OWEN FAMILY NEWS ( )

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1 OWEN FAMILY NEWS Volume 23, Issue 2 Published by Owen Family Association http// June 2008 Page 1 Robert Owen and His Legacy ( ) INSIDE THIS ISSUE INSIDE THIS ISSUE Our Feature Article: Robert Owen and Descendants of William and His Legacy Drucilla Echols Owen Part 4 Page 1 C. Owen Johnson Page 52 Letter from our President Reuben Thomas Pickett Evan Owen and His Page Descendants: 2 Adrian Boone Owen Owen Jody Moeller DNA Update and Lee By Whit Gentemenn Athey Page 55 3 IN FUTURE ISSUES Reverend Robert Owen - March Lineage Feature Article - Descendants Pages of 4-6 William and Drucilla Echols Owen Part 5 Reverend by C. Owen Robert Johnson Owen Ordination Descendants Pages 6-7 of Reuben Pickett Owen Part 4 Local by Josephine Owen Reunion Moeller Announcement A David Page Franklin 7 Owen Narrative Searching by Hugh Goodman for a Link to Robert Owen via Thomas Descendancy Owen Lineage of Henry Buck Page 9 Owen By Marshall Thomas IN FUTURE ISSUES Ewing Elmer Fidler Story Conclusion of By Louis Owen Thomas Owen Lineage Owen Histories Reverend Chris Richard Hanlin Owings I would like to thank Cliff Owen for contacting me after reading the article on Robert Owen ( ), the British Industrialist. He provided me with genealogical information that may possibly link him to Robert Owen, which will be featured in the Sept. issue. In addition, he informed me of an upcoming conference on, Robert Owen and His Legacy, at Gregynog Hall, Newtown, Wales, August The information below is from the conference website, The major international conference commemorates the 150th anniversary of the death of Robert Owen ( ). Plenary speakers include Professor Gregory Claeys (Royal Holloway, University of London) and Ian Donnachie (The Open University). The conference is organized by the Department of History and the Centre for the History of Wales and its Borderlands at Swansea University and is supported by the School of Humanities at Swansea University, Llafur: The Welsh People's History Society and the Society for the Study of Labour History. Robert Owen's long and varied life touched on a number of themes of great importance to the understanding of the nineteenth century: industrialization, radical politics, early socialist thought, trades unionism, factory reform, political economy, education, religion, the beginnings of the co-operative movement. Owen was born in Newtown, and after spells in London and Lincolnshire he went into business as a cotton manufacturer in Manchester in Later marriage took him, as manager, to the New Lanark cotton mills, where he determined to improve the working and social lives of his employees. In 1813 his, A New View of Society, outlined a broader utopian vision, but, disillusioned by a lack of progress in Britain, in 1824 he journeyed to Indiana, where he established the New Harmony cooperative community. This experiment having failed, Owen returned to Britain in 1828, to find his ideas the focus of enhanced interest, as the early trade union and co-operative movements developed, and as others took an interest in communitarian socialism. Owen established the National Equitable Labour Exchange in London, published (1832-4) the newspaper The Crisis and promoted 'Rational Religion' in Halls of Science. Another cooperative community, at Queenwood near Tytherly in Hampshire, was established in 1839 (surviving until 1845), and Owen continued to proselytise, publishing ( ) his New Moral World, and in his autobiography (The life of Robert Owen written by himself). He died in 1858 at Newtown. (continued on page 8)

2 Volume 23, Issue 2 Owen Family News June 2008 Page 2 Editorial Staff of the Owen Family News Editor & Officer Carla Grune 784 S. Villier Ct. Virginia Beach, VA (757) cgrune@epatentmanager.com Publisher & Officer Margaret Owen Parsons Kings River Rd. Reedly, CA (559) maggieparsons@comcast.net Contributing Editors Jane Owen Hillard Kimberly Ayn Owen C. Owen Johnson William P. Owen, III Proofreading Committee Margaret Owen Parsons Michael Patrick Owen Alan D. Smith Carolee Moncur, PhD Raye Puckett Marsha Carmack Owen Sue Owen Typist Volunteer Needed Publication Dates March, June, September & 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! Your ideas for the newsletter are also solicited, please contact the editor. The President s Message from Thomas E. Owen As we all become more familiar with the internet, our horizons and interests have broadened. No longer do we find ourselves at the public library sitting on those hard wooden chairs with books stacked in front of us (some of us honestly miss those days of yesteryear). Time continues to move at the same pace 24 hours in a day, 365 days in a year. Technology in some ways brings us together, but in some other ways we stay to ourselves looking at the screen. Let me share with you some things I have learned about the Owen name while looking at that screen. The name Owen derives from the Welsh first name Owain, probably from the Latin Eugenius and Greek Eugenious meaning "well born" or "noble" - similar to the first name, Eugene. The plural OWENS may be a patronymic form of OWEN (meaning "son of Owen"), or just a variant spelling. There are some notable people who share the Owen name. Here are just a few: Clive Owen (born 1964), English actor Evelyn Owen ( ), designer of the Owen Sub Machine Gun John Owen ( ), England footballer John Owen ( ), Governor of North Carolina Nora Owen (born 1945), Irish politician Orville Ward Owen ( ), American physician Richard Owen ( ), biologist Robert Owen ( ), a Welsh social reformer, considered the "Father" of the cooperative movement In 1969, the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbuilt University opened its doors to ten students and ten faculty members in a former funeral home. Today, Owen is one of the world's top business schools and is widely recognized for its challenging academics, stimulating and innovative research environment, strong student/faculty ratio, and a spirit of teamwork. The school was renamed in 1977 in honor of Lulu and Ralph "Peck" Owen, former chairman of American Express. I don t think any of us are looking for fame or fortune, but most, if not all of us, who are interested in our genealogy are seeking out our ancestors to know about them, to know what motivated them to get on that big ship and come to America. As we continue to work on filling out family trees, either looking at that screen, sitting on that hard library chair or maybe walking through that old cemetery at the end of a long deserted road, I hope you will find joy and satisfaction in finding the next Owen family member. Tom Owen owenassoc@gmail.com

3 Volume 23, Issue 2 Owen Family News June 2008 Page 3 Update: The Owen DNA Project By Whit Athey (wathey@hprg.com) We have five new participants who have joined the DNA project in the last quarter, and there have been several upgrades to more markers for existing participants (especially in Owen Group 5). Incoming results during the quarter have added one new participant to each of Owen Groups 2, 6, 11, 14, and 15, while another presently has no matches in the project. With this issue of the newsletter the full DNA report will be provided as a separate attachment for those subscribing by regular mail or . As always, the most current results may be viewed at our web site: In Owen Group 11, all of the participants are near the values of the Atlantic Modal Haplotype, the most common in Europe, so accidental matches are common, even for people who have no common ancestor in the last few thousand years.. A new tool for distinguishing subgroups within this cluster is the U106 marker, now available from Family Tree DNA (FTDNA). The same marker, but labeled S21, is also offered by Ethnoancestry. This marker, also called a SNP, defines a major subgroup within Haplogroup R1b. FTDNA is in the process of unifying its R1b subclade test series to include U106, but at the moment U106 can only be ordered by people who have previously had the old R1b subclade test. At Ethnoancestry, S21 can be ordered at any time, but this requires a new sample and a one-time $49 DNA extraction fee (then SNPs are $39 each). I expect to see the new subclade test announced soon, so it s probably best to wait until then to place an order at FTDNA. I ll post a notice on the web site when it s available. Participant in Owen Group 11 already has results for U106 and he was found to be positive (in the subclade defined by U106). Any other participant in Owen Group 11 who is also U108+ will have an increased probability of being related to Similarly, all those in this group who are U106- will have a somewhat greater probability of being related. A new Y-chromosome phylogenetic tree has been published by the major population geneticists (who call themselves the Y-Chromosome Consortium, or YCC). The new tree may be viewed at Any time there are new branches added to the Y tree, the names of some subgroups will have to change. Family Tree DNA has announced that they will soon switch to the new nomenclature, which will undoubtedly cause considerable confusion in the beginning. For example, nearly all members of Haplogroup R1b in northwest Europe are actually in a subgroup named R1b1c (this includes those who are presently labeled R1b1 by FTDNA), defined by the SNP, M269. Because of new SNP discoveries and subsequent renaming of the R1b subgroups, the branch defined by M269 (R1b1c) will henceforth be known as R1b1b2. The participant who is M106+, discussed in the last paragraph, will now be in Haplogroup R1b1b2g. Clearly, our increased understanding is also bringing some more complicated notation. For the present DNA report, I am retaining the previous notation, but as soon as FTDNA switches to the new nomenclature, I will also make the change in any future DNA reports and on the web site.

4 Volume 23, Issue 2 Owen Family News June 2008 Page 4 Reverend Robert Owen Lineage (Prince George s County Maryland) by Scott S. Felgenhauer, felgyscott@yahoo.com This lineage is a continuation of the Reverend Robert Owen Lineage from the March 2008 OFA Newsletter. This information is provided by Scott S,. Felgenhauer. Please contact Mr. Felgenhauer for further information pertaining to this lineage. ROBERT OWEN (6) Robert Owen, son of Edward Owen, was born in Wales in 1672, and came to America with his father in He later returned to Wales to be educated for the ministry for the Church of England. On 12 Aug 1693, Rev Robert Owen was licensed for service by the Bishop of London. The Society for Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Land sent Robert to the Province of Maryland. Records indicate that Robert was married while in Wales and they had two sons when they came to America to settle in Calvert County, MD. In 1698, when Calvert and Charles Counties were divided up and parts stricken off and united to create Prince George County, his residence was in the new county. At that time an effort was being made to suppress the Quakers in Maryland and records show that 23 June 1703, he signed a protest against them as Clergyman for Prince George County. The old Money Book Records show that he was called to Wales in 1705 on account of the settlement of an estate, and that he left London about 13 September to return to Maryland. The children of Rev Robert and Mary Owen, so far as it has been possible to identify them from available records are: (7) Edward (7) John (7) Robert (7) Thomas (7) Lawrence That the Rev Robert Owen died in 1714 in Prince George County is proved by the records that on July 28, 1714, Mary Owen, widow and relict of Robert Owen renounced on the estate of her deceased husband in favor of Leven Covington as Administrator, who on January 25, 1715, filed his bond with John Wright and Philip Lee as surety for 500 pounds sterling. Philip Lee and William Beans were appointed to take inventory of the estate. No further information on Mary Owen, who possibly may have remarried. EDWARD OWEN (7) Edward Owen, son of Rev Robert and Mary Owen, must have been born in Wales before his father returned to America, as no record of his birth has been found here. His first appearance on public records is as a witness of a will in 1731, in Prince George County,

5 Volume 23, Issue 2 Owen Family News June 2008 Page 5 MD. In the same county on 25 Mar 1742, he purchased 200 acres of land called Shepherd s Hard Fortune from Richard Snowden, whose patent was dated 3 Nov The consideration was 40 pound Sterling. The tract is described as lyind and being in Prince George County on the west side of a branch of the Patuxent river, at the beginning tree of a tract called Brothers Content. (Liber Y, folio 456) This tract was in Franklin County after its formation in 1748 until it became part of Montgomery County when it was formed in It was the residence of Edward Owen until his death in January, As he died intestate, the home plantation descended by the English Law of Primogeniture to the eldest son who is, according, positively identified among the various Roberts on the records by the plantations name, Shepherd s Hard Fortune, which he mentioned in his will in 1779, as being where my deceased father lived. This eldest son, Robert, was appointed administrator of his father s estate. The name of Edward s wife was Barbara, but as her name does not appear among the administration records found, it may be supposed she predeceased him. The records do show that he was survived by the following children: (8) Robert (1731) (8) Thomas (8) Lawrence (8) Edward Edward Sr. died in January, JOHN OWEN (7) John Owen, son of Rev Robert and Mary Owen, was known as John Owen, Planter. Records indicate he was born in Wales when his parents returned there in 1705 for the settlement of an estate. However Prince George County was his home from infancy to middle age. This is proved by deeds recorded after the county was divided to form Frederick County in In these deeds he is still John, Owen, Planter, of Prince George County. The abstract of one dated and recorded 26 Mar 1746, conveys Rich Plains, containing 100 acres, from Matthew Pigman, Planter to John Owen, Planter of Prince George County, MD. The consideration being five thousand pounds of good merchantable tobacco. Tobacco was often used as a medium of exchange in these days. Record in Liber F.E., Folio 12. Another deed recorded 29 Mar 1749, in Lib E.E., Folio 623, conveys Wynn s Chance, containing 66 acres from John Wynn, Jun., to John Owen, Planter of Prince George County. A deed dated 9 May 1755, recorded in Frederick County in Liber E., Folio 734, conveys 50 acres of land called John & Molly Increased, from John Dowden and Mary Dowden, His wife, to John Owen, consideration being 20 pounds sterling. By deed dated 23 Sep 1777, and recorded in Montgomery County, MD, this land called John & Mollys Increased was conveyed from John Owen and Elizabeth Owen, his wife, to Solomon Stympson. That was the year the county was formed from part of Frederick County. (Frederick county had been part of Prince George county until 1745, and in earlier time Prince George county, which then included Frederick and Montgomery, was part of Calvert County. Their early records were all destroyed by fire 1882.)

6 Volume 23, Issue 2 Owen Family News June 2008 Page 6 These deeds of either sale or purchase do not include the home plantation he is known to have had in Prince George County, so it may be supposed he inherited that from his father and left it to his children. This plantation was near the present site of Federal City. Washington was not founded until 1790 and did not become the Federal City until The land records of Prince George County show that John Owen, Planter, and his brothers began acquiring tracts of land by purchase soon after 1740, they were already established as Planters, and frequently paid for the new possessions, either wholly or in part, with large quantities of tobacco. There are also frequent records of the purchase of negroes by various members of the family. But no record indicates at what period John Owen, Planter, ceased to be of Prince George County and become a resident of that part of Montgomery that later became a portion of The District of Columbia. Around 1740 John married Elizabeth Wynn. Their nine children, all born in Maryland, were: (8) Robert (8) Sarah (8) Elizabeth (8) Aquilla (8) William Roby 7 Dec (8) Thomas 1750 (8) John Jr (8) Lawrence 7 Feb 1753 (8) Hezekiah Family records indicate that John Owen, Planter, died at the home plantation after living to a ripe old age. Reverend Robert Owen Ordination (Prince George s County Maryland) By Paul H. Owen (This information is provided by a resource of the history of the Church of England. It is in reference to the ordination of Reverend Robert Owen.) The ordination location doesn't imply anything about the home generally, ordination was performed by the bishop of the diocese in which the ordinand was going to serve, but even this was not universally the case. The only church records that may give more details about his parentage are the records of the parish in which he was born. Some records of the colonial church do survive among the papers of the bishop of London, the bishop who had jurisdiction over the Anglican church in the Americas. These are known as the Fulham Papers and are now held at Lambeth Palace Library and there is a published catalogue of the collection edited, I think, by Manross.

7 Volume 23, Issue 2 Owen Family News June 2008 Page 7 It has a very good name index. (I do have a copy, but not to hand.) Some of the papers of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel also survive it paid the salaries of many ministers serving in the colonies. A few of these are also at Lambeth, and again there is a published catalogue these belonged to the archbishop of Canterbury, who was the Society s president. The papers of the Society itself are at Rhodes House, Oxford, but they are not catalogued (and what survives there are primarily the minute books, which take a great deal of time to work through if you are looking for references to particular individuals). That said, I have found a little more information. According to the records that we have collected, your Robert Owen was ordained by Bishop Lloyd at Eccleshall (where his palace was) on 25 Sept (There may be a transcription error in the date, but I would be a little surprised.) He is recorded as having been educated at Brasenose College, Oxford, and is specifically mentioned as being ordained as a curate for the province of Maryland (ad peragendum diaconi officium in provincia de Maryland) at the request of Dr Gray. We also have a record of a Robert Owen of Brasenose College, Oxford, being ordained priest by Bishop Compton of London on an unspecified day in September It seems to me to be highly likely that this is also your man there is only one Robert Owen educated at Brasenose at this time, he would have needed to be ordained priest to exercise full ministerial functions, that could only have happened in England, and Compton was the bishop with responsibility for the colonies. Foster s Alumni Oxoniensis, which provides a list of all those who were educated at Oxford University, notes that Robert Owen, the son of R. Owen of Llandrinio in Montgomeryshire, pleb, matriculated at Brasenose on 19 July 1690, aged 18. There is no record of him having graduated. This would, obviously, confirm the Welsh birth. The status of pleb, or plebian, under which he was admitted, would imply not necessarily that he was poor, but certainly that he did not come from a wealthy background. Please contact Paul Owen at plhowen@aol.com for further information on this material. Owen Reunion Announcement John W. Owen of Columbia, SC, DNA Grp #14 is in the late planning stages for an OWEN family reunion in northern Alabama, specifically Ft. Payne, where he was born. In the past just immediate family attended however the reunion is open for all the OWEN folks of this local area. The date is Saturday, July 5th, in Ft. Payne at Union City Park from 11 AM - 3 PM. A program along with a picnic is planned. Mailings will go out by 5/19/08. For more information contact John W. Owen at middleburgpharm@juno.com

8 Volume 23, Issue 2 Owen Family News June 2008 Page 8 (Robert Owen and His Legacy Cont. from page 1) The conference also concerns Owen's legacy: the ways in which Owen's ideas have been influential in the century and a half since his death. In the nineteenth century the first generation to appreciate Owen concentrated on his importance for the development of the co-operative movement, and on his secularism. Later, Fabian thinkers focused on his ideas for social reform, claiming him for a non-marxist tradition of British socialism. Marxist writers tended to be less sympathetic, pigeonholing Owen as a utopian socialist alongside Fourier and Saint-Simon. In the years between the world wars Fabian historians tried to integrate Owen into the history of the British working-class movement, but since 1945 Owen has been claimed by new left socialist historians, by feminist scholars, and by the American communitarian tradition. Today Owen's influence is felt in the global co-operative and fair trade movements, and his reputation stretches far beyond Wales and beyond Britain. Papers are on any of the following topics or on any other topics of relevance to the general theme of the conference: Owen and factory reform; Owen and education; Owen the businessman; Owen and trades unionism; Owen and co-operation; Owen and radical politics; Owen and Chartism; Owen and feminism; Owen and class struggle; Owen the autobiographer; Owen and religion; Owen and utopian socialism; Owen and human nature; Owen and Manchester; Owen and New Lanark; Owen and New Harmony; Owen and Queenwood; Owen and Wales; A New View of Society; New Moral World; Owen and political economy; Owen and Owenism; Owen and the historians. Proposals (maximum 500 words) for papers were submitted to either Professor Noel Thompson (n. thompson@swansea.ac.uk ) or to Professor Chris Williams (christopher.m.williams@swansea.ac.uk ). Chris Williams Department of History / Yr Adran Hanes, University of Wales Swansea / Prifysgol Cymru Abertawe, Singleton Park / Parc Singleton, Swansea / Abertawe, SA2 8PP. / ebost: christopher.m.williams@swansea.ac.uk Telephone / ffôn: Fax / ffacs: Mobile / ffôn symudol: Thanks from the Editor Thank you to Thomas Owen, Whit Athey, Scott Felgenhauer, Paul Owen, John Owen and Cliff Owen for contributing to this issue of the OFA Newsletter. I look forward to receiving more information from OFA members. Our newsletter is a reflection of our wonderful contributors, so keep up the good work.

9 Volume 23, Issue 2 Owen Family News June 2008 Page 9 Searching for a link to Robert Owen via Thomas Owen Lineage By Cliff Owen (cowen@sirus.com) In reading the Owen Family Association News and through the Internet, I see that most of the Owen families originated or live in the southern United States. Our family is from the north and generally has remained in the north, primarily New York and Michigan with one branch living out on the west coast in Washington and Oregon. Also, we have had DNA run on our family and find we are a stand-alone family at this time. The History of the Thomas Owen family was written by my Grandfather in the mid-1930 s after his uncle, George H. Owen visited Chicago for the Worlds Fair. The history of our family was getting lost fast with only two of the original children, George H. Owen and Orrin D. Owen (aka George DeBarr) still alive at that time. My Grandfather, George F. Owen, wrote the history out and sent copies off to other members of the family. From this, other members of the family compiled a family tree on what looks like butcher wrap, with lines going every which way. I got interested in genealogy during the winter of 2004 needing something to do to keep occupied while taking care of my aged Mother who was in rather poor health. After my Mother passed away, my wife and I took a trip from Holland, Michigan to the Catskills of New York. We met these cousins I had spoken to only over the phone when I made cold phone calls and introduced myself to them. On this trip we met five relatives in four days and came home with a wealth of information including the hand drawn family tree and this History of the Thomas Owen Family compiled by my Grandfather, which I never knew existed. My Grandfather typed out the original, making it somewhat easier to read, but full of typing errors. A cousin, Mr. Gail A. Owen retyped and edited, along with adding some additional facts. I, in turn added some additional facts, just to clarify some of the erroneous or missing information. My Grandfather wrote that we are related to Robert Owen, the Scottish Industrialist and Evangelist in that our William Owen was a brother to Robert Owen. We have been unable to prove this. Through research, my son John and myself have found that in the Robert Owen family there are no longer any living males with the Owen name. I have gone as far to ask the widow of the last Owen from that family if she had any hair from her late husband that we could have for a DNA sample. Robert Owen had two brothers and a sister and I have contacted a member of the brothers and the sister s family who are interested in genealogy. Of the brother, we have a great search going on looking for a male member still alive that would be willing to be part of the DNA library. The History of the Thomas Owen Family will be continued in the next issue of the OFA Newsletter.

10 Volume 23, Issue 2 Owen Family News June 2008 Page 10 Queries, We want Queries! Please send queries or information on queries to Carla Grune, cgrune@epatentmanager.com or mail to 784 S. Villier Ct. Virginia Beach, VA Jude Johnson (heyjudegirl2000@yahoo.com) seeks information on Beverly Basil OWENS b 1814 SC m Jane GIBSON in TN abt They located to AR by 1850, White River Township, Independence Co. Possible sister to Beverly Basil OWENS could be Permelia OWENS. Permelia Owens Brannan Born in Abbeville South Carolina. Died in Athens Texas, buried Meredith Campground Cemetery. Married John Byrd Brannan 1836, Hockersville (Alto), TN, Children: Beverly Basil Brannan, John Brannan, James Brannan, David Crawford Brannan, Stamps Brannan, Mattie Brannon and Williamson Brannon. Possible brother to Beverly Basil Owens could be Benjamin Alex Wiley OWENS: Birth: 7 SEP 1818 in Fairfield, South Carolina, Death: 14 OCT 1884 in Alameda Co., CA. Marriage to Jane MOORE b: 21 AUG 1823 at Plantation near Batesville, Independence, Arkansas, married: 23 NOV 1847 in Independence Co., Arkansas Owen Family News and Source Book Order Form CD ORDER FORM Name Address State Zip Description of CD [Adobe PDF format] *Amount x Qty = Total Owen Source Book $10.00 Book 1 Owen Family Newsletters [Vol 1-8] $10.00 Book 2 Owen Family Newsletters [Vol 9-12] $10.00 Book 3 Owen Family Newsletters [Vol 13-16] $10.00 Book 4 Owen Family Newsletters [Vol 17-20] $10.00 A complete set of all five CD s $35.00 Total (*includes shipping & handling) $ ** **Send this amount by check or money order payable to Owen Family Association, c/o Jane Owen 4190 Hurricane Shores Dr. Benton, AR (Please include a copy of this form with your order) These CD s are in Adobe PDF format and can be read on your computer by Adobe Reader software. If this software is not installed on your computer, it s free from Adobe.com..

11 Volume 23, Issue 2 Owen Family News June 2008 Page 11 Welcome New Members Members, if you have information about these Owen(s) lines, please contact our new member(s). Vickie Houston (#422) 7982 Monticello Lane, Sarasota, FL (941) ; SRQVICK@aol.com. Earliest ancestor: Ransom Owen ( ) Georgia, m. Elizabeth Swiney Rhonda Owens (#423) 2110 Catoe Road, Lancaster, SC Donald E. Owen (#424) 2007 Ottawa, Leavenworth, KS (913) ; Dowen96@KCRR.com. Earliest ancestor: John T. Owen b TN; m. Sarah A.; through his son Samuel Vance b MO. Betty Jane Owens-Dingus (#425) 1592 Dylan Drive Virginia Beach, VA ; VABJ@cox. net. Earliest ancestor: Cousin of Jan Owens Perry; Jan's ancestor Jacob Owens b 1784 VA, m. Mary "Polly" Sharp; Betty Jane's father Jesse E. Owens. Gilliam Doreen Smith (#426 ) P.O. Box 3084, Galveston, TX (512) MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION For information or an application for membership, please jmoeller@inil.com or write to: Owen Family Association c/o Josephine Moeller 401 S. 14th St., St. Charles, IL Do You Know The Origin? By Carla Grune I did some research and found a definition of a Southern Poor Man s Supper. It consists of some type of beans such as pintos, potatoes, fatback, and cornbread. I have not found the symbolic meaning for these food items. In addition, I found that, the Poor Man s Supper is a Christmas Eve tradition some families follow, used to symbolize Jesus' humble beginnings. Also, the light meal provides a complement through contrast to the next day's feast. Some families simply make grilled cheese sandwiches and chicken noodle soup. Tomato, vegetable, and bean soup are other good varieties that suit this purpose. Most importantly, however, to a traditional poor man's supper, is the meal should contain no meat since, typically, the poor could not afford meat at all. Besides soup, other options include potatoes baked, boiled, mashed, or sliced and fried cole slaw, sauerkraut, and bread pita, cornbread, or a long French-style loaf from which everyone tears a piece. The Poor Man's Supper doesn't mean that the food has to be tasteless or unfulfilling. What the meal is supposed to represent is reflected in the kinds of foods prepared and how they are put together as a meal. I welcome any articles from our wonderful readers about Owen folklore, customs, eateries, fashion, art-work, etc. I look forward to hearing from you.

12 Owen Family News Owen, a name worth knowing 1st class postage Owen Family Association Margaret Owen Parsons, Publisher Kings River Road Reedley CA Association Officers Thomas E. Owen, President 1478 Dallas Circle Marietta, GA (770) owenassoc@gmail.com M. Fred Owen, Vice President P.O. Box 4805 Horseshoe Bay, TX (830) fredowen@nctv.com Jane Owen, Secretary Historian 4190 Hurricane Shores Dr. Benton AR (501) edjaneowen@up-link.net George Shirley, Treasurer 508 Arbor Dr. Madison, MS (601) Gnshirley@comcast.net Josephine Moeller, Genealogist 401 S 14th St., St. Charles IL (630) Jmoeller@inil.com Board of Directors Robert McCrary George Shirley C. Owen Johnson Owen Family Association The Owen Family Association was organized in 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 in order to assist Owen researchers. Annual dues of $10.00 are payable January 1st. The Owen Family News is published quarterly and is subject to copyright.