When I was asked if I would consider allowing my name to be presented as a nominee to become the first-ever Commander of Logan, I was quite humbled. I have been working it seems, most of my life to uncover – and thereby nourish – the deep roots of the Logans of Scotland. The family of Logan and its connection to the founding and building of what is arguably, the country responsible for the invention of the modern world has always been of great interest to me. My heart lept at this chance to do even more, and my mind immediately went to the challenges I might encounter in getting going with the role.
It wasn’t until I sat down and wrote the requested essay on “why” I would like to be considered to be Commander of Logan that my mind and my heart came together. I’d like to share some of that essay here. As always, feel free to reach out to me and ask questions after you’ve read it.
Since I was a very young boy, I can remember being interested in my Logan family history. This probably is due in no small part to my Grandpa Logan, who to this day remains a guidepost in my life. Although he passed away when I was only 7, I have many fond memories of him. Two that pertain to this are easily recalled.
First, I remember on all of my visits to my grandpa’s farm (part of the Logan family for 99 years), staring in wonder at the “Logan family coat of arms” that hung on his wall. I often wondered what the meaning behind that heart and those nails was – and I even more often imagined myself being a knight carrying that shield into battle like Robert Taylor playing Ivanhoe in the 1952 film that inspired my love of heraldry. I’ve since learned that there is no such thing as a “family coat of arms” and that what I was looking at was a replica of the registered arms of George Logan of that Ilk, the first Logan to officially register his arms with the Lord Lyon. It does not lessen the power of that memory for me.
The other memory that always comes to mind is that when my grandpa came to visit us once while we were living in North Carolina, he was very excited. It was a new place for him to visit and he was really interested in looking for Logan relatives and stories while there. Grandpa took out the phone book (it was a long time ago) and opened to the L’s. He sat down and called each of the Logans listed in the book, explaining who he was and sharing some of his family history. He was really hoping to make some type of connection to a lost branch of his family. I remember him telling those who stayed on the phone long enough about how the family had “done something wrong and had our good name blotted out of the history of Scotland.” I’ve since connected the dots and assume he was referring to the Gowrie affair. I also remember him mentioning how he hoped someday to see the ruins of the castle that the family once owned – again a little dot connecting leads to Restalrig.
It’s unlikely that, given my Y-DNA test results, my family are the ones directly related to the Logans of Restalrig. But to whomever we trace our ancestry, my Grandpa Logan was incredibly proud of his name and worked with the limited means at his disposal to try and connect to his Scottish heritage. My love for him, and his love for his family, are what drives and inspires me to connect my family to their prior glory in the history of Scotland.
I am very grateful for the opportunity to write that essay. As I said, it – or rather the memories shared in it – quickly drew my heart and mind together. I have spent the better part of the last six years actively engaged in the search for the Chief of Name and Arms of Logan. I have worked with passionate private researchers. I’ve hired and worked closely with professional genealogists. When it became apparent that the search would need to take a new approach, I requested the supervised Family Convention opportunity of the Lord Lyon King of Arms.
Why?
Because one of the lessons I learned from a man I loved and respected more than any other is that the Logans have a proud heritage springing forth from Scotland. Reconnecting the global Logan family to that heritage by finding the Chief of Name and Arms of Logan will be a giant leap forward towards that goal.
Kevin Logan 