Excerpt from Appleton's Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Vol. 4 He was sent to Lon don, and apprenticed to a linen-draper, but, the campai that ended in t e battle of the Boyne having begun, he was recalled to ac company his parents in their flight to Edinburgh. Subse quently they settled in Bristol, England, where James resumed his studies and assisted his father in his school. He engaged in commerce in 1698, and in 1699 came to this country with Will iam Penn, as his secretary, arriving in Philadelphia in December, 1699. He resided with Penn in the slate-roof house on Second street, and continued there after Penn returned to England in 1701. He became provincial secretary, commissioner Of prop erty, and receiver-general, and was the business agent for the Penn family, and the champion Of their interests in the colony. In 1702 he entered the provincial council, of which body he was a mem ber until 1747. In 1704 he became embroiled in Gov. John Evans's disputes with the assembly. In October, 1705, he visited the Indians at Conestoga, and in subsequent embassies gained their esteem and confidence, and as a testimony of their regard the chief, Logan, was named for him. On 26 Feb., 1707, he was impeached by the assembly, which charged him, among other things, with illegally inserting in the governor's commission certain clauses contrary to the royal charter, and with il legally holding two incompatible Ofiices the sur veyor-generalshi and the secretaryship. Logan's answer was fille with personal abuse, and on 25 Nov., when he was pre aring to sail for England, the house ordered that lie should be detained in the county jail until he should make satisfaction for his reflections on sund members; but the sheriff re fused to Obey, and ogan sailed a few days after ward, returning in 1712. In 1715 he was com missioned a justice Of the court of common pleas, quarter sessions, and orphan's court, and in 1723 became presiding judge Of the common pleas. In 1723 he became mayor of Philadelphia, and at the close Of his term went abroad again to consult with Hannah Penn. From 1731 till 1739 he filled the Office Of chief-justice Of the supreme court, and as resident Of the council, after the death of Gov. Ordon in 1736, acted as governor for two years. The latter years Of his life were spent in retire ment at his country-seat Stenton, now in Phila delphia, devoted to science and literature. He cor responded with many scientists, and Linnaeus gave the name Logan to a class Of plants in his honor. 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.