Person:Jonathan Owen (8)

From "The Owen Family" website at http://www.leesgenes.com/owen/index.htm and http://www.leesgenes.com/owen/5jonathan.htm
"Jonathan was born in 1749 in Middletown, Orange County, New York, to . . . . Well, immediately there is a problem, because various sources give him various parents. I have until recently given him Ebenezer and Temperance Helme as parents, based on Hook's article in The American Genealogist - but only because Hook claims there is family tradition for this (but he does not cite the source, so I don't know how good it is). On my own, I would have linked our Jonathan with the descendants of Jonathan and Bethia Terry, based on geography and names - there are no Ebenezers and no Temperances among Jonathan's descendants. [Hook himself was tempted in this direction also.]

Just recently I came across an exchange by Una Bowman and Linda Hansen on the Owen Family GenForum site - both Una and Linda believe his father to have been Nathaniel son of Jonathan and Bethia Terry. Those two are researchers I REALLY respect, and so I have changed my mind, and decided to go with Nathaniel as the father of Jonathan. But it is only an opinion - there is no rock-solid documentation. Hook does not source his "family tradition," while Una and Linda have a Bible record - but there are problems with that also [From Una: "Unfortunately. at the time material was presented to establish the DAR line to Jonathan Owen (wife Eleanor) the date was only verified and no picture of the actual pages [was included]." If the statement "Nathaniel Owen, born about 1700, father of Jonathan Owen 1st . . . " was written by Jonathan b 1783, then it is very likely true - surely he would know his own grandfather's name.]

At this point [July, 2007], I believe Nathaniel to have been Jonathan's father - but that is just opinion on my part.

Jonathan married [Catherine] Eleanor Kortwright, "who lived in or near New York City" (according to Frelove Pyle) - their first son Nathaniel was born 5 July 1773. [Naturally, there is some confusion about Eleanor as well, but that I discuss on her own page. And I’m not sure about the “Catherine” part of her name - the Owens always refer to her as Eleanor.] Nathaniel was one of only 10 children - you will sometime find an additional 4 children listed for Jonathan and Eleanor, but they are in fact the children of this son Nathaniel."

Jonathan was a Lieutenant in the New York (Orange County) Militia, 2nd Regiment, Ulster Co (Captain Isaiah Vail). His brother-in-law, William Bodle, and two brothers, Joshua and David, served under him. Several Browns - Gilbert, John, Archibald and Duncan - served in the same regiment..

1.   The Owen Family of Suffolk, Orange and Westchester Counties, New York.

   The American Genealogist, v 31 #1 (121) Jan 1955, see page 42.
   Hook says Jonathan's father was Ebenezer.

2.   Johnathan Owen Bible.

   http://www.leesgenes.com/owen/6jonathanowenbible.htm