become an adult, see below.
Action – see if I can find anything out about Allan’s daughter.
Hugh Logan of that Ilk (1680 – abt. 1750) – he is well documented. He had 3 sons with his two eldest predeceasing him leaving his son Hugh to become the Legal heir. He also had a daughter Janet who ended up surviving all of her siblings.
Hugh Logan of that Ilk (1739 – 1802) - Hugh Logan of that ilk was the last chief in name and arms as he had no lawful children. However he did have at least 3 illegitimate children, Alexandrina (b. 1762) and Janet (b. 1765), their mother was Euphan Cannon. These two daughters appeared to spend their life in Cumnock, both buried in the same cemetery as their mother. He also had a son named Hugh Logan with Jean Weir, see image below. Note, she had two other sons with two other men (what a scandal). I have no information on this Hugh.
When Hugh died leaving no heirs his lands (and debts) went to his older sister Janet Logan who was married to James Goodlet Campbell. I believe that she had 12 children and is a great candidate for a living heir, though this person would not be a Logan by name. I have found a contact on Wikitree that did some research on that line and claims ancestry to her.
Action - See if I can find what became of Hugh Logan of that Ilk’s three illegitimate children
Action – See if I can find an accurate family tree that links directly to Janet Logan, sister of Hugh.
A few personal actions to improve my ability to serve you:
To better serve you I am also working to increase my knowledge, right now it is a dual focus. First, I have been focusing on reading the history of Scotland, including genetic history. Knowing this will help put our findings into context of the times. Currently I am reading “Scotland a History from Earliest Times" by Allistar Moffat (I already read his genetic history of Scotland). In the future I will read Patterson’s "History of the County of Ayr" and Rev. John Warrick’s "The history of Old Cumnock." I welcome suggestions!
To improve my knowledge of WikiTree I have joined their “Tartan Trail”. Doing so should have several benefits. First it will teach me to speak their language. Secondly it supposedly gets me access to other experienced Scottish researchers. Finally, I can become a bigger advocate for our clan if we find WikiTree to be valuable, for example I should be able to push to get errors fixed. I will share my journey with you on Facebook.
Comments