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James
M. Owens is classed among the successful tillers of the soil and
stock raisers of Gourd Neck Township, Polk County, Arkansas, but
was born in Van Buren County in 1844, to William Jackson and Fannie "Davis" Owens,
the former born in Missouri, and the latter in Middle Tennessee. When
young both went to Van Buren County, Arkansas, where they met, married
and lived until about 1855, after which they spent a short
time residing in different counties, and about 1862 settled in Polk
County, Arkansas. In 1862 they started for Texas, but
Mr. Owens died before they located, and after the war the family
returned to Polk County, Arkansas, where Mrs. Owens and four of her
children still reside.
Mr.
Owens was a farmer and teacher, and was justice of the peace for
some years. He was, as is his wife, a member of the Cumberland
Presbyterian Church, and was a soldier in one of the early Indian
wars.
His
father, Horner Owens, died in Missouri, of Scotch-Irish origin,
and his wife's father, Jesse Davis, was one of the early settlers
of Van Buren County, Arkansas, where he died, a farmer.
James M. Owens is the eldest of three sons and five
daughters, his brothers and sisters, that are living being as follows:
Mary, Sarah C. - wife of William Reed, William Pinckney, Martha
- wife of James Barlow, and Huldah F.
- wife of
Frank Werber of Hot Springs.
Although
James M. was reared on the farm, he was given rather more meager
educational advantages than is usually given the farmer's boy, but
being naturally intelligent and a quick observer, he is an exceptionally
well-informed man. He resided on the Texas frontier during the war,
and for three years served in the Home Guards in Burnett
County.
His
marriage, which took place in Polk County, Arkansas, was to Miss
Angelana, daughter of Raleigh M. and Louisa L. "Dearberry" White,
both of whom died in Polk County, Arkansas, when Mrs. Owens
was a little child, her father having been a farmer throughout life. They
were among the early settlers in this section, and on the farm on
which they first settled, the subject of this sketch and his family
are now residing.
Mrs.
Owens was born in Mississippi, and has borne her husband eleven children,
seven of whom are living. They have been occupants of their present
farm since 1868, it being situated seven miles north of Dallas on
the Ouachita River, and comprising about 400 acres, with 100
acres cleared. He is a well-known and prosperous farmer
of this section, and as a neighbor and citizen, too much can not
be said in his praise. His land is well improved,
and excellent build- ings are the rule and not the exception, his
fences and orchard being also of the best. Nearly all
his land that is under cultivation he has cleared himself, and all
his property has been obtained by his own industry and
with the aid of his wife, who has proved a true helpmate to him. He
belongs to Dallas Lodge of the A.F.& A.M., Owens Chapel
Lodge of
the Farmers' Alliance, and has been steward in the Cumberland Presbyterian
Church for a number of years, his wife being a member
of the Missionary Baptist Church. |
