Secretary to William Penn who later made him Provincial Secretary, Commissioner of Property, and Receiver General. He also in turn was Recorder of the City of Philadelphia, Presiding Judge of Common Pleas, Chief Justice of the Province, and as President of the Council between the death of Governor Gordon in 1736 and the arrival of Governor Thomas in 1738 he governed the province. "Fidelity, integrity, and disinterestedness were eminently conspicuous in his character, which was indeed of that sterling worth that needs no meretricious ornament."[1] Mr. J. Francis Fisher says of him,
A history of James Logan's public life would be that of Pennsylvania during the first forty years of the last century. Venerating William Penn, with whose noble and generous nature he was well acquainted, he stood up at all times in his defence against the encroachments of the Assembly; and, if he forfeited his popularity, and endured calumny and persecution, he preserved his fidelity, the confidence of his employers, and the respect of all good men. Weary of the burden of public office, he retired in 1738 from all his salaried employments, remaining only a short time longer a member of the Provincial Council. At his estate, called Stenton, near Germantown, he passed in retirement the remainder of his days, devoted to agriculture and his favorite studies.[2]
At an early age he showed great proficiency in classics, comprehending Latin, Greek and Hebrew before he was thirteen years of age. His leisure days after his retirement from public concern found ample employment in his classical studies as well as his interests in matters of science. His rare collection of books "he left a legacy to the public, such at least was his intention and his children after his death fulfilled his bequest,"[3] and these testify to his wide reading and general knowledge. It was while the humble glazier, Thomas Godfrey, was working at
- ↑ Deborah Logan in Penn and Logan Correspondence, i. liv.
- ↑ Contributed to Sparks, vii. 25, and copied by Bigelow, ii. 94. Mr. Fisher was a descendant through his father from James Logan, and through his mother from two other Trustees, Tench Francis and Charles Willing. He was a graduate of Harvard in 1825 as was also his cousin Dr. Charles Willing. See a letter addressed to them while at Harvard by Bishop White 25 October, 1822. Memoir by Wilson, p. 414. Mr. Fisher was a member of the American Philosophical Society and a Vice President of the Pennsylvania Historical Society; he died 21 January, 1873 aged 67 years.
- ↑ Deborah Logan P. &. L. Corres. i. iv.
