Black History Month: Willie Logan

As we revealed last week, the discovery of Nelson Able’s obituary gave us a new lead to follow in trying to solve another mystery. His obituary mentioned that he left his furniture to a Mrs. Logan, & we wanted to find out who she was. After deep diving into the records (our favourite activity), we believe we found her!

We think that the “Mrs. Logan” mentioned in the obituary is Mrs. Mary Ann Logan née Moore, wife of Alexander Logan. Mary Ann Logan was born in Winona, Township of Saltfleet, around 1843. We aren’t sure when Alexander & Mary Ann married & moved to Dundas, but we know their 1st daughter, Harriet Florence Annette Logan, was born here December 18th, 1874. Their 2nd daughter Mary was born April 21st, 1876, followed by 3 sons: William James, Ralph & George Egbert. Sadly, both Ralph & George passed away before the age of 3. Mrs. Mary Ann Logan tragically also passed away shortly after her sons on August 4th, 1885. She, Ralph, & George are believed to be buried together in Grove Cemetery. Mr. Alexander Logan, Harriett & William continued to live in Dundas until at least 1891, after which the latter two moved away & eventually married.

The most exciting part of this story is that it has helped us match a face to a name. Through some more sleuthing, we now believe the little boy sitting at the far right side of the second-tallest row in this photo is William, AKA ‘Willie’, Logan! This class picture from Dundas Central School is dated c.1889, making Willie around 9-10 years old. While there is a lot still to discover about the Logan family, we’re grateful to be able to uncover these connections & to put a name to a century-old face.