Chapter Three: Introducing the Logans
What’s in a name
The use of surnames was brought to the Isles with the conquering Normans who used surnames to identify landowners starting in 1086[1]. Most surnames came from occupations (i.e. Baker, Steward) or lands (Disney from D’Isigny in Normandy).
There are several origin stories around the Logan surname. The most reliable story is that the Scottish Logans came from Logan Ayrshire, for example, Robert Logan above (aka Robert de Logan). Where Walter Logan in Ireland got his name is less clear. He could have come over from Ayrshire. However, there is also speculation that Norman de Logans came to Ulster Ireland with John de Courcy who conquered the area for England.
There are also Highland Logans (aka Loban). Accounts differ if they emerged from the McLennans after being defeated by the Frasiers. In this story, a survivor hid under a wagon, or lopan. There is an alternative story where the McLennans emerged from the Lobans after they were defeated by the Frasiers. Finally, near Aberdeen there is the Lobbans who are of Germanic/Flemmish origin. It is not known how they got the surname Lobban, it could be a modification from the Norman name Louvain, which was linked to the city of Leuven in Belgium.
Whatever the origin, the Logans played a large role in the history of Scotland. The lowland Logans from Ayrshire were directly aligned with Robert the Bruce, the Douglass, and the Stewards. This closeness led Sir James Douglas to take Sir Robert and Sir Walter Logan on crusade with the heart of Robert the Bruce. They were killed in Spain having never made it to the holy land. However, they are how the heart was added to the Logan Arms (see crest above).
It is not clear how I related to these Logans, however there is indication that my 6th great grandfather David Logan, descended from Logans in Ayrshire. It is not clear where he was born, but we do know that he came to Philadelphia from Ireland.[i] Given that he ended up in the Shenandoah Valley it is my guess that his ancestor went from Ayrshire to Ulster during the Ulster Plantations migration.
The Scotch-Irish
When David Logan came to the Virginia Colony, he joined a community that decades later would be referred to as the “Scotch-Irish.” Most of their origins can be traced back to the Ulster Plantation of the 1600s.[ii]
When King James the VI of Scotland became King James the first of England, he resurrected a failed settlement plan into Ulster Ireland. He capitalized on the fact that Queen Elizabeth had confiscated the lands in Ulster after the Irish Rebellion.[iii] This “opportunity” became especially appealing to lowland Scots who were dealing with a new law around feudal obligations making rents unaffordable. As a result, between 1610 and 1630, over 20,000 Scotts living in Ayrshire moved to Ulster.
The settlers found land that was ripe for farming crops that were recently introduced from the “New World”. Potatoes for example, became a key crop as it would take 5 acres of grain to feed one family where the same plot of potatoes could feed three.[iv]
Settling in Ulster was not necessarily peaceful as is shown by a 1611 government commissioned survey by Lord Carew showed. “The Earle of Abercorne Cheefe Undertaker in the precinte of Strabin in the Countie of Tyrone hath taken possession of his land” …. “his followers and tenants has since may last buylte 28 houses of fayre Coples and before may by his tenants who are all Scotishmen the number of 32 houses of like goodness. He is preparing the necessarie materials for buyldinge of a fayre Caste and a bawne …”[v] A Bawne (or Bawn) was a defensive wall surrounding an Irish tower house.
Tensions in Ulster continued to increase. In 1626 Charles I was crowned king and immediately the entire Isles were thrown into religious upheaval.[vi] With the help of William Laud, the Archbishop of Canterbury he tried to force religious uniformity. Resistance led to crackdowns on those who resisted causing increased migration to America from Catholics and Puritans. In Ulster this came to a head with an Irish Catholic uprising resulting in the slaughter at Portadown, killing 100 protestants by forcing them off a bridge into the River Bann (shooting any who tried to swim).
Irish Catholics were not the only ones to suffer religious persecution. The Scots who came to Ulster were proud Presbyterians. In 1560 the Scottish Parliament rejected the authority of the Pope[vii] resulting in the Presbyterian system being adopted by the Scottish Church and parliament[viii] 30 years later. During the reign of Charies II and James II Presbyterians did not escape the desire for religious uniformity with forced church closures. In May 1639, all Presbyterian residents in Ulster over 16, were required to take what was known as the “Black Oath”, binding them to unconditional obedience to all royal commands, civil or religious, just, or unjust. Many refused and were penalized. Furthermore, in 1704 Presbyterians were further marginalized when the Test Act came to Ireland which limited employment to members of the Anglican Church[ix].
In 1690, the Irish economy began a period of decline, primarily due to export restrictions levied by England. Disease and drought added to their misery, harming the Irish Potato crops in the 1720s[x]. Probably nothing can better demonstrate the frustration of those living in Ireland as Jonathan Swift’s satirical essay “A Modest Proposal”, where he suggests dealing with the current crisis by raising poor children as food.
Many Ulster Scots ended up leaving Ireland for the New World within a century of their arrival. Among them was my 6th GGF, David Logan. What follows is his story, his descendants and the families that married his descendants.
Open Questions:
This section is for those who would like to continue researching. I will include these open questions at the end of any chapter when open questions remain. I encourage anyone to help keep this book updated. Please do coordinate any updates with myself or a future “keeper of the histories”.
- What is our connection to ancient Logans
- Are we correct that David Logan’s Ancestors were from Ayrshire and moved to Ulster in the early 1600s?
[1] For a simple read on this topic I recommend Why do we have surnames? | English Heritage (english-heritage.org.uk)
[i] “Virginia Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 6, #2, (Ancestry Record 6131 #507544611 : Accessed 21 Apr 2026)), Orange County Virginia Order Book 2″, 1739-1741, pg. 158, names: David Logan, Jane “his wife,” Mary and William, from Ireland to Philadelphia, and “this colony,” 22 May 1740.
[ii] “The Origins of Ulster Scots Emigration to America: A survey of Recent Research” by Kenneth W Keller, Published in “American Presbyterians, Vol 70. No. 2 (Summer 1992) pp. 71-80, Available online at: The Origins of Ulster Scots Emigration to America: A Survey of Recent Research on JSTOR.
[iii] Joseph Addison Waddell, “Annals of Augusta County VA, from 1726 to 1871,” (Stauton VA: C. Russell Caldwell, 1902), Pg. 2, available online at: Annals of Augusta county, Virginia, from 1726 to 1871 : Waddell, Joseph Addison, 1825-1914 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive.
[iv] Alan Taylor, “American Colonies, The Settling of North America Vol 1,” (Penguin Books, 2002), chapter 4.
[v] “Plantations in Ulster, 1600-41 A collection of Documents,” Edited by R.J. Hunter, (Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, 2018), No. 5, pg. 22, available online: Plantations in Ulster, 1600-1641 | nidirect.
[vi] Historic UK, “King Charles I,” available online at: King Charles I – Historic UK (historic-uk.com).
[vii] The Church of Scotland, “History,” available online at: History | The Church of Scotland.
[viii] IBID
[ix] Britannica, “Test Act,” Available online at: Test act | British History & Religious Discrimination | Britannica.
[x] Encyclopedia.com, “A Modest Proposal,” available on-line at: “A Modest Proposal” | Encyclopedia.com.