Three candidates for the position of Clan Logan Commander faced a battery of questions from a moderator and from Logans who zoomed in to the special forum. The candidates were in agreement on most issues but diverged in their perspectives on other questions.
This event is one of a series of actions taken by Clan Logan Society International to secure a chief for Logans worldwide. George Logan of Logan (or “Logan of that Ilk”) registered his coat of arms with the Lord Lyon in 1672. Hugh Logan of Logan, grandson and heir to those arms, died in 1802 with no legitimate heir of his own. For over 20 years, members of the Society have been searching unsuccessfully for his descendant.
Following guidance provided by the Court of the Lord Lyon in 2021, the Society will hold a Family Convention to nominate and confirm a Commander of the Clan, while they continue to search for the hereditary Chief of Clan Logan. As noted by the Lord Lyon, “one of the principal responsibilities of a commander is to seek to identify any potential hereditary claimant to the chiefship.” A commander is generally appointed for a five-year term and may be renewed. If a descendent of the last Logan of Logan is found, the commandership comes to an end. If the Commander has served for at least ten years, that individual may be a candidate for the chiefship with the support of the clan or family.
Three individuals stepped forward to be considered as “Commander of the Name Logan. Therefore, the Clan Logan Society International held a Question & Answer Forum with the Commander Nominees on Tuesday, February 25, 2025. The forum was moderated by Caleb Logan, Heritage Officer, Clan Logan Society International, who introduced the candidate and asked the questions.
Steven Logan of Montreal, Canada, was born in Quebec City and grew up to become an artist and at one time, taught English as a second language. He is now a programmer for a telecommunications company in Montreal.
Robert Logan from Inverary, Scotland, was born in Aberdeen, Scotland and currently lives in Glasgow near where his father was born. He is an accountant and has just assumed the position of commercial finance director for the University of Glasgow. He is a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland as well as other associations in Scotland.
Kevin Logan from Michigan, USA, was born and educated in rural Missouri. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Missouri and has pursued a career in the automotive industry. He is an armiger, a person with rights to a personal coat of arms.
The motivations for wanting the role of commander varied among the candidates. Steven wanted to “honor my rich heritage, preserve traditions, and foster unity within the community.” Kevin noted that he has “been heavily engaged in this search for many years and I am the most qualified person to continue leading the future efforts as Clan Commander.” Robert offered four reasons, among them “to have a voice from the Logans and the Scottish clan family history circles and events that represent us the Logans.”
As to their qualifications as Commander, Robert highlighted his nationality as a “very proud Scotsman” with a “professional career holding many executive chief officer positions.” Kevin again noted his “proven nearly ten-year record in working with a wide variety of others in the search for the hereditary chief.” Steven emphasized his “fluency in both English and French” and “strong communicative and interpersonal skills.”
For the first five years as Commander, both Kevin and Steven committed to continuing the work of identifying a qualified chief. However, Steven planned to “represent Clan Logan internationally by promoting our heritage and strengthening our global connections and actively participating in Clan Logan gatherings” and “acting as an ambassador for Clan Logan.”
Answers varied widely to the question of “what have you done to date that has supported finding the chief?” Robert admitted that “most of my research in Scotland has been focused on my own family line and general Scottish history.” Steven pivoted by saying that he has “hosted and participated in highland games and events” and has been “connecting with Logans on the ground to see if they might be related to the chief.” Kevin got straight to the point: “the fact that we're having this convention is due to my leadership” and “I have led the team putting together the convention.”
The moderator delved directly into the heart of the Clan Logan’s chief restoration project by asking the nominees what they thought was the significance of having a chief. Steven explained that “the Chief serves as a symbolic leader, representative of our clan's rich heritage and traditions, the Chief embodies the values, history and culture of clan Logan, providing a sense of identity and continuity for each member.” Robert noted that chiefs have “no real power and are mainly figureheads are indeed social dignitaries” but that the chief provides “a historical reference point for future years safeguarding the continuation of the clan and the family.” Kevin opined that “having a chief of name and arms of Logan will allow us to fully reclaim our rightful place in Scottish history” and “will add to the prestige and acceptance of the clan.”
The topic of DNA was raised in terms of identifying the hereditary chief. Steven acknowledged that “technology has really greatly improved in the last few years” and “it's really, really important to use the genetic information so that we're able to really identify the person, the rightful person.” Kevin noted that “while the DNA evidence can certainly point us in the right direction,” however, “it’s not acceptable to the Lord Lyon as part of our evidence.” Robert is “not really a fan of DNA in terms of this genealogical research” and that “we don't have the DNA of all the Logans of the past, so it makes it a bit difficult.”
When asked what other clans serve as inspiration to the nominees, all agreed that Clan MacEwen was a model for them. As Robert mentioned, “One of the clans I've been very impressed recently has been the MacEwen clan and we've followed a lot of their advice and guidance as we've gone through our approach to convention.” Another clan proposed by Steven was Clan Bell because they have “very distinct branding,” “all the tents look very clean, very similar,” and they “have a way of integrating the Bell members very well through their events and bringing everyone together.”
Another clan suggested by Kevin was Buchanan because “they were without a clan chief for over 800 years and through the persistence and dedication of a few people and their patience with a leading genealogist they managed to find” a chief. He also noted that he knows personally the Learned Kindred of Currie Commander who resides in the USA and “he and their clan are probably about seven years ahead of us in their search.” Kevin also gave a shout-out to Clan Marjoribanks since Clan Logan’s “former heritage officer John Marjoribanks is the one who really started doing all of the digging to help us find the chief of name and arms of Logan” and he did this “based on what he saw his own father doing in his attempts to reclaim the heritage as the chief of clan Marjoribanks.”
Finally, the most compelling and personal question was posed to the candidates: in the event that the commander fails to find a chief and if the commander does become the chief, will you have heirs to succeed you?
Kevin noted that “you do not have to be a male to inherit the chiefship” and has three sons and two daughters all of whom carry the Logan surname. He added that “so as far as a line of succession, I think I've got that covered.” Robert said that he has two sons and a grandson and reminded the participants that the Commander will not necessarily “automatically” become the chief. He restated “the Commander's role is really to search for the chief” and if the Commander is not doing the job, “then we can have another convention.” Steven admitted that “I don't have any children” but instead suggested that the Commander “has to look at the plan and see if there's anything else that can be done” and see “if there's maybe someone can step in temporarily in the role.”
At the conclusion of the forum, Moderator Caleb Logan encouraged people with an interest in Clan Logan to contact the candidate with other questions and urged them to participate (either in person or remotely) in the Family Convention scheduled for April 23-26th, 2025, in Edinburgh, Scotland.
To learn more about the Clan Logan Society International Clan Chief Restoration Project, please see: https://www.clanlogansociety.org/chief-restoration.
If you would like to watch a recording of the “Meet the Commander Nominees”, you may do so via THIS LINK.
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