John Richard Owens II |
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Holley and Martha's g-g-grandson John died of starvation and exposure in a Communist Chinese prison camp near the Yalu River. His remains have never been recovered. |
Holley Owens and Martha Jane Powell
abt 1826-Apr 1860 and 11 Aug 1831-02 Nov 1903
Descendant List and Notes
From Barbour County to Pike
A marriage license was granted to Holley Owens and Martha Powell on 25 Sep 1848 in Barbour County, Alabama. They appear on the 1850 census of Pike County, Alabama. His age was given as 24 and his birthplace was given as North Carolina. She was 22, born in Georgia. Their 1 year old daughter, Samantha, had been born in Alabama. Also living in their household at that time was 21 year old Hariett Owens, born in Georgia.
There is a Pike County deed dated 2 Dec 1852, from Holley and Martha Owen (without an ‘s’) to Thomas Owens for the sale of 40 acres for $200, witnessed by Daniel Powell. Apparently, they soon moved down into Coffee County. Holley does not appear in the 1860 census of Coffee County, though, because the 1860 Mortality Schedule of that county lists him as having died suddenly in April, 1860, of apoplexy (what we now call a stroke). His age at death was listed as 37.
This age does not quite tally with the age of about 34 which he would have been in 1860 if the age of 24 listed in 1850 was close to correct. Since these are the only sources referencing his age, we do not know exactly when he was born. As the 1850 source was closer to the actual event, I use c1826 as his birth date. The Mortality Schedule entry lists his occupation as ‘laborer’, and again, lists his birthplace as North Carolina. On this entry the name is spelled Owen, without an ‘s’.
Martha J. Owens appears in household #549 of the 1860 census of Coffee County, in or near Elba. Her age was 28, and her occupation was ‘weaving’. (Not far away, in household #594, lived Nancy Powell, age 61, whose occupation was also ‘weaving’. This Nancy was possibly Martha Jane’s mother, but, as yet, there is no evidence.) The children in Martha Jane’s household in 1860 were: Nancy A, 11 (apparently the same person as Samantha in 1850), Daniel I., 9, Elizabeth A, 7, John H. H., 4, and Martha A, 2, all having been born in Alabama.
Alabama conducted a state census in 1866, but very little detailed information is given about residents. No names were recorded in 1866 other than head of household, and ages were given only in ranges. Martha's household consisted of 1 female age 30-40 (herself), 2 males age 10-20 (Daniel and John H.), 1 female under 10 (Martha) and 2 females under 20 (Samantha and Elizabeth).
From Pike to Coffee to Geneva
On that census of 1866, Martha was listed in Coffee County, 7 entries from Alfred Leddon, who had received a land patent in 1858 in the south Marl area, which became part of Geneva County in 1868. Martha J Owens had received a cash land patent in Dec 1860 for 160 acres down near Goat Hill Road (County Rd 4) about three miles west of Alfred Leddon's place. Her brother, Daniel F. Powell, received a cash patent on the same day for a parcel of 80 acres touching corners with hers. Their land was southeast of Samson in the same township where her grandson William H Owens and also William W Owens and two of his sons would receive patents in the 1890s and early 1900s.
In 1870, however, Martha Jane and her children were not in the newly created Geneva County where she had received the land patent in Dec 1860. Apparently, they had left there and moved back north to an area just west of Elba, possibly in Dannelly's (Danley's) Crossroads., as neighbors from 1870 still in the area in 1880 were designated as being in that community. This time, her age was 44. By 1880, Martha Jane was back in Geneva County, where she was listed as a widow, age 50, household #203. Daughter Elizabeth, 25, was the only child remaining at home with her.
As you can see, none of the ages given for Martha Jane calculate to the same birth year, leaving a range of 1825-1832. Census ages are only clues, at best. Using the age of 22 from the 1850 census, the earliest reference found, produces a birth year of about 1828. Her tombstone gives her birth date as 11 Aug 1831, so this is the year I have used.
Where did Martha Jane come from?
Rebecca Newsom Dobson, of Ozark, Al., was a great-granddaughter of Daniel Franklin Powell, Martha Jane’s brother. In her book Possums Run over Their Graves, Mrs. Dobson recounts the history of her Powell line. She lists Nancy Caroline Cox (1810 - 1895) and Elijah Powell (1786 - 1845) as the parents of Martha and Daniel. She lists Britain Powell (1740 - 1838) of Virginia as father of Elijah. As yet, I have not been able to document this lineage.
Mrs. Dobson noted in a letter to me that "Martha Jane Powell Owens lived and worked as housekeeper for Judge McAlilly in Geneva." (I assume that meant she lived in his household, but, judging from the 1870 and 1880 censuses, this was a different Martha Powell.) It was an item in the ‘Possums’ book stating that Martha Jane was buried at Hurricane Creek Cemetery in Holmes County, Fl. that enabled me to find her grave.
Hurricane Creek
None of us had ever heard of Hurricane Creek before, so during Thanksgiving week 1996, my cousin Sherl Morden and I set out on an excursion to Holmes County. We had the good fortune to meet up with a wonderful retired gentleman named Gene Weeks, who spent much of his time documenting old cemeteries. He hauled us around to more cemeteries than we would ever have found without his help.
Sure enough, at Hurricane Creek, on Highway 2A next to Stafford Road, we found Martha’s grave. It even had a stone with dates! The marker read: Martha J., wife of Holley Owens, born 11 Aug 1831, died 2 Nov 1903. The grave was in the Stafford family plot, as were the graves of her three daughters, Elizabeth A. Owens Stafford 15 Dec 1853 - 14 Feb 1918 (first wife of John S. Stafford, according to Mr. Weeks, although she may actually have been his second), Samantha E. Pope 2 Sep 1852 - 18 Jul 1918 (m. Thomas Pope, 23 Jun 1868, Barbour County) and Martha Ann Sorrells 5 Oct 1864 - 24 Oct 1930. What a jackpot!
We did not find any grave for Holley Owens, though. An item in Mrs. Dobson’s book indicated that he might be buried at Stephens Ferry Cemetery. Mr. Weeks took us to the McDuffie cemetery on Stephens Ferry Road near Geneva, where we found many McDuffies, Childses, Danleys and other familiar names, but no Holley Owens. Since he died in upper Coffee County, it would seem likely that he was buried somewhere there, rather than down in Geneva or Holmes. Wherever he is, there may not be a stone to mark the place.
Owen or Owens?
A few words about the name. My mother and grandmother both were adamant that there was no ‘s’ on their name Owen. All my uncles and aunts said the same. Nevertheless, on various records and tombstones, there is a mixture of spellings, some with an ‘s’ and some without, even for the same person. The majority seem to have an ‘s’. Although I respect my mother’s family’s traditions, I have decided to use the Owens spelling for all my documentation, just for the sake of consistency. In reports of records found, I include or omit the ‘s’ as it was used, so don’t let it bother you if one time a name is Owen and later appears as Owens. Let’s just say that, even if it’s spelled with an ‘s’, some chose not to pronounce it that way.
Another spelling anomaly I have had to contend with is the middle name of my great-grandfather Daniel Irvin Owens. On all the census records that I have found for him, his name looks like Daniel J, but his death certificate gives his middle name as Irvin. His tombstone has Daniel E (for Ervin as a variant of Irvin, I assume) Owens. Since the handwritten ‘J’ and ‘I’ of the census are virtually indistinguishable from each other, I have concluded that it was really Daniel I on the census.
