THE OWEN FAMILY SAGA, Part One by Carl Owen

When researching the Owen name I found the majority of opinions are that the name originated in Wales. Many of the Owen clan migrated to Ireland and there is a county in Ireland named GerryOwen. Gerry or Garry as some called him, was a highwayman with some of Robin Hood's tendencies. He did give some of his ill gotten money to the poor and bailed out people who were in danger of losing their homes and farms. At any rate, the press universally has been unkind to the Owen name. There are terms thrown about like "The Owen Mob" or "The Owen Gang". It comes as no surprise that the reputation did not stay in Wales and Ireland because a goodly portion of Owen heritage emigrated to the United States and mostly settled in the Appalachian mountains of Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia. So, through the years in America branches of the Owen family has distinguished themselves as hero and villain. Some of my ancestors fought in both the Revolutionary and the Civil wars. My branch of the Owen family settled mostly in the counties of North Carolina with a large portion settling in Transylvania County smack in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Stories abound about the Owen clans in Transylvania, Jackson and Rutherford counties. I don't intend to try to retell the Owen history, but I will attempt to address a story concerning my Father, Fred Owen and my Uncles (Robert and Leonard) and my grandfather Sherman. These men grew up rough and mean because in the early 1900's that was necessary for survival. They tilled poor ground and grew most of what they needed. They worked in the woods harvesting pulp wood. Some worked in the sawmills and Tanneries. They were all hard workers and fiercely prideful. A sense of family honor kept them from ever backing down. In the wars they helped coin the phrase of Tar heels by sticking to their ground. One common theme in the Owen family was the utilization of the corn crop to make a strong drink that came to be known as White Lightning or Moonshine. My Dad made and sold moonshine the majority of his life. He was admired for the quality of his product and when climbing the mountains with moonshine ingredients on his back became too difficult he turned to his sons and his nephews to run the stills and bring him the product. The men who settled the Blue Ridge mountain area were hard workers as well as hard drinkers. A saying that is apt: "They work hard and play hard." Playing hard meant dressing up in black pants, white shirts, string ties and complimented by side arms of pearl handled Colt 45's. Often on a weekend you could see the Owen crowd at a community dance, a barn dance dressed up in their finery. They danced, they drank, they played poker, they had fist fights and on some occasions they had gun fights. Many were musically inclined and they brought their banjos, guitars, fiddles and juice harps to the events. Most of the music was ballads from the old countries as well as songs from the wars and tear jerkers. Many of the ballads were based on true stories like Tom Dooley, Long Black Veil. The old religious songs were always popular like Old Rugged Cross, Amazing Grace, Precious Memories, Farther Along, What a Friend We have in Jesus, Just a Closer Walk with Thee. Funerals were widely attended with the women bringing casseroles and fried chicken along with cakes and pies. The men brought their jugs of moonshine and gathered in groups to discuss the life and death of the recently departed. Infrequently, the conversation would get around to the opinion that "she poisoned him or he poisoned her". Rarely was there a natural death during those times. The Owen's along with the McCalls and the Morgan's were all of a suspicious mind. In the early days of the 1900's my Dad worked with my Grandfather making moonshine. Often they attended parties together and that is how the Chapman’s integrated the Owen clan when my Dad married Grandpa's daughter Otha Chapman. Not to be outdone, my Uncle Robert Owen married my mother's sister Lola. From those unions sprung many children with my Dad and Mother producing 13 children to carry on the Owen name. Ironically, some of those 13 would later be termed in the newspapers as an Owen mob or Owen Gang. Newspapers have never been kind to the Owen name. One instance where the facts are obscure is the death of my Uncle Avery. Stories have it that Avery was selling moonshine to a group of blacks in South Carolina. A card game and drinking led to an altercation with the end result being that one of the blacks of large stature pulled a knife and so did Uncle Avery. A fierce fight erupted and Uncle Avery was mortally wounded. Word on the street at the time was that three brothers and a cousin boarded a bus to South Carolina and returned in a few days. The winner of the knife fight was seen no longer. The bus carried my Dad, Fred Owen, my Uncles Robert and Leonard and my first cousin Willy B. Owen. My Dad used to tell a story where a sheriff visited Diamond Creek, an Owen enclave and was found later with his head almost cut off. Guns and knives were the weapons of choice during those days. The story that I would like to tell is one that has many versions. The facts bear out that a man named Wisdom Patterson impounded a hog that had broke out of a pen belonging to my Grandparents Sherman and Jeannette Leone Owen. Well a hog stealing could not be tolerated so Grandpa Sherman along with two of his sons visited the Patterson home to retrieve the hog. Patterson refused to give up the hog and stated that the hog had caused damage to his garden. Grandpa Sherman informed Patterson that he would pay for the damages, but the hog was leaving with them. Patterson threatened to go in the house and get a gun and entered the house. Being unarmed at the time Grandpa and his boys decided to leave and arm themselves. A big discussion was held and one decision was made. Come hell or high water no one was going to get away with stealing a hog from the Owen family. The wives backed their husbands and the family was united in the decision to retrieve the hog. A sale was scheduled at the Diamond Creek School House for Saturday and Patterson planned to sell the Owen hog. Grandpa Sherman and his sons went to the schoolhouse sometimes known as the Pine Grove School determined to bring the hog home. Well, the hog came home, but Grandpa and his boys went to jail after they killed the hog thief. The Death of Wisdom Patterson by the Owen Mob The Brevard Newspaper of Transylvania County depicted the death with the following headline: SHOT TO DEATH AT PINE GROVE SCHOOL-One man is dead and two others are in jail awaiting trial on the charge of murder as a result of a difficulty between citizens of Diamond Creek Section last Saturday 1 August 1919 when W.E. Patterson was shot and killed by Leonard Owen. The difficulty arose over a hog which was the property of Owen. The animal had been impounded by Patterson and sold on Saturday afternoon. Leonard Owen and his wife (Dassie or Bessie) and his two brothers, Robert Owen and Sherman Owen, and Jason McCall were lodged in jail Saturday and tried in Recorder's Court Tuesday morning. The three brothers were held without bond and taken to the Buncombe County jail on the instruction of Solicitor Shipman for safekeeping. No charges were sustained against Jason McCall and Mrs. Leonard Owen. Witnesses testified at the trial that Robert Owen shot Patterson twice. NOTE: SHERMAN OWEN IS MENTIONED IN THIS STORY AS A BROTHER TO LEONARD AND ROBERT. HE IS THE FATHER OF LEONARD AND ROBERT. THE TRIAL MENTIONED IN THE ARTICLE WAS IN FACT AN ARRAIGNMENT NOT A TRIAL. SOME ARTICLES REFER TO LEONARD'S WIFE AS DASSIE OR BESSIE. I BELIEVE HER NAME WAS BESSIE. JASON McCALL WAS MY DAD'S BROTHER-IN-LAW. Continued..................Part Two...........coming soon.......