OWEN / OWENS BIOGRAPHIES, Henry County, Missouri ==================================================================== OWEN, John - b: 1844 KY source: 1919 History of Henry Co MO, Uel W. Lamkin, Historical Publishing Co - page: 634 residence: Honey Creek Twp John Owen, of Honey Creek township, is a Henry County pioneer and perhaps the oldest settler in Honey Creek township, where he has lived for sixty-five years. He was born in Kentucky in 1844, and is a son of David Owen, who was born near Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and spent a large portion of his early life in Louisiana and Kentucky, leaving home when a boy, and for forty years his people heard nothing from him. He came to Lexington, Missouri, in 1848, and to Henry County in 1853. He located in Fields Creek township, where he entered six hundred twenty acres of Government land and bought three hundred eighty acres, and at one time owned one thousand acres. Before his death he deeded all his land to his children. He died in 1893 at the age of eighty-three years, and his remains were buried in Fields Creek Cemetery. His wife, Sarah Ann Campbell, was born in Russell County, Kentucky, in 1826, and died in Honey Creek township in 1865. The Owen family is of old American stock. David Owen's father, grandfather of John Owen, was with General Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans. He enlisted in Tennessee. David Owen was a nephew of David Crockett's wife, and he was named for David Crockett. Sarah Ann Campbell, was also a descendant of old American stock, of Scotch and Irish descent who served in the Revolutionary War. To David and Sarah Ann (Campbell) Owen were born the following children: John, the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Augusta Chrisman, Clinton, Missouri; Mrs. Alice Blackwell; Mrs. Edna Bush, deceased; Quitman resides in Montana; Mrs. Josie McBride, Mountain View, Oklahoma; and Charles, Sherman, Texas. John Owen was reared amid the scenes of pioneer life, receiving a limited education. He bought his first piece of land in Honey Creek township, where he has spent sixty-five years of his life and where he has built up a reputation for honesty and integrity that might well be the envy of any man. In 1875, Mr. Owen was united in marriage with Miss Louisa Waddell, daughter of James and Louisa Waddell, both now deceased. To this union were born twelve children, as follows: Nancy, Oles P., Jurina, William, Louisa, Emma, Nichols, Belle, Ada, Ella, Lizzie, and George. During his sixty-five years of residence in Henry County, John Owen has seen this section develop from an unsettled waste to a populous community. When he came here in 1853, a boy of nine years, Indians were plentiful here, and he remembers of having seen them camped in the vicinity of Cook's old mill, where they were engaged in fishing and hunting. The Indians offered for sale venison at ridiculously low prices, compared with the high cost of living of today. Mr. Owen is one of the honored pioneers of Henry County, who is entitled to much credit for the part that he has taken in the development of the banner county of Missouri. ==================================================================== OWENS, Benjamin L. - b: 1824 Lafayette Co, MO source: 1883 History of Henry Missouri , National Historical Co. - page: 535 residence: Clinton Twp Benjamin L. Owens, section 12. Among the prominent and successful men of this county may be mentioned the subject of this sketch. He is a native of Lafayette County, Missouri, and was born March 8, 1824. His father, Abel Owens, was born in North Carolina, and settled near the present site of Lexington, Lafayette County, in 1818. His mother, formerly Elizabeth Gooch, also came originally from the same state. They reared a family of eight children, of whom Benjamin was the youngest. His father died in 1834, and his mother's death occurred April 9, 1873. Benjamin L. was a resident of Lafayette County till thirteen years of age, when he removed to Platte County, Missouri, there being brought up among the pioneers. In the spring of 1846 he enlisted for the Mexican war with Captain Owens' company, of Colonel Price's regiment, with which he served fourteen months. He was then paroled and returned to Platte County, and after a short residence there came to Henry County, Missouri, in the fall of 1847, settling after a time on Honey Creek. Here he farmed till 1853, and in that year moved on his present place. His estate consists of 700 acres of well improved land, and he is one of the largest and most successful stock dealers and feeders in the county. Mr. Owens was married April 24, 1849, to Miss Francis J. Sweeney, a daughter of Jonathan Sweeney, who came from Kentucky to Henry County in 1840, and died where he had settled, May 28, 1852. They have six children living, Ermine, Walter E., Nora L, George H., and Maude and Fred, twins. Mr. O. is a member of the Masonic order, and also belongs to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. In 1873 he was elected a member of the county court, serving in that position for four years. ==================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by the Henry County MOGenWeb http://www.rootsweb.com/~mohenry/henryco.html Contact the Henry County Coordinator for comments or corrections. ====================================================================