OWEN FAMILY NEWS. PLANS FOR 11TH BEINNIAL REUNION A Not To Be Missed Event

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1 OWEN FAMILY NEWS Volume 24, Issue 4 INSIDE THIS ISSUE IN THIS ISSUE Our Feature Front Page Article: Descendants Invitation of William 2011 and Drucilla Biennial Echols Reunion Owen Part 4 C. Owen Johnson Features Page 52 Owens at Valley Forge Reuben Page Pickett 4 Owen and His Descendants: Adrian Bio: Cliff Boone Owen Owen Our Jody New Moeller Historian and Lee Gentemenn Page 5 Page 55 Major Ezra Owen and His Courageous IN FUTURE Grandson ISSUES Pages 8, 9 - March Feature Article - Descendants DNA Update of William and Drucilla Echols Owen Part 5 Page 7 by C. Owen Johnson Departments Descendants of Reuben President s Pickett Owen Part Notebook 4 by Josephine Page 2 Moeller New! Profiles A David Franklin Owen Page 6 Narrative Volunteers by Hugh Goodman Needed Page 9 Descendancy of Henry Queries Buck Owen By Marshall Page 10 Thomas Ewing Welcome Elmer New Fidler Members! Story By Louis Page 11 Owen Who Ya Gonna Call? Owen Page Histories 11 Chris Hanlin Next Issue To Be Determined Published by Owen Family Association http// December 2009 PLANS FOR 11TH BEINNIAL REUNION A Not To Be Missed Event September 23-24, 2011 The Reunion will be held in the famed historical village of New Harmony, Indiana, associated with the great 19th Century industrialist, Robert Owen. The decision is already receiving quite a buzz. Word has leaked out and those who have heard are saying they ll be there! Our host will be Cliff Owen, our newly elected Historian. Cliff is a descendant of - not Robert Owen, but Robert s brother, William Owen. The village is self-contained and is open for day visitors and larger groups such as ours over several days. It is tucked away from the world (about 30 miles from Evansville, In.) and operated as a resort. You ll love it. Our week-end will follow the traditional format which has been used in all our most successful reunions. The first evening (after our afternoon arrivals) we ll be coming together in an informal, come-as-you-are space to greet old friends and meet new ones. Who knows? You may be meeting strangers who turn out to be kin! On Saturday, we will meet again for our usual work-shop. It s about us, it s about you! Several of our members will lead off with discussions on different aspects on our consuming passion: researching our ancestry. You ll be able to ask your questions and contribute to the discussion. Our DNA administrator, Whit Athey will have an hour for updates on the new lines opening up since our 2007 meeting. Where did your line originate? It s always a rewarding morning. That afternoon, you ll be free to do whatever you like and in this case, you re invited to tour the village as a group with informed guides from the University of Evansville, IN. Don t want to walk? Take one of the waiting golf carts (chief mode of transportation on the village streets. Oh yes, your cars are welcome on the streets also). Cont d on page 3

2 Publisher Margaret Owen Parsons Kings River Rd. Reedley, CA (559) Editorial Staff of the Owen Newsletter Editor AD HOC Staff Awaiting new editor Editor : (513) owenfanatic@aol.com Editorial Assistant Jane Holland Owen Transcriptionist Alisia Sullivan Davis Proof Reader Carolee Moncur, PhD 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. From Our President s Notebook Here at Association headquarters (headquarters actually being scattered over hundreds of miles with everyone keeping in touch electronically) things are moving rapidly. Many of you will be surprised and very gratified to learn that we ve finally found an able WEB Master. Introducing! Donn Davidson, an experienced professional of the computer world. Donn has stepped up to the plate to build a worthy Website for the Association. It will take some time to get off the ground and we know you will do your part and help him win the ball game! Your input is needed to make our website successful. We have also pledged to re-examine the Aims of our organization which are proclaimed on the address page of every issue of the newsletter. We re already assessing where we can act more aggressively to fulfill those missions. In the March issue we will discuss a renewal of the pledge to publish a periodic, cumulative listing of historic Owen homes (as we uncover them) and historic sites associated with Owen history. (There are some!) And we are searching for those cemeteries scattered throughout this land where our ancestors have found their resting places. In March we will explain further and tell you how you can participate in this undertaking (No pun intended!) One of our members, Judy Peeples, has accepted the chairmanship to get the project up and running. Many thanks, Judy! It s all in the service of furthering your research into your ancestry as well as your expressed interest in all things Owen. We thank you for your input and welcome the comments we have been receiving about our push toward our stated goals. We re all in it together! From all of us here to all of you out there: We wish you all a MERRY CHRISTMAS, and A HAPPY, PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR! 2 Jane Owen Hillard

3 Cont d from page 1 3 In the evening a great buffet will be served in Our large meeting room which will be followed by our business meeting. You will be voting in several items, including an election of officers. Want to be an officer? Get in touch with our vice-president, Fred Owen and say you re willing and able! Cliff has already lined up a good speaker to end on an inspiring note. By the way, Cliff then a new member attended his first meeting at Asheville, N.C. in When asked how he liked the experience, Cliff replied: I was impressed by the caliber of the people who attended! Well, whether the 2011 will be your first or sixth Reunion, you will come away with that feeling. Mark your calendars now! 2010 OWEN FAMILY ASSOCIATION Dues Reminder Annual Membership renewal is due January 1 each year. Prospective members may contact Jody Moeller, Association Genealogist for a membership application: 401 S 14th St., St. Charles, IL jmoeller@inil.com. We do not accept multiple-year memberships. MEMBERSHIP (1 YEAR) $10.00, HONORARY (FREE)* Make check payable to Owen Family Association and mail to: Owen Family Association c/o George N. Shirley, 508 Arbor Dr., Madison, MS Name: Address: City: State: Zip Code: Phone: ( ) - Preferred Newsletter Delivery (check one) United States Postal Service * Honorary Members please complete annual dues notice to update contact information.

4 DECEMBER, 1779 AT VALLEY FORGE Twenty-six Owens in Washington s Command With Christmas at hand, we would do well to reflect on that nearly defeated army s astounding victory 230 years ago. With his army in tatters, Washington, his officers and men were huddled in the miserably cold, snowed-in camp. Near starvation, in steadily diminishing numbers the soldiers, with their bare, bleeding feet wrapped in burlap bags, were deserting rapidly. General Washington called his officers together and told them their only hope: Cross the freezing Delaware River and defeat the British forces settled there on the New Jersey Shore. The officers remonstrated: We re few starving and freezing; they re several thousands, trained and ready. Washington replied that his Army, once considerable in size, had dwindled to mere hundreds and by Spring would be non-existent. He reminded them all: IF we do nothing, we will be defeated and, in defeat, we will all be hanged. They knew that to be true. Thus they set out crossing the Delaware in rowboats, the men rowing with their bootless feet wrapped in burlap. At Trenton, New Jersey the Hessian troops in their warm quarters had been celebrating for hours and were now lost in drink. All of them were quickly captured. Our forces then walked into the town to the British headquarters where they were also in a state of inebriation. Unbelievable success! When word of the stunning defeat got out, American enlistments poured in, just as Washington predicted. Trenton signaled the coming end of British rule in America. It culminated with Cornwallis total defeat at Yorktown, Virginia in October Were there any officers and men named Owen in that winter of 1779 at Valley Forge? Absolutely! We are grateful that Arnie Owen our president for many years, researched and published their names; he has kindly given his permission to print the list. There were three officers and twenty-three men named Owen (S) representing seven Colonies: 4 Name State Rank Regiment Name State Rank Regiment Godfrey Owen VA PVT 6th VA Hiram Owen NJ SGT 2nd NJ James Owen VA PVT 14th VA James Owen NJ PVT Spencer Regt John Owen MA PVT 4th MA James Owen VA PVT 10th VA Jonathan Owen MA PVT 4th MA John Owen VA PVT 1st VA Stephen Owen NC 1st Lieu 8th NC John Owen NC PVT 2nd NC Stephen Owen NJ PVT 4th NJ Owen Owens PA PVT 5th PA William Owen MA Kifer 9th MA Robert Owen DE PVT 1st DEL David Owen MA PVT 13th MA Rolley Owens VA PVT 3rd VA Amaziah Owen NY PVT 4th NY Thomas Owens MA PVT 13th MA Barnaby Owen PA Adjutant Barnaby Owen PA 2nd Lieu 4th PA Thomas Owens PA PVT 11th PA 8th PA Vincent Owens VA PVT 2nd VA Charles Owen VA Corp. 1st VA William Owen VA PVT 2nd VA David Owen PA PVT 6th PA William Owen DE PVT 1st DEL

5 Clifford Owen, Recently Elected Historian of OFA 5 Cliff has been seriously searching for his family for the past five years. While that isn t a very long time, the success has been very good in that he has found the lines of each of his greatgrandfathers brothers and sisters. When he started searching, he didn t believe he would find anybody, let alone anybody who had left an indelible mark on the family of man. Initially, the oldest family member he found was his g-g-g-grandfather, William Owen. William was born in Wales in With his wife, Dinah, and son William, Jr., he arrived in the United States in We are quite sure of the 1814 date because the second child, Thomas, was born while the boat was in quarantine in New York Harbor, checking the passengers for health problems. Upon receiving clean bills of health, the family made their way up and into the Catskill Mountains of New York and set up housekeeping. What William did for a living is still a mystery, but a good bet is that he was a farmer and did some logging up in the mountains. Another child, a daughter named Mary, was born in 1817 up in the Catskills. Cliff could go on for a number of pages, but then he would have nothing to talk about at our next OFA meeting in However, since g-g-g-grandfather, William, was the brother of Industrialist Robert Owen - who did leave descendents some of whom will attend the 2011 reunion, we hope we can get them to join our Association. Clifford F. Owen was born in Oak Park, Illinois just after the start of WWII. His father was a machinist and his mother was, like most wives at the time, a homemaker. All of his grammar schooling was in Oak Park and in 1956 the family moved to Holland, Michigan where Cliff graduated from high school in Cliff has been married to the same lovely person for 44 years, and they have three children, two boys and a girl. Their oldest son has joined in on the genealogy research which resulted in finding that all of their records were located in Holland, MI and Columbus, OH. In his working life he had three careers. First, he went to school and studied commercial photography. He worked in this profession for several years and then changed professions. Number two career started as a laboratory technician in the pigments research laboratory for Chemetron Corporation, which eventually became part of the German chemical giant BASF. In this position he moved up from technician to the rank of chemist. About 1980, his boss thought Cliff should take over some of his duties, which added to Cliff s workload, but gave him a better view of how business worked. Cliff decided that he needed more business skill and returned to college, going to night classes, and after cramming four years of college into six years; he graduated with a BSBA in Accounting. That was in 1986 just before he was to graduate, BASF decided to re-organize. That is a nice way of saying, eliminate your job! That started career number three in accounting; Cliff has worked for one of the largest office furniture companies in the US, Machine Tool Company, and a Japanese manufacturing company. He finished up his accounting career working in the public accounting sector, specializing in working with small companies making or repairing their accounting system and training the owners to do their own accounting using the computer and a variety of different accounting software s. For short, he cleans up messes! Busy as he was professionally, Cliff has always been active in civic organizations. He was a member of the Holland Jaycees for eleven years and was elected to the board of directors of that organization for a four-year term. He is also active in the Holland Genealogical Society and the Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War.

6 PROFILE: VOLUNTEER EXTRAODINAIRE Alisia Sullivan Davis 6 Unbelievable good fortune came our way when Alisia agreed to take on the task of transcribing our copy through the varied technological quirks demanded by printers today. Alisia Sullivan Davis is neither an Owen nor an amateur genealogist. She came to our attention when I read her profile in Mason Living Magazine. Alisia received her Communications degree from Bowling Green State University (Bowling Green, OH) and spent two years as the Director of marketing, public relations and special events for Cincy Magazine. Service to others is something that Alisia has always made sure to make time for. Her service work includes the huge commitment of coaching the award winning MND Junior Cougars dance team for the past three years. This October, Alisia celebrates her one year anniversary as the Director of Annual Giving and alumnae Relations at her beloved Alma Mater, Mount Notre Dame High School (MND) - an all girls, private school in Reading, OH. In the Mason Living profile Alisia was quoted as saying she was given the unique opportunity to find out what MND alumnae needs are and exploring solutions to answer those needs. Alisia went on to explain her goals for the future, including broadening the paths of communication through the use of newsletters and online social networking. Whoa! Newsletters! Networking! That s what we do but we have a dilemma. Our solutions-minded vice-president, Fred Owen had suggested we might try to get someone at a School of Journalism at little expense to take on the task of transposing our typed copy into the forms demanded by today s printers. Two days later I m reading the laudatory profile of Alisia Davis. I called Alisia at her office to congratulate her on the story that was written about her, and commended her for her great work. She had not only not read the article, but did not know it was being published. After chatting a bit, I asked her if one of their alumnae might take on a project for us. Alisia asked the right questions. Who were we? What was our newsletter about? I told her our name, explained we re not one Owen Family but many, told her about submissions by our readers and our DNA project. She was intrigued. I ll do it myself! Alisia Said. Oh no, you re too busy, it s such a little job. I d love to do it, and of course there will be no charge. When I protested she said Besides emphasizing academics, we teach our students the value of service to others. I was taught that too when I was a student and want to lead by example. Alisia Davis is a dynamic, young woman. The profile I read ended with a quote from her boss, Director of Advancement at MND, Mrs. Sparkle Worley who said, Alisia was an early Christmas present for us. She is very talented and will move Alumnae Relations forward with her insights and initiatives. We too have received an early Christmas present and are thankful we can welcome her aboard the newsletter staff for a few hours four times a year. Jane Owen Hillard

7 DNA UPDATE A Profile 7 We usually reserve a page for Dr. Whit Athey s UPDATE explaining the recent additions to our growing portfolio of genetic testing results. We will not have the pleasure reading about our latest, DNA-Cousins in this issue, but Whit (which is what we all call him) will be returning n our first issue of You may not know that in addition to giving our association so much of his time, Whit also does the same kind of pro bono service as Editor of the Journal of Genetic Genealogy ( That journal is a place for people to publish their work in genetics as it applies to genealogy and anthropology. They also have an interest in the kind of inquiry which fascinates our Owen group. Dr. Athey has resigned as Editor effective after their November issue because of the overload and will Devote More of His Time To Our Project. It is hard to express our appreciation for what he has done for us and will continue to do for us. He apologizes for the current delay in updating our project web site, but will catch up with that soon probably by the time your are reading this). As you know, Whit takes the raw data from FTDNA and other research facilities who have analyzed our members Y chromosome markers to see who has Owen male line connections. He groups members who match family groups expressing the same or similar Haplotypes. You can visit the project web site at any time and see the latest results: This is a painstaking time-consuming task. The Update which he publishes for us is the ultimate result. At the Biennial Reunion in Ashville, N.C. in 2007, he gave a Keynote speech about the exciting discoveries made possible by the famous race to reveal the entire human Genome. He later gave a workshop in which he traced the probable migratory patterns of early mankind and, using our Haplotype groupings related the probable earliest place of residency for each of our Owen DNA Family Groups (now numbering 23). We were all amazed, perhaps stunned, by what is being uncovered today. Dr. Athey has pledged to attend our 2011 Reunion (his mother was an Owen descendant and will, we hope, also attend the Reunion). There he will conduct a DNA workshop for beginners and also a one-hour workshop to bring up to date our members who have submitted DNA samples since September We hear so much praise for Whit Athey about his fine contribution to our Association and we take this opportunity to offer our ardent gratitude.

8 Major Ezra Owen And His Courageous Grandson Researchers and Contributors Ed & Jane Owen 8 Major Ezra Owen was an adventurer and pioneer, having been in the Battle of New Orleans as well as in the fierce and bloody ground of Kentucky. He and others, including Daniel Boone had fought to protect small frontier settlements from attacks by the American Indians. As will be seen, however, his luster pales when compared with the courage of one of his grandsons, David Owen Dodd as he faced death at the age of seventeen. David Owen Dodd is remembered and celebrated today. Major Ezra Owen came to western Pulaski County, Arkansas in 1825 which later was part of Saline County with his extended family. He was son of William and Drucilla Echols Owen, born on March 17, 1770 in Virginia, possibly in Halifax County. All of you have heard of that family and many of you descend from William and Drucilla. Ezra Owen married Lydia Vance, she at the age of thirteen, in Georgia. In 1829, Ezra established a post office called Dogwood Springs, it being the first post office in the area that became Saline County. Owen was appointed postmaster. Talk of statehood for the Arkansas Territory was in full swing in 1835 and the Owen Family changed the name Dogwood Springs to Collegeville hoping it would be the site of the new state capitol. Major Owen was very active in politics and was the doorkeeper of the House of Representatives of Arkansas Territory for a time. He lobbied for his town, citing its central location and the convenience of the Military Road which was the main road in the state. After the defeat of his plan, which lost out to Little Rock as capitol and Benton as county seat, he didn t give up. His third ambition was to establish a state college. In 1838 he filed a plat of the town of Collegeville at the courthouse. It is comprised of 40 acres with 36 town lots and all the streets had substantial names, such as College Street, State Street, Turnpike Avenue and Main Street. That plan also failed. Collegeville is in Owen Township and Owen Creek was named after Major Owen, so after all, he didn t come out a total loser. All his far-reaching visions failed to materialize, possibly the reason he finally emigrated to Texas in There he founded another town where he lived until his death on October 11, He was ninety years old. Ezra Owen was the maternal grandfather of David Owen Dodd through his daughter Lydia Owen Dodd. His grandson also left his mark here in Arkansas and is honored there today. Dodd family genealogy: Andrew Marion Dodd, b. May 29, 1823 Alabama - - d. November 16, 1867 at Jackson Ms, married Lydia Echols Owen (b d. 1885) on April 27, 1843 in Collegeville, Saline County, Arkansas. To them was born Sarah Lydia Senhora Dodd b. 18 Jan 1845 in Collegeville, Arkansas; David Owen Dodd b. 10 Nov 1846 in Lavaca Co., Tx; Leonora Dodd b: 28 Jan 1850 in Longpoint, Texas; Ann Eliza Dodd b: 28 July 1852.

9 Camden, Arkansas, he mistakenly re-entered Union territory. Found to be without a pass, Union soldiers questioned him and discovered that he was carrying a notebook with the location of Union troops in the area. He was arrested and tried by a military tribunal, with little defense offered for his actions. The tribunal found him guilty of treason and he was sentenced to be hung for his crime in January, On that frigid day in January when even the Arkansas River was frozen over, a crowd of five to six thousand gathered to watch the hanging. As they prepared to hang David, the executioner had forgotten the handkerchief to cover his eyes and David told him he could use the one in his (David s) coat pocket. Dodd stood on the tailgate of a wagon under the noose. The executioner, named Dekay, fixed the rope around David s neck and the prop was knocked from under the tailgate. The rope stretched and the boy dangled, strangling him to death for more than a full five minutes. The record is unclear about exactly how Dodd died. Some contend that one or two soldiers grabbed his legs to add weight and hasten his death. Others hold that a soldier shimmied up the gibbet to grab the noose, twist the rope and raise the condemned off the ground. Though Dodd did not reveal the source of the information, a fifteen-year old girl named Mary Dodge and her father were summarily escorted back to their home in Vermont. These events have led to David Owen Dodd being called the Boy Martyr of the Confederacy. General Fagan was for the rest of his life vilified as the man who coerced David into spying. Whether he actually did act as a spy or not is uncertain. Davis was buried in the beautiful old historical Mount Holly Cemetery in Little Rock, Arkansas which is well manicured and the final resting place for so many well-known and important people. Tombstones there, once very beautiful, are still amazing. Each January, the Sons of the Confederate Veterans honor Dodd in a ceremony at his grave site. In November, 1984, the organization awarded the Confederate Medal of Honor to Dodd, one of twenty -two persons honored. The full story of David O. Dodd can be located at * * * * * * * * * * * Note: History of Ezra Owen and David Owen Dodd will be found in many print publications and on the internet. All are interesting. The writers above have hewed mostly to data in newspaper accounts, including the old Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Little Rock and The Brenton Courier, of Benton, Arkansas. The Dodd family lived in Benton before moving to Little Rock, Arkansas. Benton is presently a bedroom community to Little Rock, where so many of our residents man the offices or commercial and world-wide business establishments in the city. Volunteers Needed 9 Volunteers are always needed. Tell us what your interests are and what you would like to do to help. We ll find a place for you! Call our president, Jane Owen Hillard today at (513)

10 Queries, We want Queries! Brick Wall! Seeking info exchange with descendents of George Owen (ca 1770 VA aft 1850 Haywood Co NC) - for brevity sons only follow through to include: Peter m Polly Monroe/ Munrow, William m Margaret Tilly, Hezekiah m Lucinda McCamish, Daniel m Martha Jane Rice, Jacob m Elizabeth Leatherwood, most married in Haywood Co NC. George s son Jacob had sons including at least; Jacob Riley, 3 Jan 1828; Aldophus Minor, born in 1829; Reuben L., 11 Oct 1831; Samuel Paton, born Anyone from this family via Jacob s son Reuben L. Any perspective or detail on this line greatly appreciated. Thank you. Cole.owen@sbcglobal.net. Searching for information about a cluster of Owen families living adjacent to each other in in Shelby County TN. Sarah Hatton Owen ( ), widow of John Owen (died bef 1826), her sons Rev. Travis Owen ( ) married to Louisa McNeil, and William Owen married to Harriet A. West. Lastly, relationship unknown, Bluett H. Owen married to Rebecca Clarissa West. After the father John Owen died in Abbeyville District, SC, his sons Travis and William were executors of his estate, which was to be distributed to his unnamed 11 children. They moved with their mother Sarah first to Bedford County, TN and then on to Shelby County, TN. After Sarah died, Travis moved to Conway County, Arkansas and died in Pope County, AR. Bluett s wife Rebecca died in Shelby County, TN in 1848 and on 1850 census two of their children are living with William and Harriet and others with various relatives. We can find no other clue as to the fate of Bluett. DNA tests place Bluett in Owen group 12 a. If you have any information on these families or know of any descendants of Travis or William to be tested, please contact Natalie Radov at vodar@msn.com. Owen Family News and Source Book Order Form CD ORDER FORM Name Address State Zip 10 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 Welcome New Members 11 Every new member is greeted with open arms! The continuation of the Association and its services depend on a steady influx of new members. Our By-Laws state that every prospective member will trace their lineage back to their earliest known Owen ancestor. If you have relatives or friends with Owen ancestry, tell them about our organization and the newsletter. They will receive a warm reception from all of us. New Members of the 3rd and 4th Quarters 2009 Gene H. Owen (#440) 686 Kellner Road, South, Columbus, OH (614) ; owengeno@sbcglobal.net. Earliest ancestor: Not Available Joyce Owen (#441) 2210 Michigan Street, Melbourne, FL (321) ; jowen7@aol.com. Earliest Ancestor: Elisha Owens 1794 NC 1867 VA m Deliah Rhea Vernice Harvey (#442) 2000 East West Connector, Apt. 104, Austell, GA (770) vharvey@avillager.org. Earliest Ancestor: Nancy Owen b 1807 GA m Thomas Davis Kermit & Jerry Owen (#443) 409 2nd Street, SW, Burkeville, VA (434) ; omapops@embarqmail.com. Earliest Ancestor: John Owen abt 1730, Surry Co., VA John R. Owen (#444) 2612 W. Milton, St. Louis, Mo (314) ; johnowensh@yahoo.com. Earliest Ancestor: Not available. Who Ya Gonna Call? TO JOIN OUR ASSOCIATION: Contact our Membership Chairman: Josephine Moeller at jmoeller@inil.com; 401 S 14th St., Charles, IL TO REPORT ADDRESS/PHONE/ CHANGE OR MISSED NEWSLETTER: Contact the Publisher: Margaret Owen Parsons at ofanewsletter@comcast.net; Margaret Owen Parsons, Kings River Rd., Reedley, CA TO FIND OUT ABOUT A BIENNIAL REUNION: Contact the host of the event, who will be named at least one year ahead of time. TO SUBMIT A STORY OR QUERY OR TO COMMENT OR QUESTION A PUBLISHED ITEM: Contact the Editor: owenfanatic@aol.com or mail submission to: Newsletter Editor, 4136 E. Village Dr.,

12 Owen Family News Owen, a name worth knowing 12 First Class Postage Owen Family Association Margaret Owen Parsons, Publisher Kings River Road Reedley CA Association Officers Jane Owen Hillard, President 4136 E Village Dr., Mason, OH (513) johillard@up-link.net M. Fred Owen, Vice President 111 Buggy Whip, Horseshoe Bay, TX (830) fredowen@nctv.com Jane Owen, Secretary 4190 Hurricane Shores Dr. Benton AR (501) edjaneowen@up-link.net George N. Shirley, Treasurer 508 Arbor Dr. Madison, MS (601) Gnshirley@comcast.net Margaret Owen Thorpe, Genealogist 834 Van Buren Avenue, St. Paul, MN (651) margaret@owenideas.com Clifford F. Owen, Historian 70 Oak Valley Dr., Holland, MI (616) cowen@sirus.com Board of Directors C. Owen Johnson, Founder Arnold C. Owen, Past President Robert McCrary, Early Secretary George N. Shirley, Liaison 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.