Guide to the Papers of Albert J. Logan, c. 1877-1932
- Repository
- Heinz History Center
- Title
- Papers of Albert J. Logan
- Creator
- Albert J. Logan,
- Collection Number
- MSS#96
- Extent
- 1 cubic feet (1 box)
- Date
- c. 1877-1932
- Abstract
- A native western Pennsylvanian, Albert J. Logan was a prominent civic and military leader who was active with the National Guard in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These papers include biographical material, correspondence, clippings, invitations, programs, National Guard material and other sundry items, primarily documenting Logan's role with the National Guard, Duquesne Greys and like organizations.
- Language
- The material in this collection is in English.
- Sponsor
- This finding aid has been encoded as a part of the Historic Pittsburgh project, a joint effort of the University of Pittsburgh and the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Funding for this portion of the project has been donated by the Hillman Foundation.
- Publisher
- Heinz History Center
- Address
- 1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org
Biographical Sketch of General Albert J. Logan (1857-1934)
General Albert J. Logan was a prominent civic leader of Pittsburgh and military leader with the National Guard of Pennsylvania in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Logan was born in Wilkins Township (Allegheny County), Pennsylvania in 1857. Growing up in the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh during the Civil War, Logan saw soldiers leaving for the war and heard tales about men who had fought at Antietam, Gettysburg, and other battles. Before the age of twenty, Logan joined Pittsburgh's Duquesne Greys, a local military organization affiliated with the National Guard of Pennsylvania. Even though he attended the Pennsylvania Military College at Chester, he entered the business world in 1878, with a job as shipping clerk and salesman for an upholstering business in Pittsburgh. Four years later, Logan organized A. J. Logan and Co., a manufacturer of mattresses and bedding in Pittsburgh, and ran the company until he retired in 1928. Logan traced his family back to the Revolutionary War and he was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution.
Albert Logan was a prominent civic booster, mostly stemming from his forty year service with the Chamber of Commerce of Pittsburgh. Logan served on the Flood Commission of 1884, securing relief for those who lost property in the major floods which effected the entire Western Pennsylvania region. Logan rushed to Johnstown (Cambria County), Pennsylvania in a similar capacity after their great flood of 1889. Logan remained active with the Johnstown Flood Correspondents Association, an organization formed from the journalists and other prominent figures who arrived at Johnstown to report about the flood. Logan also promoted the memory and role in society of veterans in Western Pennsylvania by serving as a member of the Soldier's Relief Commission during the Spanish-American War, 1898, and served as Executive Director for the 28th National Encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic, held in Pittsburgh in September 1894. Logan also was the chairman of the committee that arranged entertainment for President Roosevelt during his visit to Pittsburgh on July 4, 1902. One of Logan's most important contributions was his active role in Pittsburgh's annexation of Allegheny City in June 1906. Logan chaired the committee that conducted the campaign that paved way for the creation of a single major city in Allegheny County. He also served on a court appointed committee that determined the new wards for the unified city.
Logan is equally well know as a prominent leader of the National Guard of Pennsylvania. He entered the service of the Duquesne Greys in 1875 and saw almost immediate action with the Greys in their assignments to restore the peace after the Pittsburgh Railroad Riots of 1877 and the Luzerne County coal riots of the same year. After steadily rising in rank, Logan was appointed major and quartermaster of the Second Brigade, under Brigadier-General John A. Wiley. With the Second Brigade, Logan helped quell strikes in Mount Pleasant (Westmoreland County), 1891, the steel riots of Homestead (Allegheny County), 1892, among others in the region. Later in 1916, Logan received orders to restore peace during the strikes at Westinghouse Electric in the Turtle Creek Valley at East Pittsburgh, Wilmerding, Swissvale and Turtle Creek. By the time of the strike in 1916, Logan had risen to brigadier general. From July 15, 1917 to January 31, 1918, he commanded the 56th Infantry Brigade at Camp Hancock, Augusta, Georgia. General Logan remained active with the National Guard throughout his life and organized parades and demonstrations on military occasions as well as serving on the committee preparing the Duquesne Grey's centennial celebration in 1931. Logan also was a member of the National Guard Association and the National Security League.
Scope and Content Notes
These papers include biographical material, correspondence, clippings, invitations, programs, National Guard material and other sundry items. The bulk of these papers document Logan's role with the National Guard, the Duquesne Greys and other organizations that followed the same mission as the Guard. National Guard material includes official documents, correspondence, orders sent and received by Logan, correspondence and other sundry items. Most of the correspondence deals with issues relating to management of the National Guard and social letters between Logan and other members of the Guard. Additional correspondence includes letters of support, recommendations, and copies of letters of support written to Governor Hastings to support Logan's promotion to Quartermaster General for the National guard in 1894. Of note among the National Guard material are orders, reports and correspondence relating to the restoration of the peace after the strike at the Westinghouse Electric facilities in the Turtle Creek Valley, 1916-1917. Included with that material are espionage reports for the conflict in April 1916. There is no documentation of his role with the Homestead Strike of 1892, the Pittsburgh Railroad Riots of 1877 or any other labor disputes.
Logan's tenure in Hancock, Georgia during World War I is documented by extensive correspondence and a brief diary kept by him between July 15, 1917 and March 18, 1918. Material relating to the National Guard Association and the National Security League primarily includes correspondence from the main headquarters to Logan documenting organizational concerns. Also included with Logan's National Guard material is a testimonial he received as director of the Citizens Executive Council for the 28th national encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic in Pittsburgh, September 10-15, 1894.
Biographical material includes newspaper clippings documenting various aspects of his career and two autobiographies: one chronicling his personal life and business career, and the other chronicling his service in the military. Correspondence includes letters and clippings relating to his business interests, general issues and his activity with the Pennsylvania Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution. Of note is a 1905 letter written by A. J. Scott commending Logan for hiring an African-American woman, Estelle Wells, for his business. Logan's invitations and programs are for civic, military and political events and banquets that Logan attended. Organizations sponsoring these events include the Johnstown Flood Correspondents Association, the Grand Army of the Republic, and local Pittsburgh committees formed to greet world dignitaries during their visit to the city. Many of these programs are autographed by some of those in attendance. The scrapbooks contain newspaper clippings reporting activities leading to the annexation of Allegheny City by Pittsburgh from May to July, 1906. Little else is available in these papers on Logan's role in supporting Pittsburgh's annexation of Allegheny City. Logan's personal life and commercial career are addressed primarily through the clippings and biographical material and few primary resources exist for those aspects of his life.
Arrangement
The General Albert J. Logan Papers are housed in one archival box and are arranged alphabetically by folder title.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
These materials came two accessions and were combined into one body of papers c1985.
Acc# 149 -- Gift of the General and Mrs. Albert J. Logan (Papers), c. 1932.
Acc# 362 -- Gift of Mrs. Albert J. Logan (Papers), c. 1935.
Acc#1998.0198 -- Gift of Deborah L. Logan (Correspondence and envelope), 1998.
Preferred Citation
Papers of Albert J. Logan, c. 1877-1932, MSS #96, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania.
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Historical Society Staff c. 1985.
The papers were rearranged and the inventory was rewritten by Margaret Anderson on April 4, 1994.
Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Jennifer Marshall on August 4, 1999.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or publish, please contact the curator of the Archives.
Subjects
- Chamber of Commerce of Pittsburgh (Pa.)
- Duquesne Greys (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- Grand Army of the Republic
- Johnstown Flood Correspondents Association (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- National Guard Association
- National Guard of Pennsylvania
- National Security League
- Sons of the American Revolution
- Westinghouse Electric (East Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- Logan, Albert J. -- 1857-1934
- Pennsylvania -- Militia
- Pittsburgh (Pa.) -- Commerce
- Pittsburgh (Pa.) -- Social Life and Customs
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Veterans
- Afro-Americans -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- Afro-Americans -- Employment -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- Furniture industry and trade -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- Labor disputes -- Pennsylvania -- Allegheny County
- World War, 1914-1918 -- War work -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- World War, 1914-1918 -- War work -- Georgia
- United States -- National Guard -- Pennsylvania
- Allegheny (Pa.) -- Annexation, 1906
- Grand Army of the Republic -- 28th National Encampment, 1894 (Pittsburgh, Pa.)