Bartholomew Owen
Bartholomew & Joanna Owen
Based upon isolated parish records in England and Wales, several theories
have been advanced about Bartholomew's birth and parents.
Unfortunately, no corroborating evidence can be found to tell us that these
records are not just a case of different men coincidently having the same
name. Hundreds' of family trees present these unfounded theories as if they are fact
even though they can easily be disproved. It can only be proved that he was born 1637 or before (he was sued in
court in 1658 and you had to be 21 years of age to be sued). DNA evidence
suggests that our roots are in Merionethshire, Wales so either Bartholomew
or his parents were probably born in or near Merionethshire. Click Here
for more on the problems in tracing Bartholomew's presumed Welsh roots.
Nothing is known of his early life until 1658, when he began showing up in
court records in Surry County, Virginia. A lawsuit was filed against him
for making "disparaging, malicious, and threatening remarks" against Thomas
Gray, a prominent Surry County planter. From the following depositions and
testimony given throughout the trial, we get the idea that Bartholomew was
a crude-undisciplined man with a, possibly, violent nature.
Robert Spenser, son of Edmund Spenser, under-sheriff of Surry County,
deposed that "He had heard Bartholomew, on several occasions and several
places, speak very scandalous words against the commissioners of Surry
County, saying he would never have justice done him in that court." Spenser
further testified that both in James City and Surry County he (Bartholomew)
had highly reviled Captain George Jordan, calling him "Raskill and Rogue"
and "shoutin Raskill" and other such bad terms. When Spenser rebuked Owen
for his "malicious" words. Owen replied, swearing, "God Damn him of that
raskill George Jordan, and (that) Capt. Jordan would not live a month in
the county, etc."
Mrs. Fortune Mills deposed that "several times in her presence, Bartholomew
Owen spoke disparingly [sic] and Scandalously of Capt. Jordan... and
Maliciously against the Court". Roger Rawlins, swore in court that he heard
(Bartholomew) Owen "disparage Captain Jordan and the court threatening him
publicly in company saying 'he longs to kick that man's arse.'"
The court eventually found Bartholomew guilty of "scandalous and defamatory
language" The trial and verdict apparently did not much affect
Bartholomew's standing within the community. He was selected to serve on an
inquest jury for an accidental death (totally unrelated to his own legal
troubles). And, he was a church warden less than one year after his trial
ended.
We don't know the exact location where Bartholomew lived but it was south
of the James River on the west bank of Grey's Creek, southeast of John
Chichocan's Swamp. We know he sold cattle and horses from time to time but
court documents usually listed his occupation as "gentleman". The meaning
of the word back then was somewhat different from the modern definition. A
gentleman was someone who did not have to work for a living. A gentleman's
income came from rents, royalties, investments, family allowance,
inheritance, or other means-other than work, that is. One could be uncouth,
unkempt, illiterate, ill-bred, and ill-mannered yet still be considered a
gentleman by the 17th century definition-not to imply that
Bartholomew fit that profile.
On 20 Jun 1662, the jury in the case between Bartholomew Owen and John
Corker found that some timber had been cut upon the land of the orphans of
Thomas Gray. It is unclear if Bartholomew was the plaintiff or defendant in
this case.
In 1663, Bartholomew lost a lawsuit and forfeited 2,129 pounds of tobacco
to Henry and John Richards. Don't know what the lawsuit was about.
Reportedly, Bartholomew married Joan, or Joanna (Jennings?) about 1666.
This seems about right because their son Robert was born about 1667 and
Joan would have turned 16 about 1666-at that time, women in the British
Empire could not legally marry before age 16.
If anyone has proof that her maiden name was Jennings, they are keeping it
well hidden. Subsequently, there is much speculation about who might have
been Joanna's parents. Most of it centered around Bartholomew's neighbors
and none of it supported by credible evidence. The most popular (but
erroneous) theory is that she was the daughter of Sir Edmond Jennings and
Lady Margaret Barkham (they never set foot in America). However,
documentary evidence together with a total lack of supporting DNA evidence
seem to debunk this theory. Apparently, someone posted it online and
hundreds of others blindly copied it, without looking for contradictory
evidence.
Even Joanna's first name is subject to speculation and debate. In court and
land records, her name is variously spelled as Jone, Jonne, Joanne, and
Joanna. Mostly, we only have transcribed excerpts from these documents. So,
we are relying upon what someone else thought they read in the document.
Creative spelling variations were common in 17th century
documents and the handwriting is extremely hard to read. Thus, the writer
may have written Joanne as a creative spelling for the name Joan and the
transcriber may have read it as Joanna. Personally, I think her name really
was Joanna but I'm open to other suggestions if someone comes up with a
better theory.
Joanna may have had a calming influence on Bartholomew because after their
marriage, he was no longer constantly being sued in court. His worst
offence after the marriage seems to have been in 1675 when he was fined one
shilling for violating the Sabbath by not attending church.
Bartholomew and Joanna had four children:
-
Robert Owen - Born: about 1667in Surry County, Virginia. Married:
(possibly) Hannah and Katherine. Not necessarily in that order
-
Katherine Owen - Born: sometime before June 1668 in Surry County, Virginia.
Died: 1719 in Surry County, Virginia (unproven).
Married: Joshua Proctor 3 Jan 1681 in Surry County, Virginia.
-
William Owen - Born: about 1672 in Surry County, Virginia.
Died: between 23 Oct 1752 (wrote his will) and 20 Mar 1753 (will presented in court) in Halifax County, Virginia.
Married:
1st A "Miss" Brookes before 1695 (in Henrico, Virginia?),
2nd Lydia Lunsford.
-
Thomas Owen - Born: about 1672 in Surry County, Virginia.
Died: 1744 in HenricoCounty, Virginia.
Married:Elizabeth Brookes 1690 in Henrico County, Virginia.
Note: Elizabeth Brookes was the sister of his brother's wife, Miss
Brookes.
On 8 Sep1677, Bartholomew granted power of attorney to Nicholas
Merriwether. Since this was a few months before his death, Bartholomew may
have been too sick or incapacitated to conduct his own affairs.
Bartholomew died sometime between 8 Sep 1677 (signed power of attorney) and
31 Jan 1677 (his widow was granted administration of his estate). According
to the court record, she had four minor children. Although not named in the
court record, they would have been Robert, Katherine, William, and Thomas.
Note: Prior to 1752, the British new year was always on March 25 th-not January 1st. Thus, 31 Jan 1677 came after
8 Sep 1677.
After he died, Bartholomew's estate was appraised by his friends and
neighbors, Will Foreman and John Morning. Even though they may have down
played the value of Bartholomew's possessions to lessen the inheritance tax
burden on his widow, we still get the picture that he was not very wealthy.
For example, the appraisal listed:
one ould diseased horse and ould saddle
and bridle, a bull, heyfer 12 years old, and a heifer calf, 6 shoates and 2
sows with 12 pigs... a passell of ould pewter, 2 ould iron pots, 2 pair
pot hooks, 2 spits, and a pair of ould tongs... 2 very ould thin
feather beds and boulsters and 1 very ould, woolen cloth blankit, 2 tables
and a fourme (bench) very ould, and 1 ould chest without a lock. A parcel
of lumber and ould iron and 1 barrill of a gun and an unfixed lock and an
ould rifle.
Not quite what you would expect for the owner of a 648-acre
plantation.
On 7 Jun 1778, William Rogers "at ye widow Owens" appeared on a list of
tithable men. In subsequent years, his name appeared along with Joanna's
eldest son, Robert Owen in the same household. Obviously, ye widow Owens is
Joanna Owen. William Rogers apparently lived with Joanna and her children
for at least five years following Bartholomew's death. We have no idea if
or how William Rogers may be related to Joanna. Some researchers have
claimed he was her 2nd husband but that theory can be easily
debunked using old records. After William Rogers was no longer living with
Joanna, her son-in-law, Joshua Proctor, (Katherine's husband) moved in.
The Virginia Patent Book 8, page 3 has an entry dated 20 Oct 1689, wherein
Robert Owen was granted patent to 743 acres on the S.E. side of Chechocan
Swamp-648 acres of which was due Robert as eldest son and heir to his late
father Bartholomew Owen's estate and 95 acres of which was due him for
importing 2 persons (John Sharp and Henry Wyche). The very same day, Edmond
Jennings, Esquire was granted patent to 6,513 acres on the north side of
the James River about 12 or 14 miles above the foot of the falls, for the
importation of 131 persons including Robert Owen, Jone (sic) Owen, and
William Owen.
Note: Edmund Jennings, Esquire was the son of Sir Edmond Jennings and
Lady Margaret Barkham (erroneously reputed to be Joanna's parents).
The falls is a 7-mile-stretch of the James River in present day
Richmond, Virginia.
Joanna's daughter, Katherine and her husband remained behind in Surry
County. It is unknown why Joanna's son, Thomas (about age 17), was not
transported with Joanna. Maybe he was living on his own? Within a year or
less, Thomas moved back in with his mother in what became Henrico County.
Joanna's son, Robert left his mother and moved back to Surry County.
Sometime between 1689 and 1693, Bartholomew's widow married Thomas
Brookes-himself a widower with two daughters. Joanna's son, Thomas Owen, married
his new stepsister Elizabeth Brookes and his brother, William Owen, married
Elizabeth's sister, only identified as "Miss Brookes". It has been
speculated that "Miss Brookes" died before 1700 (unproven). There is no
evidence that William and "Miss Brookes" ever had any children of their
own. Several online trees have shown Alsoe as the given name of "Miss
Brookes". However, if they give any source at all for their information, it
is only a reference to someone else's family tree. If you track down the
chain of family trees listed, you eventually wind up at a tree with no
source information given. By the way, Alsoe does not appear to be a girl's
name in English (or any other) language.
Reportedly, Joanna and Thomas Brookes had one child of their own (unproven & unlikely):
- Thomas Brookes, Jr. - Almost nothing is known about him. Some family trees
claim (without proof) that he was born in Henrico County in 1676 or 1680 and
that he died 6 Apr 1734 in York County, Virginia.
The birth information is clearly wrong-Joanna was still in Surry County
at that time and she did not marry Thomas until about ten years later.
It's my belief that Joanna & Thomas Brookes never had children
together and that the reason we can't find any records for Thomas
Brookes, Jr. is that he never existed in the first place.
Joanna's second husband, Thomas Brookes died in 1695. In his will, dated
1694, he mentions sons-in-law, Thomas and William Owen. In the 17th century, a stepson was sometimes mistakenly called a
son-in-law. Therefore, we don't know if Thomas and William were called
sons-in-law by virtue of the fact that they had already married the
daughters of Thomas Brookes, or if they had not yet married Thomas Brookes'
daughters but were called sons-in law by virtue of the fact they were
stepsons (sons of Thomas Brookes' second wife, Joanna Owen).
Also, in 1695, Joanna's son Robert sold a 110-acre parcel of his late
father's plantation, in Surry County, to his brother-in -law, Joshua
Proctor. Joshua willed it to his son, Nicholas Proctor (grandson of
Bartholomew and Joanna).
Joanna (Owen) Brookes died sometime after 1704 in Henrico County, Virginia.
In 1710, the son of Captain William Walker of New Kent, Virginia sold his
late father's land in Henrico County calling it "the plantation where Joan
Brookes formerly lived."
Research Notes:
Bartholomew Owen
- Myths & Theories
A great deal has been written about Bartholomew and his immediate family.
For the most part, myths and theories have been stated as simple fact even
though there may be ample evidence to debunk them. The following is an
attempt to separate true facts from unproven theories and easily debunkable
myths.
Myth - Bartholomew was born 24 Aug 1619 in Steventon, Berkshire,
England, son of Robert Owen and Joane White
This information appears to have come from England, Select Births and Christenings,1538-1975, online at
Ancestry. com and at Family Search.org. The collection includes information
gathered from English church records and the International Genealogical
Index (a computer file created by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints).
The main problem with using the information from this source is that there
is no way to determine that the male child Baptized as Bartholomew Owen in
Steventon, England is the same person as the adult Bartholomew Owen who
later settled in Virginia. In fact, the odds are strongly against it.
Given the frequency of the given name Bartholomew and the frequency of the
surname Owen, we can statistically predict that there easily could have
been a dozen or more children born in England and Wales in the early
1600's, all having the same name of Bartholomew Owen. Therefore, there's
only about 1 chance in 12 that this birth record is for our Bartholomew.
Records can be found for the following men named Bartholomew Owen:
- Bartholomew Owen, baptized 24 Aug 1619 in Steventon, Berkshire, England
- Bartholomew Owen, baptized 2 Nov 1628 in Conway Parish, Caernarvonshire,
Wales
- Bartholomew Owen, born 1640 in London, son of Colonel Thomas Owen
- Bartholomew Owen, married Anne Charles 9 May 1641 in London
- Bartholomew Owen, son of Dr. Richard Owen, vicar of Eldtham Church in
London
Without further documentation, it is folly to randomly point to the baptism
record of one of them and say "Oh yeah, this is clearly our ancestor who
wound up in Virginia."
DNA evidence also argues against Robert Owen and Joane White as the parents
of the Bartholomew Owen who settled in Virginia. If they are not his
parents, then, obviously, he was not born 24 Aug 1619 in Steventon,
Berkshire, England. In addition to my own DNA, I have full access to the
AncestryDNA matches of seven other descendants of the Bartholomew Owen from
Virginia. Together, we have autosomal DNA matches to more than 200 (I quit
counting) other descendants of Bartholomew's relatives. However, we have
ZERO matches to anyone who is a descendant of a relative of Robert Owen or
Joane White.
Furthermore, we have a number of DNA matches to descendants of Owen
families living in Merionethshire, Wales in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth
century. Although we can't find documentary evidence linking our
Bartholomew with these families and their locations, the DNA evidence
strongly suggests that Bartholomew's (and our) Owen roots are in north
Wales. Conversely, DNA evidence that would show our Owen roots in
Berkshire, England is lacking.
And then there's his marriage to Joanna, reportedly in 1666-which seems
about right considering when their children were born. From court records,
we know that Joanna was born about 1650 to 1652. If Bartholomew was really
born in 1619, then it would have been a 47 year-old-man marrying a 14 to
16-year-old girl. Yeah, we all know men tend to prefer younger wives but
not THAT much younger. Statistically, less than 1/2 of one percent of
all men will marry a woman more than 30 years younger than themselves.
Could have happened but the statistical probability is 0.005 where 1 =
certain and 0 = impossible.
Consider also his words and actions during his court cases in the late
1650's and early 1660's. He threatened law enforcement and even shouted
insults against the very court that would decide his case. These are the
words and actions of an immature, impetuous youth with raging high levels
of testosterone-not the actions of a mature man of 39 years, which he would
have been if he really was born in 1619. Just a few years later, he quit
acting with such bluster and bravado. An indication that he finally grew
up?
The earliest record that can definitely be tied to Bartholomew Owen of
Surry County, Virginia is a 29 Jan 1658 court record where he is being
sued. Since you had to be 21 years of age to be sued, we can only say for
sure that he must have been born about 1637 or earlier.
Myth - Bartholomew was born 1640 in London. England, son of Colthomas
(sic) Owen
We know that our Bartholomew Owen of Virginia was born before 1637 (see
above). Therefore, the son of Colthomas is clearly another unrelated person
who coincidently had the same name as our ancestor. Also, see the arguments
above for a birth more likely in north Wales rather than in England.
The name "Colthomas" is probably meant to be Colonel Thomas Owen, an actual
person who lived in London.
Theory - Bartholomew was born before 2 Nov 1628 in Conway Parish,
Merionethshire, Wales, the son of William and Jane Owen
There is a Baptism record, dated 2 Nov 1628, for Bartholomew Owen, son of W m and Jane, his wife, in the Conway parish record book. A copy
is online at Ancestry.com (
The First volume of the Conway parish registers: In the rural deanery
of Arllechwedd, diocese of Bangor, Caernarvonshire, 1541-1793, page
117, image 137).
This fits the DNA evidence for our roots in Merionethshire--although the
church was in Caernarvonshire, the full parish included much of what used
to be Merionethshire. From the parish records, it appears that William may
have had a brother named John. This all fits in with family lore about our
forebears being three brothers (William, John, and Thomas), who came to
America from Wales. This family lore was first published in 1911 (see
Historical Sketches of the Campbell, Pilcher and Kindred Families
including the Bowen, Russell, Owen, Goodwin, Amis, Carothers, Hope,
Taliaferro, and Powell Families;
page 318, image 332: online at Ancestry .com. Similar stories were written
down in the 1930's and 1950's by members of other branches of the Owens
family and copies remain in private hands. The birth in this parish record
has not been proven to be the Bartholomew Owen of Virginia; but, of all the
theories about his birth, this is the only one that is anywhere close to
family lore and DNA evidence.
Exciting, huh? Not so fast. In the same Conway parish register as his
birth, there is a burial record for Bartholomew Owen seven weeks later-no
other details given such as age at death, parents, wife, etc. No proof that
this burial was the infant of the same name born 7 weeks earlier but also
no proof that he's not. Therefore, it's questionable whether the
Bartholomew born in Conway Parish is the same Bartholomew who settled in
Virginia.
If the 1628 date is correct, Bartholomew would have been about 39 years of
age when his first child was born-perhaps a little late to be starting a
family but not all that unusual (I, myself, was 39 when my first and only
child was born).
Theory - Bartholomew was the son of
William Owen (1584-1674) of Machynlleth, Wales
This theory has been advanced in just a handful of family trees without
any supporting evidence. But then, eight or nine hundred other online
family trees offer theories that can easily be debunked or-at best-have
a very low probability. And none of them offer a shred of credible
evidence. We have to be a little suspicious of claims that he lived to
be 90 years old. Eight of us who are Bartholomew's descendants have a
large number of DNA matches with people whose ancestors seem to be
clustered around Bangor, Dolgellau, and Machynlleth, Wales. We have no
other such clusters in England, Scotland, or Ireland. The problem with
this theory appears to be that William Owen (1584-1674) was reportedly
married to Ann Strator (or Stator) and we have no DNA matches to
descendants of a Strator/Stator family. Therefore, William may be
related to us as xth cousin or xth great-granduncle but he's probably
not Bartholomew's father and probably not our direct line ancestor.
When I was in Wales, I searched the archives but could not find any
evidence for William Owen (1584-1674).
Myth - Bartholomew's First or Middle name was William
Prior to 1660 it was found that 99.985% of men did not have a middle name.
The Virginia Settler's Research Project found "that middle names were
almost nonexistent in seventeenth-century Virginia".
Source: A Guide to Seventeenth-Century Virginia Court Handwriting by
Kent P. Bailey and Ransome B. True; published by the Virginia
Genealogical Society, 2001, page 29.
More than two-dozen primary source documents surviving from the 1600's
mention Bartholomew by name. Not one of them ever used the name William
when referring to him.
Myth - Bartholomew Held the Title of Sir Bartholomew Owen
I have no idea how this myth came into existence but it has propagated into
a number of family trees. Of course, not one of them offers a shred of
proof. Throughout his life, Bartholomew appeared in many court records and
other official documents of the British empire. None of these documents
show his name as Sir Bartholomew Owen. In the 17th century, the title Sir
was conferred on a man when he was knighted by the King of England. It
would have been a serious breach of protocol if an official document
omitted the title of Sir from the name of a Knight. Therefore, the evidence
is strongly against Bartholomew ever being a knight or holding the title of
Sir.
Myth - Bartholomew married Ann Charles in Southwarke, Surry, England
(or Southwark Parish, Surrey, Virginia) on 9 May 1641
This appears to be another case of mistaken identity-same name but wrong
man. There is no DNA evidence showing that we are distantly related to any
Owen family living in Surry, England. St. George the Martyr, the church
where Ann Charles married a man named Bartholomew Owen was in the London
borough of Southwarke in Surrey County, England. Southwarke, Surrey,
England should not be confused with Southwark Parish, Surry, Virginia.
Southwarke (ends with an e) is a borough of London, England while Southwark
(ends with a k) was the name of a parish church in Virginia. Surrey (ends
with an ey) was a county in England, while Surry (ends with ry) was a
county in Virginia. The Bartholomew Owen who married Ann Charles is almost
certainly the Bartholomew Owen who was born 1619 in Berkshire, England
because Berkshire borders Surrey County. We have already established that
Bartholomew born 1619 was not the same man as Bartholomew of Virginia
therefore, the Bartholomew who married Ann Charles was not Bartholomew of
Virginia. Since this marriage-reportedly-did not produce any children, we
can't look for any Charles DNA to prove the marriage. However, if
Bartholomew really was born in 1628 then he would have been too young (12
years old) to have married in 1641.
Myth - Bartholomew married Joanna Jennings, daughter of Sir Edmond
Jennings and Lady Margaret Barkham
Documents from the period his wife was alive show her given name as Jone,
Jonne, Joanne, or Joanna. Documents in that era were all handwritten and
handwriting from that period is often extremely hard to read. Thus, a
poorly written Joanne could easily be misread as Joanna, Jane for Jone,
etc. Theories abound as to her maiden surname but the evidence is either
lacking or-at best-highly circumstantial. The most popular theory is that
Bartholomew's wife was Joanna Jennings, daughter of Sir Edmond Jennings and
Lady Margaret Barkham
As popular as this theory may be, it can be proven that Joanna is clearly
NOT the daughter of Sir Edmund Jennings and Lady Margaret Barkham. As a
knight, the family of Sir Edward and Lady Margaret is well documented. They
never had a child named Joan, Joanna, or anything similar. The documentary
evidence shows that Sir Edmund and his wife Margaret lived and died in
England without ever having set foot in America. Joanna was reportedly born
in Virginia-- another indication that she was not the daughter of Sir
Edmund.
Some researchers claim that Joanna is really Anne Jennings, daughter of Sir
Edward and Lady Margaret. The problem with this theory is that Anne
Jennings was the wife of George Bledsoe at the same time our Joanna was
married to Bartholomew Owen. None of the documents mentioning Bartholomew's
wife ever give her name as Anne.
On 20 Oct 1689, Edmond Jennings, Esquire., son of Sir Edmond, was granted
patent to 6,513 acres on the north side of the James River for importation
of 131 persons including Bartholomew's widow and children. It was
very common for wealthy men to receive land grants for importing (moving)
unrelated persons into unsettled lands in the colonies. However, some
researchers have-apparently-used this fact to magically leap to the
conclusion that Sir Edmond must be Joanna's father. No one claims the other
131 persons imported were children of Sir Edmond. And Edmond Jennings,
Esquire was too young to have been Joanna's father. He was born about 1659
and came to America about 1680
Finally, if Joanna was the daughter of Sir Edmond and Lady Margaret, you
would expect descendants of Joanna and Bartholomew to share at least some
DNA with descendants of the children, aunts, uncles, and other relatives of
Sir Edmond and Lady Margaret. So far, we can't find any.
Theory - Bartholomew's wife, was the daughter of Edward Joanes
On 10 Jan 1668, Bartholomew Owen and Edward Joanes appeared on a tithe list
(apparently living in the same household). Some researchers appear to have
speculated (without further supporting evidence) that Edward Joanes must be
Joanna's father.
Theory - Bartholomew's wife was the daughter of Christopher Lewis
There is a court record of a gift from Christopher Lewis, Bartholomew's
neighbor, to Katherine Owen, daughter of Bartholomew and Joanna. Katherine
is also named as a godchild in Christopher's will. Based upon this gift and
the will, some researchers have jumped to the conclusion that Christopher
Lewis was the maternal grandfather of Katherine Owen (and thus Joanna's
father).
The problem with this theory is that Christopher's will named three other
godchildren, none of whom appear to be Christopher's grandchildren.
Significantly, his will does not mention any of Joanna's other children.
Mary Jones (who really was his granddaughter) was mentioned in the will but
she was not shown as a godchild. Altogether, Christopher mentioned nine
(possibly ten) children in his will, none of whom were his own children and
only one of whom appears to be his grandchild. Most are merely children of
his neighbors-as was Katherine Owen.
Given Christopher's penchant for gifting unrelated neighboring children, it
is a stretch to conclude that he was Joanna's father just because he gave
her daughter a gift.
At least one researcher has claimed (apparently, without evidence) that
Joanna was adopted by Christopher Lewis (see below).
Theory - Bartholomew's wife was the daughter of John Jennings
In 1649, John Jennings was granted 250 acres on Grey's Creek for importing
five persons. His property was adjacent to Bartholomew Owen's property and
Christopher Lewis' property. He apparently was not a successful plantation
owner because, in 1667, Thomas Busby transported John (as an indentured
servant?) to another location. It's just a theory, but it's possible
that-before he placed himself in indentured servitude--John Jennings
allowed Christopher Lewis to adopt Joanna.
Myth - Bartholomew & Joanna had more than 4 children
Joanna had only been of child bearing age about 11 years when Bartholomew
died. The court record granting her administration of his estate stated
that she had 4 minor children. Since all of her children would have been
minors, 4 would have been the sum total of Bartholomew and Joanna's
children-at least those still living in 1677. Their names were Robert,
Katherine, Thomas, and William.
Myth - Bartholomew's widow married William Rogers
For five or six years after Bartholomew died, William Rogers was listed as
a titheable male living in the household of "ye widow Owens". By the time
of the tithing list dated 10 Jun 1684, William Rogers was no longer living
in the Owen household. In his place was Joshua Proctor, Joanna's son-in-law
and husband of Katherine (Owen) Proctor. We don't know what relationship,
if any, William Rogers had with Joanna but it was certainly not as man and
wife because on 20 Oct 1689, Joan Owen and her children were listed on a
land patent as persons who had been transported. Since she was listed as
Joan Owen and not Joan Rogers, she, obviously had never been married to
William Rogers.
Not What You Think- Bartholomew was a Gentleman
In old court documents, a man's name was often followed by his occupation
or trade. Bartholomew's name was sometimes followed by the word
"gentleman". Back then, the word "gentleman" had a somewhat different
meaning from modern usage. A gentleman was someone who did not have to work
for a living. His support came from rents, royalties, allowance,
investments, inheritance, or some other means-other than work, that is. A
gentleman might have been-but was not necessarily-educated, well-bred or
well-mannered. On the other hand, he could have been an ignorant, uncouth,
lout, who was called a gentleman simply because he did not have to work for
a living. Source:
A History of Halifax County (Virginia); by Wirt Johnson Carrington;
copyright 1924; page 35; book online at Ancestry.com.
Myth - Bartholomew had a heraldic coat of arms or family crest
There is no such thing as an "official" Owen or Owens family crest. There
are several companies in the UK that will sell you a rendering of your
family crest including a brief narrative on the origin and history of your
surname. The fact that they will sell you a document (or trinket) with your
family crest even though they don't know your genealogy back to the age
when knights actually wore a coat of arms should tell you how "authentic"
(or NOT) their product is. These are primarily produced for the tourist
trade and have nothing to do with modern-day Owen(s) families of Welsh.
Irish, or Scotch descent.
According to Wikipedia: "A crest is personal to the armiger (person who
actually bore arms in combat or tournament), and its use by others is
considered usurpation. Merely sharing the same family name of an armiger is
insufficient."
The Celtic princes of Wales first took up the use of heraldic symbols in
the 13th century. The symbols were linked to an individual to help
distinguish friend from foe on the battlefield and to help identify the
dead after a battle. In England, coats of arms evolved to denote family
descent, profession, property and other association. However, in Wales, one
cannot trace family descent along lines of persons having the same surname
because the Welsh surnames were formed from the given name of a person's
father (or from a person's occupation, place of abode, physical
characteristics-e.g.Taylor (Tailor), Carpenter, bald, fat, redhead, etc.).
Only rarely did a father and son have the same surname. Therefore, the odds
are strongly against someone with a surname of Owen(s) being a direct
descendant of a Prince of Wales named Owen or Owain, who had worn a
personal coat of arms in combat.
If you want to decorate your family tree with pretty pictures of a family
crest then go for it. But, be aware that you may be accused of "putting on
airs" by people who are really in the know. If you want to be historically
accurate for your relatives of Welsh descent then ditch the coat of
arms/family crest (unless, of course, you can prove descent back to someone
who actually displayed a personal coat of arms in battle-good luck with
that).
The British Act of the Union in 1536 required that the Welsh people adopt
the fixed surname system e.g. sons and daughters were given the same
surname as their father. Prior to that, most Welsh did not use surnames as
we know them. The actual transition to fixed surnames had started before
the 1536 Act of the Union and extended over several centuries
thereafter-the remote rural areas were among the last to switch over. Most
Welshmen lived in remote rural areas.
Myth - Bartholomew made a return visit to the British Isles in the
early 1670's
The main source for this myth appears to be
U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index,1500's-1900's
, online at Ancestry.com, which shows a Bartholomew Owen arrived 1673 in
Virginia. Coupled with the fact that Bartholomew's name does not appear in
court or land records for two and one-half years prior to a March,1673 land
patent, some researchers have speculated that he must have made a return
visit to the British Isles and then sailed back to his home in Virginia in
1673.
The problem in using this source for arrival information is that not
everyone on the list was a passenger on a ship arriving at the place and
year indicated. Ancestry.com tells us that some of the entries came from
actual passenger lists while others came from land patent records. In fact,
Bartholomew's 1673 record at Ancestry has the following annotation: "Date
and place where land was patented…". This source ONLY proves that
Bartholomew's name appeared on a Virginia land patent dated 1673. It does
NOT prove that he arrived aboard a ship in 1673. Therefore, speculation
that he made a return visit to the British Isles is based upon a false
premise.
Myth - Bartholomew died on 31 Jan 1677
Actually, we don't know exactly when he died. 31 Jan 1677 is when the court
granted his widow administration over his estate. So, obviously, he died
sometime before that date. He was still alive on September 8, 1677, when he
granted power of attorney to Nicholas Merriwether. Strangely (to us),
September 1677 came before January 1677. From the year 1155 up until 1751,
the British new year began on March 25th. Thus, January,
February, and part of March were always in the same year as the preceding
December. If you went to bed on December 31st 1700 then when you woke up
the next morning, it would be January 1st 1700--the same year. If you went
to bed on March 24th 1700, then when you woke up the next
morning, it would be March 25th 1701. Starting in 1752, the
start of the new year was moved back to January 1st. To avoid
confusion, years for dates in January, February, and March are sometimes
written as 1677/78 meaning it was 1677 according to the old calendar and
1678 according to the way we treat January, February, and March today.
Click Herefor Bartholomew's family group sheet.
Copyright © 2018 Virgil Owens
email askVirgil@aol.com
Discussion, additions, and corrections will be appreciated
