It is a generally accepted truism that no man of genius
or acknowledged ability can be justly or adequately judged on the morrow of
his death, chiefly because time is needed to ripen the estimate upon work
which can only be viewed on all sides in the calm atmosphere of a more or
less remote period from its completion. This remark is in no sense
inappropriate in the case of the late Thomas M. Logan, who occupies a
conspicuous place in the history of Jackson county. No man in the community
had warmer friends than he, or was more generally esteemed. He was a man of
refined manners, of consummate business ability, one who achieved eminent
success in his affairs. Mr. Logan was born August 1, 1828, a son of Dr. John
and Elizabeth Logan, and a brother of the famous soldier and statesman,
General John A. Logan, one of Illinois' most honored sons.
Mr.
Logan's grandfather, John Logan, brought the family to the United States
from Ireland, and for four years Dr. John Logan studied medicine in the
South, his first field of practice being in Perry county, Missouri. In 1824
he located at Brownsville, then the county seat of Jackson county, Illinois.
He married Mary Barcune, of Cape Girardeau county. Her father kept a store
at the mouth of Apple Creek and sent his daughter away to a French and
English school, so she was well educated and she was also a handsome woman.
She was the widow of one Lorimer, and one child was born, Louisa. The mother
died, and several years later Mr. Logan moved to Illinois, and here he
married for his second wife Elizabeth Jenkins, a native of North Carolina,
whose father removed from that state to South Carolina and later to
Tennessee, and subsequently came to Union county, Illinois, where he spent
the remainder of his life in farming. Mr. Jenkins raised a company during
the Black Hawk war, later becoming the colonel of his regiment, and his son
served the state as lieutenant governor. In 1826 Dr. John Logan removed to
what is now Murphysboro, buying a tract of one hundred and sixty acres of
land, and in 1842, when the county commissioners chose a part of that farm
for the site of the new court house, he readily donated a large portion of
his land, on which the square and court house are now located. The original
Logan home, which was erected by him, was remodeled, the same logs being
used in rebuilding, and this homestead is located on South Eighteenth
street. During the Black Hawk war Dr. Logan offered his services to his
country, and throughout that struggle served as a surgeon. A prominent
member of the Illinois medical profession, he was also interested in public
matters, and rose to positions of honor and trust, being several times sent
to the legislature. He passed away in 1853, and his widow survived him until
1876, when she passed away. Both were earnest members of the Methodist
Episcopal church, South.
Thomas M. Logan was educated in the public
schools, and was reared to the life of an agriculturist, eventually becoming
the owner of three hundred acres of fine land, which he devoted to general
farming and the breeding of fine cattle and thoroughbred horses. In 1892,
with J. C. Clarke, he laid out the Clarke & Logan addition to Murphysboro, a
tract of eighty acres, and eventually became the organizer and director of
the First National and City National banks, and with John Ozburn built the
manufacturing mill and the Logan & Deshon mill. Actively interested in all
of his city's interests, he became president of the Murphysboro Street
Railway Company, and held that position up to the time of his death. In 1891
he bought the site of the present Logan home, which cost in the neighborhood
of thirty-five thousand dollars. There his widow, who was Miss Sallie
Oliver, of Lecompton, Kansas, now resides.
As an intelligent man and
reader, Mr. Logan was always well versed in the current events and affairs
of the day, whether from an educational or political standpoint. While his
strong self-reliance required him to adhere with tenacity to those views
which his judgment and investigation led him to adopt, his sincerity was
undoubted, and his integrity was unquestioned. Holding the warmest place in
the hearts of those who knew him best whether at the home fireside or in the
circle of friendship his life and character were a tower of strength, and
his memory shall be a benediction to those who loved him so well, He passed
away at his home in Murphysboro on the 26th of June, 1907.
Extracted 11 Nov 2018 by Norma Hass from 1912 A History of Southern Illinois, by George W. Smith, volume 3, pages 1148-1149.