OWEN Genealogy Page
OWENs
N. America 1500-1800


OUR GREAT MYSTERY is our 4th great-grandfather. In February, 1779, we first find Jonathan Morgan OWEN (JMO) enlisting as a Loyalist in DeLancey's Brigade at Long Island, NY at the age of approximately 27 years, 11 years older than the minimum enlistment age of 16, and several years after the war began. None of the military records found to date give any indication of his origins.

At the end of the war, together with the remaining Loyalists serving in NY, he is transported to Nova Scotia, Canada.

With the hope that JMO might be from a NY line, I've started a NY OWEN Page divided by NY county.

N.B. :
This is my research or my collaboration with other researchers . . . if you want your link updated, please let me know. Otherwise don't be surprised if links no longer work.

Navigate

OWEN Queries by Given Names:

A B C D E F G H I J Johns Jonathans K-L M Morgans N O P Q R S T U-V W-Z

Other OWEN Records:

NY OWEN Bible 1792

NY OWEN Page

Phillip OWEN Letter

Pre-1700 OWENs

OWEN by Location

Southern OWENs

Daniel OWEN of RI
Daniel OWEN of RI #2
James OWEN of CT/RI
John OWEN of Falmouth, ME
Josiah OWEN of RI

Timothy OWEN of NY
William OWEN of Braintree, MA

Non-US OWENs
Home Page



Numerous online OWEN genealogies state that our JMO was a son of James OWEN & Mary PAINE of Wading River, Long Island, NY.

As far as we have been able to determine, there is NO documentary proof for this connection. Cousin Brent Owen has contacted these websites (as I have) with a unanimous result: they have nothing to substantiate the connection. We both believe that such attribution is a true disservice to OWEN researchers.

Researchers of just JMO's line, include:

Carolyn Gunn Tinsch
12161 South 2240 West
Riverton, UT 84065


Dan Haney

David Lake

Mary Nichols Line: MCN, Alice Virginia OWEN, Edgar OWEN, Willis Davenport "Morgan" OWEN, William OWEN, JMO

Carl Morrison: Line: CM, Evangeline O'BRIEN, Villa McFADDEN, Minnie M. KELLEY, Benjamin L. KELLEY, Mary E. "Polly" OWEN, JMO

Brent Owen: Line: BO, Walter Holmes OWEN, Frank M. OWEN, Abram Albertus OWEN, David M. OWEN, William OWEN, JMO

Charles R. Owen Jr.

Chris Owen: Line: CO, Walter Holmes OWEN, Frank M. OWEN, Abram Albertus OWEN, David M. OWEN, William OWEN, JMO

Robert Owen: Line: RO, Chester Lynne OWEN, Frank M. OWEN, Abram Albertus OWEN, David M. OWEN, William OWEN, JMO

W. Parks

Arthur White: Line: Elizabeth FLAHERTY, Margaret OWENS, Edward Wetmore OWENS, Uriah OWENS, William OWEN, JMO


According to Wright's Loyalists, etc. book

  • 1) Jonathan OWENS, sargeant in the Kings American Dragoons, received a Loyalist landgrant at Beaver Harbor and
  • 2) Jonathan McOWEN, a sargeant in 2nd DeLancey's (ours?) received a landgrant at Beaver Harbor.1

We believe Jonathan McOWEN to be a misprint of our Jonathan M. OWEN remains to be seen. By the 1790 US Census, JMO is living at Plantation #8, now Eastport, Washington Co., ME with his wife and one son.

Circa 1788, Jonathan Morgan OWEN married Catherine MORIN (aka MORANG) (Jean Francois & Rosalie FOREST), a Catholic French Canadian, circa 1788, probably somewhere near what is today Eastport, Washington Co., ME. It is also possible that they were married at or near Beaver Harbor, (?now Pennfield?) New Brunswick, Canada, where the British sent the Catholic Acadians at the same time that both Jonathan OWENS & Jonathan McOWEN were in Canada as Loyalists. As you can no-doubt tell, we haven't found their marriage yet.


New Research Projects

I'm looking for any and all information of additional OWEN families - which as usual, I will post here for anyone to use. If you'd like to help, please e-mail me with information on:

  • David OWEN & William Fitzwilliam OWEN of Campobello, NB, Canada
  • John OWEN & Sarah McCLELLAN-McCLELLAND of Buxton, Cumberland Co., ME
  • Luke OWEN & Elizabeth "Betsy" CUMMINGS (Elisha & Mary DOLLY) of Paris, ME; Luke was said to be b IRL and an immigrant
  • Morgan OWEN & Elizabeth DICKASON of Salem, MA (ca 1680s)
  • Morgan OWEN of Virginia (arr 1654)
  • Nicholas OWEN of Virginia (b ca 1626)
  • Richard OWEN of Long Island or New York City, NY (ca 1670)
  • Thomas OWEN & Sarah VITTERELL of Boston, MA (ca 1670s)
  • Thomas OWEN of Marblehead, MA (ca 1680s)
  • William OWEN & William MORGAN (ca 1652) in VA
     


From an unpublished manuscript of the family of John OWEN & Margaret MUSTARD of Falmouth, ME. Included therein was a letter from Phillip OWEN (1756-1849) describing his military experiences during the Revolution, upon his declining an invitation to attend an anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill. You can find most of this line on Al Dunning's website (from gendex.com).


William OWEN & Elizabeth DAVIES
of Braintree, Norfolk Co., MA

I'm working on an undocumented descendancy of William OWEN & Elizabeth DAVIES of Braintree, MA posted here. William is said to be the progenitor of the Joshua OWEN line of Rhode Island. This is real rudimentary; showing what sources I have for what is shown. If either the Braintree, MA or the Rhode Island lines are of interest to you, please see excerpts below from Mr. Henry W. OWEN, Jr.'s ca 1935 Unpublished Genealogy. If anyone can help, I'd appreciate an e-mail on them or their descendants and/or ancestors. Please put OWEN of Braintree in subject line.


John OWEN & Margaret MUSTARD
of Falmouth, ME

From the same unpublished OWEN genealogy by Henry W. Owen, Jr., I've extracted the family of John OWEN of Falmouth, ME. I did NOT include the link to William OWEN of Braintree (see below), though if you prefer that theory, Henry W. Owen claimed him to be grandson of William OWEN & Elizabeth DAVIES through an undetermined son.

While I agree with the author's conclusion that John of Falmouth was a grandson of William of Braintree, the connection is NOT the Rev. John OWEN (William & Elizabeth DAVIES) who d Groton, CT. There is much information on both families and on other OWENs of the 1600s to 1800s that I've never seen before, for example (bracketed [] additions, boldtype & caps mine):

"There were OWEN families at both Salem and the adjoining town of Marblehead prior to 1723 and both these families seem to have been closely connected with the Braintree family. Morgan OWEN of Salem married there in 1670 [to Elizabeth DICKASON] and died some two years later leaving a son John born in 1671 and a son Nathaniel who "lived not long." John married in 1687 Mary TUCKSBERRY. I have found no record that this John and Mary had a son John. If they did and it could be shown, he might possibly qualify as the Falmouth settler. In the Marblehead family there were a number of Johns, but each of these is definitely otherwise accounted for. Since, however, both these families seem to have been related to the Braintree family, and were seamen, what more natural than that a member of the Braintree family, setting out to seek his fortune in Maine, should set out via Salem?"


For those of you researching OWEN in Rhode Island, Mr. Owen also identified another source (bracketed[], boldtype & caps added):

"By way of prelude it should be said that a genealogical table of the Rhode Island family was prepared in 1857 by a Mr. S. C. Newman who describes himself as member of the Rhode Island Historical Society and genealogical secretary of the Blackstone Monument Association. His OWEN table was prepared for George and Smith OWEN and purports to show the descendants of a Samuel and Priscilla OWEN through a son Josiah who was born in 1681. According to the brief text,
"Samuel OWEN was born in Wales, Europe, A.D. 1651. He and his wife, Priscilla BELCHER, with their son Josiah, came to America about 1685. Like most early settlers, his object in leaving his native land was the enjoyment of Civil and Religious Liberty and the pursuit of Agriculture. He came first to Massachusetts, but finding that the Colony of Rhode Island was then the most independent in matters of conscience and relegious [sic] opinion, he finally settled in that part of Provedence [sic] now known as North Providence and not far from the present Pawtucket Turnpike."

Newman does not cite authorities for his statements, and my efforts to learn something about the author himself, or from members of the Rhode Island family to obtain some light as to the source from which Newman might have drawn for his statements, have been completely unproductive. My own researches, however, have failed to disclose any other trace whatever of either a Samuel or a Priscilla OWEN in Rhode Island at the period these are supposed to have been there, nor in Massachusetts a couple with those names. Josiah, however, was a person frequently met with in the records."


Mr. Owen believes that this Josiah, Jr. was the son of Ebenezer OWEN (William & Elizabeth DAVIES) and Hannah BELCHER (John & Sarah _?_) b 2 Aug 1664 Braintree. Ebenezer died in 1690 and Hannah married his brother Josiah b aft 1672 Braintree, both of whom, together with her children by Ebenezer, were banished from Massachusetts for marrying each other. The marriage laws of the time prohibited marrying one's sister-in-law, banning her and Josiah's subsequent marriage. In Rhode Island, Josiah (Ebenezer & Hannah) was referred to as "Josiah, Jr." while his uncle & step-father Josiah was referred to as "Josiah, Sr."

If anyone wants a lookup in the genealogy, please contact me (Mary Nichols) with what information you have, though most of it is posted here under William of Braintree, John of Falmouth, or Joshua of [Providence], Rhode Island and I'll let you know if and how it connects.


John OWEN of Windsor, CT

I keep receiving inquiries and lines from descendants of John OWEN & Rebecca WADE of Windsor, CT. While I have a gedcom file of them and many descendants, I haven't documented it and in compiling it, know that I ran into numerous errors, some of which I probably included. But if anyone wants me to post what I have, bearing in mind that it is not a primary research project of mine, please let me know.

OWEN Location Index


The location index for the OWEN surname contains locations from submitted/collected queries. E-mail me if you'd like to add yours (or a new location).


Thank Yous

Thank you to Brent Owen for sharing his substantial OWEN research and particularly for submitting excerpts regarding Daniel OWEN of Rhode Island.

Thanks to Bob Wilhelm for details of Daniel OWEN a descendant of John OWEN of Windsor, CT. Also searching this family is Holly Owen.

Thanks to Ann Winder for the copy of a Circa 1935 OWEN Genealogy (approx. 90 pages), excerpts of which appear here and on other pages at this site.

Thanks also to John Stewart who has provided the information for the page on the Timothy OWEN Family of NY. and now has his own OWEN Webpages.



1N.B. Brent Owen advises that he is not aware of this petition, etc., so I cannot identify source for this. The Wright Loyalists, etc. book lists both of these, vaguely identifying them in an appendix as receiving grants at Beaver Harbor, without any more information.

Navigate

OWEN: Given Names:

A ~ B ~ C ~ D ~ E ~ F ~ G ~ H ~ I ~ J
Johns ~ Jonathans
K-L ~ M ~ Morgans ~ N ~ O
P ~ Q ~ R ~ S ~ T ~ U-V ~ W-Z

NY OWEN Page

Pre-1700 OWENs

OWEN Location Index

Southern OWENs (being phased out-see above)
Non-US OWENs Home Page

VA OWEN Land Grants&emdash;Alphabetical
VA OWEN Land Grants&emdash;Chronological
VA OWEN Land Grants&emdash;By County


OWEN Families on this Site

Daniel OWEN of RI Excerpts
Daniel OWEN of RI Family 1651-1800
James OWEN Family of Providence, RI
John OWEN Family of Falmouth, ME
Joshua OWEN Family of Providence, RI
Timothy OWEN Family of NY
William OWEN Family of Braintree, MA


Other OWEN Websites

OWEN Family Association webpage or
Bob McCrary, Secy. & Webmaster 5 Jun 1998

OWEN Family Website from Betty Owen 19 Jun 1999

C Chakurda or OWINGS Website 23 Nov 1997

Kevin Owen's OWEN Webpage 1 Dec 1997

Arthur Owen's OWEN Webpage for descendants of
Arthur OWEN & Elizabeth LEE of PEI, Canada Jun 1998

Goronwy OWEN of VA (http://www.goronwyowen.com/) from
William Parham Owen III 15 Sep 1999

</A>

Shawna's Genealogy Page (Southern OWENs)

OWEN Webpage Jul 1999

OWEN Family Bible Jul 1999


6 Sep 2005
https://sites.rootsweb.com/~mnichols/owen.htm