Page 1 of 12 rev. 3-11-2013

Our 12th Biennial Reunion

by Garry Owens, OFA Editor

When I agreed to host the 2013 Reunion, I said that I would hold it in the Nashville “area.” After much looking, asking, and considering, I came to the realization that the area city that best fulfills all the criteria used to make the selection is the very one in which I am living; that criteria being that it should be centrally located to genealogical/historic areas and locations; it should have its’ own impressive history; the meeting place should be conveniently accessible to Interstate highways and an airport, as well as being conveniently accessible to shopping, restaurants, a library, and an accessible genealogical archive, and even cemeteries. To that end, I have made arrangements for celebrating our twelfth reunion in a beautiful, historic city in the Nashville area that has so much to offer, you may want to add some days on to your trip and “stay a little longer,” as the words of that old song so aptly entreat us. That city is Lebanon, Tennessee. Even if you don’t decide to stay past the weekend, you will still find that Lebanon, my home town for the last 22 years, has much to offer of what you want your reunion to be. But I will only be writing and planning about the things that apply to this particular weekend. Longer term stays, histories and more distantly located things will have to wait for the future.

The City of Lebanon is located about 28 miles east of Nashville, Tennessee, Music City, USA. It is more than 112 years old, having been incorporated in 1801. It sits above a honeycomb mass of caves in the porous limestone rock, on the banks of a small creek named Town Creek which normally only carries water for a short time after the rainy season. Lebanon played its’ part in the Civil War and again in WWII by hosting troops and helping to provide for their war practice maneuvers. Samuel Houston practiced law here before seeking his fortune in Texas. The Owen(s) name has figured prominently in Lebanon’s history, also.

There are many fine motels in Lebanon, the newest and best of which is the Holiday Inn Express, a name I’m sure you all know well. I have checked it out and it looks great. The manager is happy to have our business and has indicated an interest in working with us. There is free internet access, plus a microwave and refrigerator in each room. It has a large meeting room, which I am sure will accommodate all of our group. The motel management has promised to “comp” the meeting room if we have 20 reservations. This is a good deal but it kind of puts the onus on each of us to get our reservations in early so we can know that we will have the room “comped.”

Please make your reservations as soon as you possibly can directly with the Holiday Inn Express motel, 826 S. Cumberland St., Lebanon, TN 37087, 615 994 325, or 615 443 3025. Specify that you are with the OFA Association genealogy club. In case of difficulty, ask to speak to Shannon Cozart. The rate is $69.00 plus taxes per night. Please consider Friday, the sixth (6

th) of September to be the absolute final deadline for getting your

reservations in. However, getting them in as far in advance as possible would make several people’s jobs so much easier. Remember, we are meeting on the 20

th and 21

st of September. The hotel sits right at exit 238 of I 40. Exit 238

is Tennessee State Highway 231, aka S. Cumberland St., and leads straight north to the center of Lebanon and onward into Kentucky. (cont’d. on page 4).

OWEN FAMILY ASSOCIATION UNrelated by DNA, UNited by interest

a name worth knowing

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Reunion No. 12, By Garry Owens

Front Page

FEATURES Sumpter Land Owen

By Jane H. Owen page 3

Richardson Owen By Margaret (Owen) Parsons

page 8

Owen Source Book By Jane Owen Hillard

Page 9

UPDATES

DNA- Dr. Whit Athey

page 4

DEPARTMENTS

President’s Message By Cliff Owen

Obituaries page 7

Queries page 10

Cemetery Project, page 11

Welcome New Members! page 2

Mission Statement page 12

www.owenfamilyassociation.org

Volume 28, Issue 1 NEWSLETTER March, 2013

Page 2 of 12 rev. 3-11-2013

Publisher

Margaret Owen Parsons 1300 W. Olson Ave. #142

Reedley, CA 93654

(559) 250-0740

maggieparsons@comcast.net

Editorial Staff of the

Owen Newsletter

Editor

Garry Owens

1851 Horn Springs Rd.

Lebanon, TN 37087 garrywowens@bellsouth.net

Proofreader:

Carolee Moncur, PhD

Publication Dates

March, June, September, and

December

Deadlines are the 1st day of

the month preceding

publication.

Submission of lineages,

biographies, photographs,

historical and genealogical

data about any Owen

anywhere is encouraged!

Submissions are always sent

to the Editor. Your ideas for

the newsletter are also

solicited.

From Our President Greetings to all and I hope all of you have had a Very Merry Christmas

and a Happy New Year. I also hope the weather hasn’t created too many

problems for any of you. I do know some have experienced snow for the

first time, congratulations! Others of you have had snow in the past, but

the volume you received this winter you have never received before. As

for this poor boy living in the land of nine months of winter and three

months of poor sledding, we haven’t had much snow, which is fine with

me. I hope the rest of the winter remains mild.

Now for the good news – we have had four new members join the OFA

since the first of the year. That is great and we wish these new members a

very warm welcome! Now if the president could just get a few of his

relations to send in applications and checks that would be even better.

Introductions of the new members are listed elsewhere in this newsletter.

We also welcome back Garry Owens to resume publishing the

newsletter. A big thanks goes out to Jane Owen Hillard, Jane Owen, and

Margaret Parsons for putting together the last few letters. Garry has also

been working on the plans for our reunion scheduled for the end of this

coming September. From what he has told me, we are in for a great time.

I won’t go into further detail, as that would be stealing Garry’s “thunder.”

Just keep your calendar open. I am looking forward to seeing everyone,

especially the new members, in September. Cliff Owen. ~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Hearty Warm Welcome To Our New Members!

Julie Hornung, (#481) P.O. Box 54463, Irvine, CA 92619-4463. Earliest known ancestor: Vincent Owens. (1720-1802). Wife: Winifred Lehew. Juls92627@yahoo.com.

Randy & Patricia Owens, (#482) 315 N. Gilmer St., Cartersville, GA 30120-3229. patricia@theowensbrothers.com. (770) 334-3776. Earliest known ancestor: James Milton Owen (1860-1925 GA) Wife: Catherine (Kate) Austin

David S. Owen, (#483) 841 Hampton Ridge, Akron, Ohio 44313. (330) 867 2801 Earliest known ancestor: Johnathan Owen (06-09-1809 – 06-14-1887 GA). Wife: Sarah Eddleman. Owen3@uakron.edu .

Jo Presbury-Smith (#484) 1047 Marbo Terrace, Vista, CA 92084 jpresburgsmith@cox.net. Earliest known ancestor: Hopson Owen (b. abt.1800-VA – d. aft. 1865 in IL). Wife: Elizabeth Troxell

Kirk Day Owen (#485) KirK505@Hotmail.com. Earliest known ancestor: Henry Eubank Owen (31 July, 1864 – 27 April, 1936). Married Minnie Lamar Blackstock in 1888.

Paul Thomas Owens (#486) 1431 Sandford Trail SW, Lilburn, GA 30047. (612) 817-9073 paul@LandLsubstations.com. Earliest known ancestor: William Owen (Ky or NC). Married Elizabeth Pointer

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Sumpter Land Owen of Georgia (c.1815 – 1886)

By Jane Holland Owen, OFA genealogist

Newly enrolled members Randy and Patricia Owens’ brick wall concerns his ancestor, James Milton Owen of Georgia. They were unable get farther back than James Milton in 1860. Through researching Georgia’s wills, censuses, marriage and death records, we have found James Milton Owen’s father, Isaac Newton Owen, and his grandfather, Sumpter Land Owen.

Sumpter Land Owen was born about 1815 in Georgia. Although the 1864 Census for Re-Organizing the Georgia Militia, Forsyth County, Georgia, listed his birth as Franklin, SC, this is probably in error since Sumpter Land Owen (Laud Owins) was in the 1850 census in Hall County, GA. Hall County was formed from Franklin, Jackson, and Cherokee Lands, Georgia, in 1819, so it was undoubtedly Franklin County, Georgia, where he was born. Sumpter’s parents are unknown, but probably both were born in South Carolina. One known brother, William Owen, was born about 1811 in Georgia and was living with his brother Sumpter in1880 in Forsyth County.

Sumpter S. (the marriage record shows an initial S. instead of the initial L.) Owen married Elizabeth Griffis (born February 18

th, 1817), on January 12

th, 1836, in Hall County, Georgia. Sumpter and Elizabeth Owen had eight

children with five still living as stated on the 1900 census of Forsyth County.

The first child of Sumpter and Elizabeth Owen was Isaac Newton Owen who was born about 1839 in Georgia. Isaac married Piety Eleanor Singleton (born about 1835), apparently around 1856. She was the daughter of John Henry Singleton (b. May 4

th, 1799, - d. March 18

th, 1875, buried in the Liberty Baptist Church Cemetery in Dawson

County), and Elizabeth Burtz Singleton. They had two children, the first of whom was Eliza Jane Owen, who was born on July 14

th, 1857. She married George W. Childers on December 30

th, 1875, in Forsyth County. Their

children were Elimine (b. abt. 1877), William D. (b. abt. 1879), and Ellander (b. about 1884) Childers. In the 1880 Forsyth County census, Eliza Owen Childers and her family were listed next to her Aunt Nancy Flournoy and living near her grandparents, Sumpter and Elizabeth Owen.

Isaac and Piety Owen’s second child was Jasper M. (Milton) Owen (as listed on the 1870 census and also listed by the same name on his grandfather, Sumpter L. Owen’s will.) As an adult he was known as James Milton Owen or Milton J. Owen, born on January 12

th, 1860. He married Catherine Austin on February 7

th, 1878, in Cobb

County, Georgia: (Georgia Marriages, 1808-1967). Milton J. and (Catherine) Kate Owen’s children were Markus M. (b. abt.1879), William Lee (1880-1954), John L. (1884-1943), Charlie C. (1887-1941), Fred Coley (b. abt.1889), Mary M. (b. abt. 1891), Lois E. (b. abt. 1893), Walter A. (1897-1961), and Annie Mae Belle (1900-1984). James Milton Owen - surely - Milton J. Owen died on August 7, 1925. The Georgia Death Index, 1914-1927, also listed his parents as Newton and Eleanor Owens. James M. Owens is probably buried in Cobb County, Georgia.

Isaac Newton Owen, a resident of Dawson County, Georgia, enlisted in Company L, Georgia 38th Infantry

Regiment as a private on March 15th, 1862, (Roster of Confederate Soldiers of Georgia 1861-1865). Isaac was

wounded at Hatcher’s Run, Virginia, on February 5th, 1865. He died in 1865; we are unsure if his death was from

the war wound, or from the disease and privation that they all suffered.

Isaac Newton Owen’s widow, Eleanor, married Bailey Marsingill/Massengale who was born about 1842. The 1870 census of Harbins, Cherokee, Georgia listed Bailey Massengale, wife Eleanor, and her two Owen children, as Eliza I. (should have been Eliza J.) Massengale, age 12, and Jasper M. (James M.) Massengale, age 8. Also listed were her three other children, Alonzo Massengale, age 5, Harriet Massengale, age 3, and Savannah E. Massengale, age 1.

By 1880 Piety Eleanor Singleton Owen Massengale was head of the household that year which would indicate that her marriage to Bailey Massengale had ended. (We find that Bailey Massengale was in another relationship (a divorce?). Yes, Bailey Marsengale married Mary Barton on March 2

nd, 1876, in Bartow, GA. (Book G/080). This

marriage produced several children). On the 1880 census, Coal Mountain, Forsyth, Georgia, Piety was again using the name Piety Owen and showed her marital status as widowed. Her two Owen children (Eliza J. and James Milton Owen, were married by this time and are not listed with her on this census). We note that her Massengale children were listed as: Alonzo Owen, age 14, Harriet Owen, age 11, Savanna E. Owen, age 9, Charles H. Owen, age 8, and Margaret A. Owen, age 6.

The second child born to Sumpter Land and Elizabeth Griffis Owen was William J. Owen who was born about 1840 in Hall County, Georgia. William Jasper Owen was a private in the CSA on October 13

th, 1861. He was killed

at Cold Harbor, Virginia, on June 1st, 1864. (Cont’d. on p. 4).

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The Owen DNA Project—An Update By Whit Athey, Administrator

Two new male Owen Participants joined the Owen DNA Project in the last quarter, both of whom did not match

anyone in the project--two more independent Owen lines. A few participants have upgraded to more markers and

a few have new SNP results.

Speaking of new SNP results, the Y phylogenetic has grown increasingly more "bushy" in the past year. With

many new branches, each defined by a newly discovered SNP, the resulting names for the haplogroups

corresponding to the "tips" of the branches have gotten ridiculously long and complicated. Just a few months ago

I started substituting a name made up of the primary haplogroup name (e.g., R1b1a2, I1, G2a) plus the name of

the terminal SNP. For example, R1b1a2a1a1b3a3 is now written as R1b1a2-L96. This process of renaming is

continuing as more of our participants are tested for SNPs.

Does the discovery of all these new SNPs have any practical implications for the Owen DNA Project? In fact

there are some. Already we have used SNPs in Owen Group 11 to distinguish the subgroups that are otherwise

similar in Y-STR marker values. What we can probably look forward to in the future is the possibility that all

Owen Groups will be defined by SNPs instead of similarity in Y-STR markers, though the Y-STR values will

continue to play a part. The SNPs that are available now have cut the time scale so that we have a SNP for about

every 1000-2000 years.. If we can cut that time down to about 400-500 years, then we essentially get down to

modern surname-based families.

The "future" may well be about to arrive for the Y-SNP field. I wrote about the Genographic Project's new test

called Geno 2.0 in the last newsletter. They included on their chip, just about all of the few hundred main

defining SNPs that are already on the Y tree, but also another 14,000 or so whose possible use for phylogenetic

purposes was not known. The Genographic Project had planned to publish a new Y tree with all their new

discoveries on it, but they have discovered so many new SNPs of phylogenetic importance that the project team

has been overwhelmed and they have delayed the publication date a couple of times already. It is likely that we

are about to see a much more "bushy" tree that may even extend down to individual families in many cases.

Should everyone rush out and buy Geno 2.0? Well, maybe, but it may still be months before we know the full

extent of what the results mean. And, once all the "dust settles," there may be simpler targeted tests developed

that would be more useful and cost less. Stay tuned! In the next issue I hope to have some SNP

recommendations for all of the present Owen Groups, assuming that the new Y tree gets published by that time.

As always, the project results may be found at http://www.hprg.com/owen~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Reunion: (cont’d. from p. 1). Going north all along both sides of the street, between I 40 and the “Square” at the center of town, there are all the different kinds of restaurants and fast food emporiums your little tummies can desire, plus a 24 hour Wal-Mart Super Center, the Post Office, city and state cemeteries, and the County Archives, the director of which I have engaged to speak to us. A large, specially marked city map, highlighting certain (especially eating) businesses of the area that I have obtained from the City Hall will be on display in the meeting room. Of course, our banquet will be catered in to the meeting room also. The standard free breakfast area is large and near the meeting room, where other items will be provided so we can go right in to the workshop without delay. There will also be items such as snacks and drinks, etc., from the time you arrive on Friday. Email me about any alcoholic drink desires. Pets can be accommodated.

On Saturday morning, coffee and water will be provided throughout the meeting. At this point, workshop details are still in process. Saturday afternoon is still open and will remain so if that is what you would like. I am looking to see if there is a really old church in the area, in case any of you would like to worship together there on Sunday morning. There are many churches of all denominations nearby and others farther away that may be considered worth the trip; I will try to have all the information made available. I’m looking forward to seeing all of you there. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SUMPTER. (cont’d. from p. 3). The third child of Sumpter Land and Elizabeth Griffis Owen was Martha L. Owen who was born about 1842 in Hall County.

The fourth child of Sumpter Land and Elizabeth Griffis Owen was Thomas A. Owen who was born about 1844 in

Page 5 of 12 rev. 3-11-2013

Hall County. He enlisted as a private on May 10th, 1862. He was captured at Cold Harbor, Virginia, on June 3

th,

1864. He was paroled at Point Lookout, Maryland, and transferred to Aiken’s Landing, Virginia, for prisoner exchange on September 18

th, 1864. He died in 1864.

Sumpter Land and Elizabeth Griffis Owen’s fifth child was John W. Owen who was born on August 7th, 1846, in

Hall County. John married Harriett A. Taylor, born on April 11th, 1859, in Dawson County, Georgia, in about 1880.

He died on October 10th, 1901, and is buried in the Salem Baptist Church Cemetery in Forsyth County, Georgia.

The sixth child of Sumpter Land and Elizabeth Griffis Owen was James H. Owen who was born on March 30th,

1849, in Hall County. James married Ann Eliza Prater, (who was born February 18th, 1849, in Hall County, and is

the daughter of A. P. (Preston A.) and Mahala Reed Pratin/Prater) on August 16th, 1870, in Hall County, with John

E. Reives, MG, officiating. The first of James H. and Eliza A. Owen’s children was Charley W. Owen, who was born on September 30

th, 1870. Charley married Alix, who was born in March, 1874. Charley W. Owen died on

February 24th, 1958, and is buried in the Salem Baptist Church Cemetery. The second was William O. Owen who

was born about 1873; the third was John E. Owen who was born about 1877; fourth, was James M. Owen, born about 1878, and who died in 1897. The fifth was Thomas Sumpter Owen, who was born about 1880 and died about 1959. Ann E. Prater Owen died on October 4

th, 1924, (Georgia Deaths Index. 1914-1927) and is buried in

the Salem Baptist Church Cemetery in Forsyth County. James H. Owen died on November 23, 1934, in Forsyth County and is buried in the same cemetery.

The seventh child of Sumpter Land and Elizabeth Griffis Owen is Mary Elizabeth Owen who was born February, 1852, in Georgia. (Mary) Elizabeth Owen never married. In the 1900 census, she was still living in the household of her mother, Elizabeth.

The eighth child of Sumpter Land and Elizabeth Griffis Owen is Nancy J. Owen who was born about 1854 in Georgia. Nancy married William J. Flournoy on August 5

th, 1877, in Forsyth County, Georgia. They had one

known son, Cuba S. Flournoy, born about 1879 in Forsyth County, Georgia.

S. L. Owens (Sumpter Land Owen) made a will that he signed on March 7th, 1874, naming his five living children,

his wife, and two grandchildren, and stating that his wife and his children shall share equally in his personal property. His two grandchildren shall each receive $0.50. This will was recorded at the Forsyth County Courthouse on April 6

th , 1874. Mr. A. C. Bell stated when he presented the will that he had written what S. L.

Owen told him to write, and that he (Owen) is now a non-resident of the state, that he made it on the date it bears, and he had left it with the defendant for recording to be in force if he, the said testator, should never return to make another will. (No reason was given as to why he left Georgia, nor where he went). We do know that, in 1885, Sumpter L. Owen did make another will.

Sumpter Land Owen (listed on his grave stone as S. L. Owens) died in 1886 and is buried in the Salem Baptist Church Cemetery in Chestatee, Forsyth County, Georgia.

Sumpter Owen left a will dated February 19th, 1885, in Forsyth County, Georgia (Forsyth County, Georgia Will

Book, 1856 – 1892). He names his wife, Elizabeth M. Owen, and my two sons, John W. Owen, James H. Owen; my two daughters, Martha L. Owen and Nancy J. Flournoy, and my other daughter, Mary E. Owen.

He also named his grandson, Jasper M. Owen, and granddaughter, Eliza Childers. Executors were: my two sons John W. Owen and James H. Owen. The witnesses were D. B. Hutchins, P. W. Singleton, James Loggins, and George W. Stovall (J.P.). The will was filed for Probate on February 1

st, 1886, by H. L. Hawkins, Ord’y., and

recorded on February 24th, 1886.

As we have seen, Sumpter L. and Elizabeth Owen had five sons, three of them dying in the Civil War or immediately thereafter: Isaac Newton Owen (his two children, Jasper M. Owen and Eliza Childers, are listed in the will as grandchildren), William Jasper Owen, Thomas A. Owen, John W. Owen, and James H. Owen. Isaac Newton Owen probably named his son, Jasper M. (Milton) Owen after his brother, William Jasper Owen. The younger Jasper M. Owen later changed his name to James Milton Owen. He was probably named Milton after his mother’s brother, Milton Singleton. This Owen family was prominent in the communities in Georgia in which they lived and they were probably related to the other substantial Owen families in that area.~~~~~~~~

BOOK REWIEW [Special to our print edition]

OWEN SOURCE BOOK By C. Owen Johnson

About the Author Upon hearing that his Owen Source Book is being published on the internet C. Owen Johnson was pleased. He believes that it is important that we disseminate all the Owen data we uncover in our research. (For those of you

Page 6 of 12 rev. 3-11-2013

who do not use the internet, we will tell you later how to get the Source book.)

C. Owen Johnson (as so many Southerners do) has always used his middle name as his given name. He is the son of Dr. Clifford and Laura E. (Owen) Johnson, both now long deceased. He was born and raised in Monroe, Louisiana, his father being a native of Louisiana. Laura Owen Johnson was originally from Waco, Texas. Their son early chose law, not medicine, as his profession.

He received his BA from Tulane University, and his LLB from Harvard. He returned to Tulane where he studied and published a treatise on the Napoleonic Code. There he was awarded a second LLB which was later converted to JD. (Juris Doctor), having received his LLM from Columbia University. Upon returning from WWII he practiced law for a year in his hometown, Monroe, then he found himself moving on to Washington D.C. Until his retirement his entire career was in law for the federal government. He resided, then as now, in Arlington, Virginia.

His avocation, from childhood to the present, has been genealogical research, and he is still busy with research, travel, and writing.

To Owen we owe the birth of the Owen Family Association. He started researching his family as a teenager in Louisiana, and after he got his cousin, the late Mary Ann Owen Grigsby, of New Orleans, interested in that pursuit, they were able to interest other cousins in family history; thus was born the Owen Family of Wilkes County, Georgia, Family Association. The membership started building and the cousins began to realize that so much of the Owen data they had gathered was not about their Owen family. They therefore decided to expand their fledgling organization to include anyone researching ANY Owen family.

In their Second Biennial Reunion, held in Danville, Virginia, in 1989, a vote to change the name to Owen Family Association started the drive for the inclusive organization we know today.

Owen never took on the job of president, electing instead to take on the more demanding tasks as genealogist and editor of the newsletter. Some of our earliest members today will tell you they miss the days when Owen ran the show. They say that when they ran into a brick wall, they’d call on Owen for help. And there the answer would be in the next newsletter. He would not only know the data they sought, but could supply the source that one could double check for accuracy. “I miss his guidance,” one researcher (male) told me.

Owen urged everyone to submit their genealogies in narrative form for publication. Often he would contact members and ask them to send in their stories, the request always made in his gentle, courtly manner. Although his quarry might not be ready to put it in writing yet, he/she would find themselves sending in a manuscript. A command is a command.

Owen always asked a first question, “What is your source?” If one of his “pupils” cited proofs which were not quite Kosher, Owen would call them on it – right there in the newsletter by such words as: “…the book (or newspaper article) you cite can’t be considered as reliable evidence.”

Having studied so many official records, in so many repositories, for so many years, he had a backlog of information even though some of it had no reference to OFA members. Since sharing is the name of the game (or should be) in genealogy, it seemed important to take public that collection of bits and pieces. His research covered wills, land records, tithing lists, all of it, whatever might be germane to someone, somewhere, and published it as the Owen Source Book. Many people have found what they sought there. A will or marriage not known-about previously or Owen’s notation about two or more families, who keep popping up as neighbors, might possibly suggest a bit of attention.

How did Owen get to be such an oracle?

Owen attributes his passion for genealogy to his great aunt Mary Cornelia Taylor, the second wife of Frazer Owen. By age 15, Owen was an obsessed researcher, under the tutelage of Aunt Cornelia. Uncle Frazer was one of the sons of John Garland Owen and Sussanah Rebecca Frazer who were married in 1842 and were the great grandparents of Owen Johnson. Frazer Owen was listed in Who’s Who from 1912 until his death in 1943, he being president of several railroads.

Today Owen still lives in Arlington, spending his winters in Florida, still busy with writing, research and keeping up his memberships in a plethora of heritage societies. He travels widely (and often) in Europe, and when back home, visits many family locales along the Eastern Seaboard in pursuit of genealogy.

Currently he is embroiled in researching his Frazer-Milligan lineage (Scots) and is busy preparing a publication with another writer, Barbara Brown Hootman, a cousin from that line. Last summer had Owen trekking all over Lowland Scotland and Ulster (Northern Ireland) as he traced his Frazer and Milligan families, both families having left copious records (and tombstones) behind. Owen is an untiring investigator himself, and a staunch defender of

Page 7 of 12 rev. 3-11-2013

the importance of this pursuit which all we Owens share. He believes that knowing about our roots and what he calls our ancestors’ “courage, values, hard work and sacrifice,” is instructive today for a nation that seems to have lost its’ way. “We don’t tell people about our ancestors to brag,” he says. “We don’t live ON them; we try to live UP TO them!”

Owen Source Book of bits and pieces could make you sit up and say. “Wait, that could be the one I’m looking for!” That certainly happened to this writer years ago when the book first came out. May it give you some new insight! A microfiche copy of the book may be ordered through any local LDS (Mormon) Family History Center. Consult the local phone book for the address and phone number of the nearest Center. Ask for the hours they will be open…visit the center and request the following film: #6101167. It will be mailed directly to the Center (for a small fee). The film must be read at the Center using a special magnifying reader. Once the film has been read, it is returned to the Salt Lake City Family Library.

OBITUARY

Capt. Robert D. McCrary, 1923-2011

We regretfully and belatedly report the passing of one of our earliest and highly admired members, Robert (Bob)

McCrary. Early on, when our association first came into being, Bob signed on as a willing and able worker. He

immediately took on the job of secretary and in later years he was elected to our Board of Directors. He was a

tireless promoter of the internet as a valuable tool for genealogical research.

We are reprinting his entire Obituary as it appeared in the San Diego Union –Tribune (California), Sunday,

November 20, 2011:

MCCRARY, ROBERT DAVIDSON. Surrounded by his loving family, Captain Robert Davidson McCrary (U.S.

Navy, retired), passed away peacefully on November 15, 2011, due to complications after a successful heart

operation. The son of a naval aviator, Bob was born in 1923 in Lakewood, NJ, while his father was stationed at

the Lakehurst Naval Air Station. While bob was growing up, his father was also stationed at various other

locations throughout the county. Bob met the love of his life, Ann, at Coronado High School in the late ‘30s when

their fathers were both stationed at North Island Naval Air Station. Bob was in his first year as a midshipman at

the U.S. Naval Academy when the U.S. entered World War II. His class (1945) was accelerated to graduate in

June of 1944. He married Ann after graduating and soon departed to join his first ship (USS Franklin (CV-13)) in

the South Pacific. Bob received a Silver Star Medal for heroic actions after the Franklin was severely damaged by

Japanese dive bombers prior to the invasion of Okinawa. During his 30-year naval career, Bob served on ten ships

and in five shore assignments, with three of his assignments being as a Commanding Officer. Many of his

assignments were in San Diego, during which the family always lived in Coronado, where Bob and Ann’s family

had chosen to retire. Bob retired from the Navy in Virginia Beach, VA, and he briefly worked for Raytheon as a

government contractor. Once he retired for good, he and Ann became more active in their local church and the

Young Life Christian youth organization. As adult lives took their children farther from home, Bob and Ann

decided to return to Coronado in 1998 to enjoy the weather, old friends, and to be close to part of their family.

Bob continued his involvement with Young Life in Coronado and he and Ann became very active in St. Paul’s

Methodist Church. Bob was also an active member of the Coronado Chapter of the Optimist’s Club.

Recreationally, Bob played a lot of golf, walked all around town for exercise, completed numerous home

improvement projects, watched sports and nature programs on TV, and with Ann, continued his passion for

genealogical research. Bob was a patriot, a war hero, a military leader, a devoted husband, a wise and caring

father, a good neighbor, and a devout Christian. He had a wry sense of humor, loved to do things with his

grandchildren, and generously contributed his services and other resources to a variety of religious and

community programs. He will be dearly missed by his family and a wide circle of friends. Bob was preceded in

death by his father, Frank McCrary (Captain, U.S. Navy, retired), his mother, Mary McCrary, and his brother,

Shannon McCrary (Commander, U.S. Navy). He is survived by his wife, Ann McCrary, his sister, Mary Ann

Thomas (Ralph) of San Rafael, CA, his three children, M. Shannon McCrary (Captain U. S. Navy, retired) (Mary

Pat), of Coronado, Mandy Kirk (Brad) of Jacksonville, FL, and Cyd Redfield of Coronado, five grandchildren,

and three great-grand-children. Bob’s life will be celebrated in a memorial service at St. Paul’s Methodist Church

in Coronado on November 22nd

. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that remembrance contributions be made in

Bob’s name to the St. Paul’s United Methodist Youth Fund. IN MEMORIAM.~~~~

Page 8 of 12 rev. 3-11-2013

RICHARDSON OWEN, REVOLUTIONARY WAR SOLDIER AND PATRIOT Alabama Department of Archives and History www.archives.state.al.us

(search RICHARDSON OWEN on site home page)

Submitted by Margaret (Owen) Parsons

OWEN, RICHARDSON. "At his residence in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on the 24th day of July, 1822, in

the 78th year of his life, Col. Richardson Owen departed this life. Col. Owen was born in Henrico County,

Virginia, on the 14th of March, 1744. He emigrated to N. Carolina in 1762, where he was appointed Col.

Commandant of Randolph County. During the period of the Revolutionary War he retained this command

and was for some time in active service. He participated in many of the interesting and painful events with

the Revolution. Near the close of the War he resigned this command and removed to Va. on New River

where he found a brisk partisan war kept up between Whigs and Tories.”

"Devoted to the cause of liberty, he could not remain neutral in this conflict. The Tory party for a while

appeared dominant and Col. Owen was selected as one of the victims of their cruelty; his vigilance and

activity, however, enabled him to elude their grasp, but his whole estate (which was large) was swept away

by them. They burned his house and plundered him of everything movable. Fired by patriotic feelings as well

as individual resentment, Col. Owen determined at once to crush this murderous band of unprincipled

desperadoes. For this purpose he raised a volunteer regiment whom he commanded, and after many sharp

conflicts he succeeded in killing, hanging and putting to flight these destroyers of his fortune and enemies of

his country's liberties. He carried with him to the grave all those feelings which animated the American

soldier in the times that tried men's souls.”

"Though he encountered many privations and sustained losses which he was ever after unable to repair, still

he felt himself amply compensated in the acquisitions of that liberty for which he fought and struggled and

which he long lived to enjoy.”

"Nature endowed him with a strong mind, which he retained to the close of his life. In his deportment

through life his conduct was exemplary. For more than 20 years he was a member of the Methodist church

and daily engaged in the pious duties of a Christian.

"He faced death with confidence and without fear, leaving an aged wife, five sons, and one daughter." Obituary, written by Col. John I. Inge, Tuscaloosa, Ala., and published in the Tuscaloosa Republican, July, 1822.

RICHARDSON OWEN’S FAMILY

Richardson Owen was born March 14, 1744 on the old homestead in Henrico Co., Virginia. His father was

John Owen (1695-1804) and Mildred Grant (1719-1800). Both his parents were born in the new world in

Henrico Co., VA and New Kent, VA respectively. Richardson removed to North Carolina with his parents

about 1762 when he was 18. It was in North Carolina that he became involved in the cause of Independence

from the British Colony. He attained the rank of Colonel during the war.

Following the war he married Sarah Duty (1764-1836) on December 8, 1780 in Warren Co., North Carolina.

In 1783 the couple moved to Halifax Co., Virginia and purchased property on New River. To them were

born six children namely: Dr. William Owen (1784-1845); Dr. John Owen (1786-1808); Dr. Richardson

Owen, Jr. (1787-1854); Judge Thomas Owen (1792-1854); Sarah R. Owen (1793-1884); and Judge Hopson

Owen (1795-1854). All born in Halifax Co., Virginia.

Reference Book: Historical Sketches of the Campbell, Pilcher and Kindred Families (Owen & Grant & Goodwin). Compiled by Margaret

Campbell Pilcher, Nashville, TN 1911.

Reference Book: Our Webb Kin of Dixie. A Family History. Part 1, Chapter 1, Pages 1-11. Published by W. J. Webb, Oxford, NC, 1940.

Reference Book: Marriages of Some Virginia Residents 1607-1800, 2 Volumes. Edited by Dorothy Ford Wulfeck. Genealogical

Publishing Co., Inc. Baltimore, MD 1995 (see: Vol. 2, Surnames I-Z, p. 142)

Page 9 of 12 rev. 3-11-2013

Pedigree Chart - Col. Richardson OWEN 16 February 2013 1 Chart no. _____ No. 1 on this chart is the same as no. _____ on chart no. _____

8 <Bartholomew> OWEN-2730 b: ca 1620–30 p: England m: abt 1666

4 Thomas OWEN-510 Surry Co., Virginia, British America

b: abt 1664 d: 1677 p: Surry, Virginia, British America p: Surry Co., Virginia, British America m: 1690

p: Henrico Co., Virginia, British America 9 <Johanna JENNINGS>-6708 d: bef 7 May 1744 b: ca 1645 p: Henrico Co., Virginia, British America p: d: aft 1693 p: <New Kent>, Virginia, British America 2 John OWEN-508 b: 1695 p: Henrico Co., VA, Brit. America m: Aug 1741 p: <Hanover Co.>, VA, Brit. America 10: Thomas BROOKS 512 d: 9 Aug 1804 b: <1615> p: Virginia, British North America> p: Granville, North Carolina, U. S. m:

5 Elizabeth BROOKES-511 p:

b: 1660 d: 1695 p: Henrico Co., Virginia, British America p: d: 1741

p: Virginia or Shelby Co., Kentucky 11 Joanna -513 b: <1643> p: Virginia, British North America d: p:

1 Richardson OWEN-2558 b: 14 Mar 1744 p: Virginia or Shelby Co., Kentucky m: 8 Dec 1780 p: Warren Co., North Carolina d: 24 Jul 1821

p: Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States 12 Thomas GRANT Sr.-757 b: abt 1600

sp: Sarah DUTY-2566 p: Scotland m: 6 Thomas GRANT-514 p:

b: 1682 d: p:<Inverness,> Scotland p: New Kent Co., Virginia, British America m: abt. 1715

p: New Kent Co., Virginia, British America 13 unknown -6906

d: 1774 b:<1660> p: Granville, North Carolina p: <Virginia> d: p:

3 Mildred GRANT-509 b: 29 Aug 1719 p: New Kent Co., VA, Brit Am. d: 3 Nov 1800

p: Georgia or Granville Co., NC 14 Francis RICHARDSON-6717 b: <abt1668>

p: New Kent Co., VA, Brit. Am. m:

7 Isabella RICHARDSON-515 p: b: abt 1694 d: <abt 1668> p: Hanover Co., Virginia, British America p: d: abt 1772

p: Granville Co., North Carolina 15 Rebecca HOWARD-6718 b. <abt 1655> p: Virginia, British North America d. <26 Apr., 1705> p: Pennsylvania, British No. America

Prepared 16 February, 2013, by Margaret Ruth Owen Parsons, 1300 W. Olson Ave., #142, Reedley, CA 93654. Tel. 559 250 0740

Page 10 of 12 rev. 3-11-2013

COL. RICHARDSON OWEN AND THE DAR by Margaret Ruth (Owen) Parsons

Col. Richardson Owen’s service during the American Revolutionary War has been well documented by the

Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). When searching the DAR Genealogical Research System

(www.dar.org) there are numerous Applications and Supplements recorded in their system. They are available to

view online. They may search either by Ancestor number or Member number. A great deal of information may

be gathered from searching these records.

An example of information noted on a DAR application for Laura Owen Murfee, granddaughter of Richardson

Owen is as follows: “Col. Richardson Owen migrated (from Henrico Co., VA) to South Carolina in 1762

where he was appointed Col. Commandant of Randolph County. During the period of the Revolutionary War

he retained his command and was for sometime in active service. He participated in many of the interesting

and painful events with the Revolution. He was also one of three Commissioners of the County of Guilford,

South Carolina, whose duty it was to look after the estates and property of Loyalists in that county who had

fled the country.”

Col. Richard Owen’s DAR Ancestor Number is A085282. This number can be used to search the DAR

Genealogical Research System. Records may also be located using the Member Number. Listed below are three

records used by the author to gain information about her ancestor.

NSDAR Member – Laura Owen Murfee (#71050). Approved 3 March 1909, Tuscaloosa Chapter, Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

NSDAR Member – Mary Adelia Rosamond Steeves (#545334). Accepted 12 Dec 1969, Alleghany Chapter, Blacksburg, Virginia.

NSDAR Member – Dolly Williams Kirk (#31212). Accepted 4 Apr 1900, Peter Forney Chapter, Montgomery, Alabama.

Other Applications and/or Supplements found on the NSDAR site for Richardson Owen:

NSDAR Member – 9440 (thru son Thomas/spouse Dolly Payne Williams)

NSDAR Member – 31212 (thru son Thomas/spouse Dolly Payne Williams)

NSDAR Member – 259812 (thru son Thomas/spouse Dolly Payne Williams)

NSDAR Member – 355968 (thru son Hopson/spouse Agnes Payne Williams)

NSDAR Member – 418902 (thru son Thomas/spouse Dolly Payne Williams)

NSDAR Member – 521602 (thru son Thomas/spouse Dolly Payne Williams)

NSDAR Member – 521603 (thru son Thomas/spouse Dolly Payne Williams)

QUERIES! WE PRINT ALL QUERIES

Seeking contact with researchers of the Owen males: my great grandmother, Margaret Elira Whiteside, married (1

st) on 25 Dec., 1864, in Belleville, St. Clair, Il, William Henry “Dick” Owen, son of Charles and Anna

(Coon) Owen, and grandson of Arthur and Lucy Owen. They removed to Wilson County, KS, and William Henry died. She married (2

nd) 24 Sep., 1873, Wilson Co., KS, Hopson Owen, b. 6

th Nov., 1842, son of Hopson Owen, b.

1799/1800, of McDonough Co., IL. Jo Presbury-Smith. jpresburysmith@cox.net. Searching for information on Johnathan Owen, (b. 1809 – d. 1877, Henry Co., GA), married (1854) Sarah A. Eddleman , (b. 1836, Henry Co., GA: – d. 1924 (?) Fulton Co., GA (?) Is there a conformable link to father Augustine Owen, 1766-1818? Would greatly appreciate any information on this Owen family. David Owen, 841 Hampton Ridge, Akron, OH 44313 Tel. (330) 867-2801 owen3@uakron.edu.

Page 11 of 12 rev. 3-11-2013

OFA Cemetery Project

Because our founders believed that information gleaned from tombstone inscriptions enhanced our pursuit of our lineages, and because we firmly believe that our compiled lists may be helpful in your research, we will continue publishing these lists. Please submit YOUR cemetery findings to our Cemetery Project Chairman: Judy Peeples, 914 Texas Ave., 6N, League City, Texas 77573, e-mail: judypeeples1@comcast.net

ARKANSAS Lincoln County: When my husband, Ed, and I visited the Palmyra Perpetual Cemetery, we were surprised at how many Owen graves we found. It is large, with grave sites on both sides of highway #114 at Palmyra, Arkansas, which is just west of Star City. We found some unusual tombstones – the old slender ones with character. I chose some of the older Owen headstones for the children of Larkin and Margaret Elliot Owen, who came to Drew County. (That name was later changed to Lincoln County). Many of their grandchildren’s graves are included below. It was getting dark and we had to leave, but back at home I looked up this family in “findagrave.com” and their records show 113 Owen graves in this cemetery.

Owen, Robert Donald: b. Mar. 31, 1815, d. Feb. 21, 1889. Wife: Peninnah Hellums Owen, b. Aug. 31, 1826, d. Aug. 8, 1855. Buried: Hephzibah Cemetery, Benton Co., MS. Ed and Jane Owen.

Owen, Jacob Andrew: b. Aug 1, 1852, d. Oct. 29, 1929. Son of Robert D. & Peninnah Hellums Owen.

Owen, Samantha A. Bailey: b. Apr. 8, 1858, d. April 13, 1934. Wife of Jacob Andrew Owen.

Owen, Jesse Forbes: b. Dec 21, 1819, d. Apr. 3, 1881. Son of Larkin & Margaret Elliot Owen.

Owen, Margaret Elizabeth Owen: b. Dec. 12, 1821, d. Sept 20, 1908. Dau. of Larkin & Margaret Owen.

Owen, John Err: b. Aug. 29, 1818, d. Nov. 26, 1886. Hus. of Margaret Elizabeth (nee Owen) Owen.

Owen, Jessie David: b. Dec. 12, 1851, d. Oct. 7, 1907. Son of John Err & Margaret E. Owen.

Owen, Martha Linzy: b. May 31, 1857, d. Jan. 10, 1899. Wife of Jessie D. Owen.

Owen, John Malone: b. May 1, 1854, d. Apr. 20, 1917. Son of John Err & Margaret E. (Owen) Owen.

Owen, Silas S.: b. Sep. 17, 1861, d. Nov. 4, 1869. Son of John Err & Margaret E. (Owen) Owen.

Owen, Bird Griffin: b. Nov. 30, 1823, Morgan Co., AL, d. Apr. 25, 1885. Son of Larkin & Margaret Elliot Owen.

Owen, Mary A. White: b. Oct. 26, 1830, d. Aug. 1, 1883, Wife of Bird Griffin Owen.

Owen, Martha Marilda Owen: b. Aug. 12, 1850, d. Aug 1, 1928. Dau. of Bird G. and Mary White Owen.

Owen, Francis Marion: b. Sep. 12, 1848, d. Dec. 7, 1911. Hus. of Martha M. Owen.

Owen, Samuel James: b. Sep., 1852, d. Mar. 23, 1891, Son of Bird G. & Mary White Owen.

Owen, Caroline Bentley “Carrie” Doty: b. Sep. 25, 1854, d. May 1, 1935. Wife of Samuel J. Owen.

Owen, Thomas Price: b. Apr. 19, 1862, d. Apr. 25, 1935. Son of Bird G. and Mary White Owen.

Owen, Kitterah Melvina “Mellie” Tucker: b. Jun. 28, 1872, d. Sep. 29, 1964. Wife of Thomas Price Owen.

Smith, Nancy L. Owen: b. May 28, 1864, d. Aug. 22, 1956. Dau. of Bird G. and Mary White Owen.

Owen, Bird Haywood: b. Oct. 14, 1868, d. July 13, 1918. Son of Bird G. and Mary White Owen.

He was unmarried.

Owen, Ed; Edward Columbus: b. Dec. 4, 1870, d. 1877. Son of Bird G., and Mary White, Owen.

We appreciate the lists’ being submitted by you, our members, and hope that we will hear from

many others of you regarding your cemetery searches. We heartily commend Judy Peeples who is

coordinating this effort. Please address your cemetery submissions to her, Judy Peeples1@comcast.net,

or at 914 Texas Avenue, 6N, League City, TX 77573. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Page 12 of 12 rev. 3-11-2013

Owen Family Association “Owen, a name worth knowing”

Owen Family Association Margaret Owen Parsons, Publisher 1300 West Olson Ave. Space 142 Reedley CA 93654

Association Officers Board of Directors

Clifford Owen, President C. Owen Johnson, Founder Arnold C. Owen, Past President 70 Oak Valley Dr., Holland, MI George N. Shirley, Liaison 49424 (616) 396-4596 cowen@sirus.com

M. Fred Owen, Vice President 111 Buggy Whip, Horseshoe Bay, TX 78657-(830) 598-6545 mfredowen@verizon.net

George N. Shirley, Treasurer 508 Arbor Dr., Madison, MS 39110 (601) 665-2268 gnshirley@gmail.com

Virginia Garrison, Secretary 4824 Waterside Dr., Lexington, KY, 40513 (859) 223-3966 vgarrison@aol.com

Jane Owen, Genealogist 4190 Hurricane Shores Dr. Benton, AR 72019 (501) 794-1751 edjaneowen@up-link.net

Margaret Owen Parsons, Publisher (Address at top of page)

Owen Family Association The Owen Family Association was organized in 1981

The objectives of the association are:

To establish and document as complete a list of descendants of Owen

and allied families as possible.

To collect a narrative history of individual family lines of descent.

To compile and maintain a listing of cemeteries, homes and other

buildings and sites associated with Owen and allied families.

To publish and distribute a periodic newsletter.

To bring members of the family association together for periodic

reunions.

To aid association members to establish their family line and assist

them in joining hereditary and patriotic societies, if they so desire.

To ultimately produce a volume documenting the verified family

histories.

To provide publications to Genealogy Libraries to assist Owen

researchers.

Annual dues of $10.00 are payable January 1st. The Owen Family

Newsletter is published quarterly and is subject to copyright.

First Class Mail