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Prominent Owens of America, Past Generations
The following data is extracted from Owen Family Records.
ABRAHAM OWENS: Soldier; b. Prince Edward County, Va., 1769; d. Tippecanoe County, Ind., 1811; served in Indian campaign in Kentucky under Genls. St. Clair and Wilkinson; surveyor of Shelby County, 1796; magistrate and colonel of the first militia regiment raised in Kentucky; sat in legislature, 1798; member of the State Constitutional Convention, 1799, and state senator, 1810; first to join Gen. Wm. H. Harrison at Vincennes to resist the Indians under Tecumseh; aidede-camp to Gen. Harrison; killed at Tippecanoe ; a county in Kentucky was named in his honor.
DAVID DALE: Geologist: b. Lanarkshire, Scotland, 1807; d. New Harmony, Ind., 1860; s. Robert 0- (1771-1858) ; educ. at Andersonian Institution in Glasgow; came to New Harmony in 1828, but returned to Europe for two years to study geology and natural history; conducted geological reconnaissance of Indiana, 1837; appointed geologist, 1839, by U. S. government; surveyed the Minnesota territory in 1849 for the government; state geologist for Kentucky, 1854-57; and for Arkansas and Indiana; his museum and laboratory were among the best in the United States and his collection of specimens was sold for $20,000 to Indiana State Univ.
GRIFFITH: Colonist; b. Wales; d. Philadelphia, Pa., 1717; active in promoting emigration of his Welsh co-religionists to the province of Pennsylvania; induced William Penn to set apart 40,000 acres as a Welsh tract, in which the Welsh alone should have the right of purchase, and in which the language of ancient Britain should prevail; on securing this he emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1684 and settled on this tract, which was called Merion; it is believed he performed the first surgical operation in Pennsylvania; served many years in the assembly; provincial councilor, 1690; alderman under the charter of 1691; justice of the peace; judge of court of common pleas; one of Penn's commissioners of property; was useful in Society of Friends as a minister; traveled frequently to other colonies and to England and Wales.
JAMES: Congressman; b. Bladen County, N. C., 1784; d. Wilmington, 1865; sat in legislature, 1808-11; elected to Congress, 1816; president Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad; a major-general of militia.
JOHN: Governor of North Carolina; b. Bladen County, N. C., 1787; d. Pittsburgh, 1841; sat in legislature 1812-28; elected governor, 1828; influential in state politics, education, and prison reforms; president of convention that nominated Wm. H. Harrison for President.
JOHN: Publisher; b. Portland, Me., 1805; d. Cambridge, Mass., 1882; published the early works of his friend and college mate, Henry W. Longfellow, and those of James Russell Lowell; aided Longfellow preparing his "Poems of Places."
JOHN JASON: Clergyman; b. Colebrook, Conn., 1803; d. New York City, 1869; principal of Cornelius Institute, New York, 183648; professor of Greek and Latin language and literature, New York Free Academy, 1849; vice-principal in 1853; became vice-president when its name was changed to New York Free College and received the degrees of D. D. and LL. D.
JOSEPH: Missionary; b. Bedford, N. Y.; 1814; d. Edinburgh, Scotland, 1870; graduated at Princeton Theological Seminary, 1838; missionary to Allahabad, India, 1840-68; president of Allahabad College; professor in the theological seminary there; translated several books of the Bible into the native language.
JOSHUA THOMAS: Soldier; b. Caermarthen, Wales, 1821; d. Chestnut Hill, Pa., 1887; emigrated to Baltimore in 1830; with his brother, Robert, established Chestnut Hill Academy for Boys; sat in legislature, 1857-59; as commander of the 69th Pennsylvania Regiment, which he organized, he participated in every battle fought by the Army of the Potomac from Fair Oaks to Cold Harbor; founded the "New York Daily Register," New York, 1871.
RICHARD: Geologist; b. Lanarkshire, Scotland, 1810; emigrated to New Harmony, Ind., 1828; served under Gen. Zachary Taylor in the Mexican War; aided his brother, David Dale O-, in survey of Minnesota, 1849, and north shore of Lake Superior; professor of natural sciences, Western Military Institute, of Kentucky (later called Univ. of Nashville), 1849; assistant state geologist of Indiana; made geological survey of that state; served under Gen. Sherman at capture of Arkansas Post, Vicksburg, and Jackson, Miss.; held chair of natural sciences, Univ. of Indiana, 1864; contributed largely to knowledge of geology, especially as relating to Indiana, Minnesota, New Mexico, Arizona and North Carolina.
Source: Owen Family Records
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