William Logan Sr. was born in Scotland, and immigrated to Ireland during one of the periods of religious persecution.

While in Ireland, he married an Irish woman and with his family (William, a brother, and a sister) came to Philadelphia. William's parents died of Yellow fever, perhaps during the great epidemic of 1790. At this point the three children where split up, never to see or hear of each other again. His brother was taken by someone who moved west. His sister was taken by someone else and moved to the south. William was sent to live with an uncle and apprenticed to learn the trade of shoemaking.

We are very proud of this picture. Judging William Sr.'s age compared to the picture on the first page, our guess is that he is approx 60-70 in this photo. That would date this picture betwen 1840-1850 maybe as late as 1860. Look at the clothes.

William must have spent his early life among Scottish people, for Elizabeth Logan Wineland often quoted the poems of Robert Burns and sang Scotch songs she had learned from her grandfather as a little girl. One she often quoted to her own children was Burn's "Oh, wad some Pow'r the giftie gi's us to see oursels as ithers see us".

It is also told of William, of how as a small boy he was sent to a tavern to get a bucket of beer. He was so little the men would put him on top of a table and have him sing for them. Later in life he came to Somerset County, Pennsylvania where he married Catherine Putman, daughter of Andrew and Elizabeth Putman. William served in the war of 1812 with Captain Perry's Fleet. Our records show his at a rank of Lieutenant.

William, his wife Catherine and her parents are buried in the Barron Cemetery in Somerset County.

Ancient Logan Tartan

Modern Logan Tartan

The Logan name is found to have been used by two distinct families, one in the Highlands and one in the Lowlands.  Translated into Gaelic and back again the “Logans of the North” became “Siol Ghill’'nnein” which becomes MacClennan. 

Gaelic Name: Loganaich or MacGill’innein

Motto: Hoc majorum virtus (This is the valou of my ancestors)

Badge: Furze

Lands: Lothian, Berwickshire, Easter Ross

Origin of Name: Placename, Lothians

Our family tree has many branches, each as strong as the next. As time permits we will expanded on our current histories and will add more featured families. Take a look at our Online Database to see all of the familes we are currently researching. There are 7144 individuals and 2463 families representing 1665 surnames in this database. We do have a lot more information that is currently not online and my be able to provide you further information.

We have purged from our Main Database and the databases of the ten featured families of information pertaining to living persons. We wish to share our data and protect the privacy of living relatives. "Living Individual, details withheld" will now be posted.

Click on these photographs to see enlarged view.

This is the story of William Logan Sr., Linda's great-great-great-great grandfather. William Logan Sr. emigrated to the United States with his parents at the age of three. Born 1780, Died October 5 1883, he had lived to the age of 103 years, 2 months, 3 days. The tombstone in the old Barron Cemetery near Trent Pennsylvania, where he is buried is marked with the age of 102. Mrs. Martha Logan Bowman stated that the stone was marked wrong, and that it had stood in her father's barn for several years waiting for the correction to be made, but was finally placed as it was.

The eldest child of William and Catherine was born in Somerset County April 13, 1824. Moved to Donegal Township, Westmoreland County in 1845 and married Rachel Kesler, a daughter of Thomas and Mary Keslar, in her 18th year. Rachel bore him six children. The last one being in 1861, the same year Rachel died in her 34th year. We have no supporting documentation, but believe it my have been do to child birth. William Jr. earned his living as a shoemaker until the out-break of the Civil War.

William Jr entered the military, organized and was elected Captain of the 84th Regiment, Company C, Pennsylvania Volunteers. Among all the skirmishes, some of the battles Captain William Logan attended were; Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, The Wilderness and Gettysburg.

Logan's exploits reads like a novel. He was captured and taken prisoner, but refused to surrender his sword electing instead to break it between two saplings. Managing to escape, he was twiced wounded and spent a month in a Washington D.C. hospital.

Captain William Logan was discharged owing to disability and wounds suffered in a skirmish. He returned home in 1863 to marry Sarah Hays of Donegal Borough. Six children were eventually born to that union. After recovering from his wounds, he later re-enlisted in the Fourth Pennsylvania Cavalry, Troop D as a private. He fought in The Wilderness and was subsequently transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps. After the Civil war, he served three months in the Secret Service in Washington D.C.

According to the family diary, upon William's return to civilian life, a stranger entered his shoe shop to have "slight repair work done". The two men began talking and the stranger ask Logan if he had ever been taken prisoner or refused to surrender his sword. It seems they had met before, the customer had once been William's captor.

Logan was evidently a religious man. He donated a portion of his farm (and a bell) to the congregation of the United Evangelical Church. The road leading to the church became known as Tabernacle Road. Years later, when the building was demolished, the bell was returned to the family. It has likewise been donated to the society and is on display at the Chestnut Ridge Historical Society center in Stahlstown.

Captain William Logan Jr, Rachel, and Sarah are interred in Donegal Cemetery.

William Jr during his last illness told Mrs. Elizabeth Logan Wineland and Mrs. Nannie Logan Hofelt who were taking care of him, of an experience he had in the South during the civil war. While on a foraging trip, According to his story, he met and talked with an old woman, who turned out to be his Aunt, the sister of his father William Logan, who had been adopted and taken to the South after the death of their parents. Whether this was really true or the wandering of the old man's mind, they never felt quite sure.

Also during the war, Captain William Logan Jr was sent with a message to General John A. Logan. There was a decided resemblance between the two, also to be seen in later pictures of the two men. Years later the General's wife wrote to Mrs. Hofelt to get the family history which she was trying to trace back to the Revolutionary War. That of course could not be done through the Logan Family, but might be done through the wife of William Sr., Catherine Putman. General John A. Logan was from the West and records show no connection between the two families, at lease in America.

The name of Captain William Logan Jr. can be seen on the Pennsylvania Monument on the Gettysburg Battlefield under the 84th Reg. Co. C.