Memorials of the Life and Character of Stephen T. Logan (Classic Reprint)
(Excerpt from Memorials of the Life and Character of Steph...)
Excerpt from Memorials of the Life and Character of Stephen T. Logan
His mother's maiden name was Mary Trigg. She was the daughter of 001. Stephen Trigg, a native of the Old Dominion, who came to Kentucky in 1779, and lost his life in the memorable and disastrous battle with the Indians at the Blue Licks, in August, 1782.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
Stephen Trigg Logan was an American jurist and politician.
Background
Stephen Trigg Logan, the son of David and Mary (Trigg) Logan, was born on February 24, 1800 in Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky, United States of Scotch-Irish and English ancestry. Much of the history of pioneer Kentucky may be read in the chronicles of his family. His grandfather, Colonel John Logan, represented a Kentucky county in the legislature of Virginia and served in the Kentucky constitutional convention of 1799; his great-uncle, General Benjamin Logan, established a fort in Lincoln County in 1776 and took prominent part in the Indian wars of the Boone period. Stephen Trigg, his maternal grandfather, moved from Virginia to Kentucky in 1779 and was killed in 1782 in the battle of Blue Licks. The first thirty-two years of Logan's life were spent in Kentucky.
Education
He was educated at Frankfort, Kentucky.
Career
Logan was admitted to the bar before attaining his majority. He served as deputy in the circuit clerk's office of Barren County, held the office of commonwealth's attorney of the Glasgow circuit, and practised law in Barren and adjoining counties until 1832. He then moved to Illinois, lived for a time on a farm in Sangamon County, gave up agriculture for the law, and made his home in Springfield.
Elected in 1835 by the legislature as judge of the first judicial circuit of Illinois, he held this office until 1837, when he resigned to resume his law practice. He served in the state legislature for four terms (1842-1848, 1854 - 1856), and took part in the convention in 1847.
In 1841 he formed a partnership with Abraham Lincoln and for a time these two men, together with E. D. Baker, formed a group known as the "Springfield junto, " their word being locally decisive as to the nomination of candidates in Whig conventions. Lincoln owed much to his senior partner, for it was during the period of this partnership that Lincoln's serious practice of the law began. After the dissolution of the partnership late in 1844--a dissolution which has sometimes been attributed to political rivalry between the partners, though the evidence on this matter is insufficient--the two men remained warm friends.
In 1848 Logan was the Whig candidate to succeed Lincoln in Congress; but, suffering from the unpopularity of Lincoln's attitude toward the Mexican War, he was defeated. In 1860 he served as a member of the Republican convention which nominated Lincoln, and in February 1861 he was one of the representatives of Illinois in the Peace Convention which assembled in Washington at the call of Virginia to avert the Civil War. In this convention he delivered a notable speech, striving hard to effect a compromise which might reunite the North and South. From this time, having acquired considerable means, he lived in comfortable retirement. He died in his Springfield home, July 17, 1880. It has been said that Lincoln once sought Logan's appointment as federal judge, at that time regarding him "as the most thorough and accomplished lawyer he had ever known".
Achievements
Logan became one of the foremost lawyers of the Illinois. He served four terms in the state legislature and was a prominent member of the Illinois constitutional convention of 1847.
(Excerpt from Memorials of the Life and Character of Steph...)
book
Politics
Logan was a member of the Whig Party. He urged strict economy and opposed debt repudiation.
Personality
Logan was small, thin and wiry, with an intellectual face surmounted by thick, reddish curling hair.
Quotes from others about the person
"Though of ample means, occupying a very fine residence surrounded by a large and beautiful park, his clothes were shabby. . I never saw him wear a necktie. He wore an old fur cap in winter and a fifty-cent straw hat in summer, baggy trousers, and a coat to match. Thick, coarse, brogan shoes covered his feet. "
Connections
On June 25, 1823, Logan was married to America T. Bush of Glasgow, Kentucky. There were four sons and four daughters, of whom David became prominent in Oregon politics, Mary married Milton Hay of Springfield, and Sally became the second wife of Ward Hill Lamon.
