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Note: James Loqan, b. Lurgan, Ireland, 20 October, 1674, d., Philadelphia, 31 December, 1761. He was brought to his Province of Pennsylvania by Penn as his secretary, and acted as his agent until his death. Ho filled the offices of Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, Provincial Secretary, Mayor of Philadelphia, in 1723 ; Commissioner of Property and President of the Provincial Council. He resided at " Stenton," in Philadelphia County, which he built in 1723-34. He m., 1714, Sarah Eead, daughter of Charles Eead, a Provincial Assemblyman of Pennsylvania, 1704, and Alderman of Philadelphia in 1701, and his second wife, Amy Child, and had: 1674 James Logan is born. He is given a good education by his father. 1687 Apprenticed to Edward Webb, Dublin, Ireland, linen merchant at age 13. 1688 The Logans flee Ireland during the war between James II and William and Mary, returning to Scotland. In 1689, the family moves to Bristol where Friends have secured Patrick a job as schoolmaster. 1693 James is left in charge of the school at Bristol when his father returns to Lurgan. By 1699 he is trying to break into the linen merchant business in Bristol, when William Penn calls him into his service. Penn had married Hannah Callowhill, the daughter of a Bristol linen merchant and had been on the oversight committee for Logan's school. 1699 James Logan arrives in Philadelphia as secretary in the service of William Penn. He acts as the go-between for Penn and his wife with things both great and small, such as dealing with the builders of Pennsbury and acting as land agent for the sale of lands in Pennsylvania. 1701 Penn returns to England. He makes Logan Clerk of the Council of Pennsylvania and Secretary of the Province. He, along with Edward Shippen, Dr. Griffith Owen, and Thomas Story are responsible for all land purchases in Pennsylvania (which is mostly virgin forest owned by Penn). He and Isaac Norris are in charge of making remittances to England. And finally he was given the unpopular post of Receiver General of Pennsylvania, Delaware and West Jersey � tax collector in chief! Logan is also placed in charge of Indian affairs, and he is William Penn's American representative in business affai 1702 due to war between France and Britain over the Spanish succession, the Province of Pennsylvania experiences a recession because of loss of trade and piracy. Logan has to make ingenious trade deals to pay the Proprietor's bills. The fur trade is found to be especially lucrative. Logan is paid very little for his services by the Penns (100 pounds per year). During this period Logan becomes convinced that ruling a government with strict pacifist principles is not practical. Logan is caught in the middle between the Royal authorities and the Quaker populace, between the threat of war and the inability to raise a militia and is very frustrated and unpopular with all sides, although his job was made easier in 1705 with the election of friends of William Penn's to the Assembly (and ruined in 1706 by Gov. Evans). The Assembly elected in 1707 asks to have James Logan removed from all public offices and impeaches him for "high crimes, misdemeanors and offences". Logan becomes the leader for the party in favor of strong executive powers over democracy. The Assembly orders Logan jailed but Governor Gookin thwarts them (Nov 1709). Dec 1709 He sails from New Castle, Delaware to England by way of Portugal, reaching London in March 1710. In London he becomes a firm Whig. [The Tories were attempting to make dissention from the State religion difficult again, and Logan is a Quaker.] He attempts to straighten out Penn's financial affairs. He spends as much time as possible in the company of scholars. He proposes marriage to Judith Crowley, but is turned down. He has little money or property at this time, and this had raised objections from her family. He resolves to return to America and make his fortune. Penn's friends retake the Pennsylvania Assembly in 1710. Before leaving England he buys up the rights to land in Amercia from Quakers in England at bargain pric Feb 1711-12 He arrives in Pennsylvania and sets himself up in the fur trade. Amongst the fur traders he deals with are Peter Bezallion, John Harris, James Paterson and John and Edmund Cartlidge. By 1715 he is doing 1000 pounds per year in the trade, and by 1717, Isaac Norris says he has nearly cornered the Pennsylvania fur trade. They say he gave the Conestoga wagon its name, as this is what he used to carry the furs. 1712 William Penn has a stroke. Logan at this time again starts to subjugate his self-interest for that of the Penn family, giving them a share of his fur business and taking up duties as their agent in Pennsylvania. 1714 he courts Sarah Read and on 9 December 1714 they are married. His daughter Sarah is born December 1715, and son William in December 1716. He accumulates a large library and order scientific instruments sent to Pennsylvania. Especially he studies the Greek and Roman classics (in their original tongue). He becomes the presiding Judge at the Court of Quarter Sessions in Pennsylvania. About this time Logan says to a jury about being an American, "The lateness of this our settlement will scarcely allow many to account it their country, because they can remember that they were born and bred in another. But, while our estates and families are here, while our children are born and must subsist here, it becomes truly ours and our children's country; and it is our duty to love it, to study and promote its advantages." 1717 Governor William Keith replaces Gookin. Logan is called upon to help prevent an Indian war. One of his main allies in Indian affairs is Governor Spottswood of Virginia. Spottswood was a soldier whose method of negotiation was to intimidate the Indians. Logan used William Penn's methods of treating the Indians with respect, patience and friendship. In February 1717/18 Logan orders the Conestoga Indian lands fenced for their own protection against Squatters. Near his Conestoga trading post he lays out a town called Donegal as a Scotch-Irish garrison against Indian troubles. Many of the settlers are veterans of the civil war in northern Ireland. Logan believes that the best way to counter the French (who encourage the Indians to oppose the American colonists) is with fair trade, especially since British goods were cheaper and of better quality than French goods. His suggestions are well-received by the Royal colonial authorities. Logan works hard to keep the Pennsylvania Indians from warring on other Indians too. Oct 31, 1751 James Logan dies as "the region's most influential statesman, its most distinguished scholar andits most respected � though not its most beloved � citizen." His estate includes (1749 will) 8500 pounds in cash and bonds and 18,000 acres of Pennsylvania and New Jersey land.
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