Sale of the Logan Estate

Hello Cousins,

In April, I was fortunate enough to spend a day at the National Archives of Scotland. Here I got my hands on some wonderful Logan treasures. This article is about the Court of Sessions records on the sale of the lands of the “deceased Hugh Goodlet Campbell of Logan.”

First a bit of history. On the 12^th of May 1802, Hugh Logan of that Ilk passed away without heir, and therefore he was our last Chief of Name and Arms. Unfortunately, he also left the Logan estate in debt.

With no legitimate children, his sister, Janet Logan inherited the Logan estate.  However, she died on the 3^rd of May 1803. Therefore, the Logan estate went to her only living son, Hugh Goodlet Campbell. Finally, Hugh died in 1814 leaving his surviving sisters, nieces, and nephew, with the Logan estate.

In 1817, a lawsuit was initiated against Janet Black, who was the eldest daughter of Catherine Campbell. Catherine was the eldest sister of Hugh Goodlet Campbell. The result of the lawsuit was a public auction for the lands previously owned by Hugh Goodlet Campbell, broken into six lots.

Fortunately for the Clan Logan Society International, these records were available at the archives, and I was able to photograph most of the documents. Below is a summary of what we learned.

Hugh Goodlet Campbell’s lands were auctioned in six lots, described below:

1. 4 Merk land of Whatstainburn (renamed Hallgenmuir), sold for 4100 pounds to David Lemond Esquire of Dalblair (or Dablain).

2. Garleffan for 3675 pounds to Thomas Ferguson, assigned to “The most noble, John Crichton Stuart, Marquis of Bute, Earl of Dumfries”.

3. Nether and Over Dalmalloch for 3960 pounds, to Thomas Ferguson also assigned to the Marquis of Bute.

4. 15 Shilling land of “old extent” of Barlonochan for 1782 pounds, to William Allason of Logan.

5. Longshaw, Roundshaw – alias Larishaw, now Templandshaw for 900 pounds to John Hanri, Tenant of that land.

6. Highlar & Burnhead for 6540 pounds, to Richard MacKenzie, writer on behalf of George Rankin of Whitehill.

Total was 20,957 pounds.

Hugh Goodlet Campbell's lands

Hugh and his family, defendants:

These documents were especially interesting for a Genealogist as they named all living siblings, nieces and a nephew of Hugh Goodlet Campbell of Logan.

Names Hugh’s siblings:

• Catherine Campbell (deceased mother of Janet Black).

• Andrea Campbell (wife of Robert Bog, sometimes merchant in Greenock, also brewer in Glasow)

• Wilhelmina Maxwell Campbell (wife of Robert Stuart Esqr. Deputy Receiver General of the Land Tax).

• Elizabeth Campbell

And

• John Kenneth MacKenzie, Lt. in the 4^th regiment of foot, only surviving son of Janet Campbell, Hugh’s sister.

Missing from this list were Hugh’s deceased brothers: Duncan Campbell, James Campbell and John James Campbell. We know they were deceased as Hugh is named as the only son of Janet Logan. 

Details of Lawsuit:

Lawsuit occurred in 1817 with Janet Black listed as the defendant.

The Logan estate went bankrupt due to debts of 11,907 pounds, 6 shillings, and 9/12 pennies to the following: Kenneth McKenzie, Mr. McWhinnie and McKenzie, Captain Drummond, Mrs. Margaret McLymont & Mrs. Grace Boog, John McKay McKenzie, Trustees of Dr. Andrew Mitchell, Mrs. Elizabeth Campbell, Royal Bank, Rev. George Smith, Andre Paga.

The Logan estate in Hugh Goodlet Campbell’s possession collected 473 pounds in rent yearly. Most of the lands had farms, with Burnhead and Hillar having a coal mine which was expected to become exhausted by 1822.

End of the line:

The lands of Logan had been divided and sold. This ended line of our Chiefs of Name and Arms. In the future, we will look to place these lands on top of modern maps, including prior known lands of the Logan estate. Most were in Old Cumnock, Logan, and Sorn, but there were others as well.

Tack between James Swan and Hugh Logan of Logan:

One of the documents gives us a peek at the agreements put in place with the tenants in the Logan lands. Hugh Logan of Logan had sold, via a yearly tack duty, the lands and farms of Nether & Over Dalmalloch for 20 years starting on Martinmas (St. Martin’s day, 11 Nov), in 1803. It also includes all stone and lime quarries, coal mines and minerals. James was required to build a dyke on the lands. Rent was 35 pounds for Nether and 40 for Over. First payment was due on Whitsunday. He also had to make sure that the houses and biggins (larger buildings) were in a sufficiently tenantable condition. He was limited to plowing one-third of the land of the farms at the penalty of two pounds per acre over that limit.

Note on Dalmalloch:

Over Dalmalloch was first mentioned in 1514 under the ownership of Alexander Logan of Flatt. In 1623, this land was given to George Logan younger of that Ilk, from his grandfather George Logan of that Ilk.