George Logan (1753-1821) was one of the renaissance men who governed the republic in the early days of the United States. Though little known past his lifetime, he ably combined the professions of doctor, farmer, politician, and diplomat in a career that lasted more than 40 years.

Logan was born September 9, 1753, in "Stenton," the home his grandfather had built in 1728 and to which his parents, William and Hannah Logan, and older siblings had moved from Philadelphia only four months earlier. At the time the house was located in a rural area in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, but it later became incorporated into the city itself. The Logans were a Quaker family; George Logan's grandfather, James, had been William Penn's secretary, who had made his fortune in fur trading. James's son, William, was a farmer who commanded the respect of the colonists and Native Americans.

Logan spent his first seven years...