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major edits, adding Owens' participation in 1860 convention and signatory to Florida secession document, as well as attestation of his status as slaveowner
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{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Infobox officeholder
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = James Byeram Owens
| name = James Byeram Owens
| office = Deputy from [[Florida]]<br />to the [[Provisional Confederate States Congress|Provisional Congress<br />of the Confederate States]]
| office = Deputy from [[Florida]]<br />to the [[Provisional Confederate States Congress|Provisional Congress<br />of the Confederate States]]
| term_start = February 4, 1861
| term_start = February 4, 1861
| term_end = February 17, 1862
| term_end = February 17, 1862
| predecessor = New constituency
| predecessor = New constituency
| successor = Constituency abolished
| successor = Constituency abolished
| birth_date = [[Wiktionary:circa|c.]] 1816
| birth_date = [[Wiktionary:circa|c.]] 1816
| birth_place = [[Fairfield County, South Carolina]], U.S.
| birth_place = [[Fairfield County, South Carolina]], U.S.
| death_date = 1889
| death_date = August 1, 1889
| death_place = [[Marion County, Florida]], U.S.
| death_place = [[Marion County, Florida]], U.S.
| resting_place = Evergreen Cemetery,<br />[[Ocala, Florida]], U.S.
| resting_place = Evergreen Cemetery,<br />[[Ocala, Florida]], U.S.
| nationality = American
| nationality = American
| children = Willie Owens
| spouse = Louisa Owens
}}
}}
'''James Byeram Owens''' ([[Wiktionary:circa|c.]] 1816 – 1889) was an American politician who served as a Deputy from [[Florida]] to the [[Provisional Confederate States Congress|Provisional Congress of the Confederate States]] from 1861 to 1862.
'''James Byeram Owens''' ([[Wiktionary:circa|c.]] 1816 – August 1, 1889) was a slaveowner and American politician who served as a Deputy from [[Florida]] to the [[Provisional Confederate States Congress|Provisional Congress of the Confederate States]] from 1861 to 1862. He mounted legal arguments in defense of [[Secession in the United States|secession]] based on an [[Originalism|originalist]] interpretation of the [[Constitution of the United States|U.S. Constitution]]<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Cutler|first=H.G.|url=https://digital.lib.usf.edu/SFS0070569/00001|title=History of Florida : past and present, historical and biographical, volume III.|publisher=Lewis Publishing Company|year=1923|pages=8-10|language=English}}</ref> and Southern arguments in favor of states' rights,<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Rev James Byeram Owens (1816-1889) - Find a Grave...|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6647493/james-byeram-owens|access-date=2022-02-21|website=www.findagrave.com|language=en}}</ref> with the intention of defending the practice and institution of [[Slavery in the United States|slavery]].


==Biography==
== Biography ==
Owens was born in [[Fairfield County, South Carolina]], moving to Mississippi and later to [[Marion County, Florida]], in 1857, with his other two brothers.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> Owens was one of the wealthier slaveowning cotton planters in Marion County.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Smith|first=Julia Floyd|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1079199321|title=Slavery and plantation growth in Antebellum Florida, 1821-1860|date=2017|isbn=978-1-947372-62-7|location=Gainesville, Florida|oclc=1079199321}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> His name appears on the 1860 Slave Census Schedules for Marion County which attribute to him the ownership of 89 enslaved persons.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Marion County, Florida 1860 slaveholders and 1870 African Americans|url=https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~ajac/genealogy/flmarion.htm|access-date=2022-02-22|website=freepages.rootsweb.com}}</ref>
He was born in [[Fairfield County, South Carolina]], and later moved to Florida. He was the brother-in-law of [[Ethelbert Barksdale]] and the grandfather of [[John W. Martin|John Martin]].

Owens played a considerable role in the events leading up to the [[U.S. Civil war|U.S. Civil War]]. He served as a delegate from Florida at the [[1860 Democratic National Conventions|Democratic National Conventions of 1860]]. At the first convention, held in Charleston, he was selected to represent the interests of Southern Democrats in a debate with [[Benjamin Butler]] of Massachusetts. Owens, along with the Florida delegation and several other entire delegations representing the Southern states, walked out of the Charleston convention and held their own convention, where they nominated [[John C. Breckinridge]] for the Democratic Party ticket in the [[1860 United States presidential election|U.S. presidential election of 1860]].<ref name=":0" />

Owens then represented Marion County at the [[Florida Secession Convention|Secession Convention of Florida]] held in Tallahasee in January 1861 and was a signatory to the Ordinance of Secession which declared Florida's secession from the [[United States]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Florida Secession|url=http://www.colket.org/genealogy/000_Florida_Secession.html|access-date=2022-02-21|website=www.colket.org}}</ref> Shortly thereafter, Florida joined the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]] and Owens became a Deputy in the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States as well as a signatory to the [[Constitution of the Confederate States]], representing Florida.

After the war, Owens, along with all other former Confederates, was granted a full and unconditional [[pardon]] by President [[Andrew Johnson]] in 1868.

== Notable relatives ==
Owens was the brother-in-law of [[Ethelbert Barksdale]] and the maternal grandfather of [[John W. Martin]], the 24th [[Governor of florida|Governor of Florida]], by way of his daughter, Willie Owens, and her husband, John M. Martin Jr., the son of [[John Marshall Martin]].


==See also==
==See also==
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==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
⚫
* {{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Mrs. James B. Owens |newspaper=The Ocala Evening Star |date=November 21, 1907}}

==External links==
* {{Find a Grave|6647493}}


⚫
# {{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Mrs. James B. Owens |newspaper=The Ocala Evening Star |date=November 21, 1907}}
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[[Category:Signers of the Confederate States Constitution]]
[[Category:Signers of the Confederate States Constitution]]
[[Category:Signers of the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States]]
[[Category:Signers of the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States]]
__NOTOC__

Revision as of 01:28, 22 February 2022

James Byeram Owens
Deputy from Florida
to the Provisional Congress
of the Confederate States
In office
February 4, 1861 – February 17, 1862
Preceded byNew constituency
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Personal details
Bornc. 1816
Fairfield County, South Carolina, U.S.
DiedAugust 1, 1889
Marion County, Florida, U.S.
Resting placeEvergreen Cemetery,
Ocala, Florida, U.S.
SpouseLouisa Owens
ChildrenWillie Owens

James Byeram Owens (c. 1816 – August 1, 1889) was a slaveowner and American politician who served as a Deputy from Florida to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1862. He mounted legal arguments in defense of secession based on an originalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution[1] and Southern arguments in favor of states' rights,[2] with the intention of defending the practice and institution of slavery.

Biography

Owens was born in Fairfield County, South Carolina, moving to Mississippi and later to Marion County, Florida, in 1857, with his other two brothers.[1][2] Owens was one of the wealthier slaveowning cotton planters in Marion County.[3][1] His name appears on the 1860 Slave Census Schedules for Marion County which attribute to him the ownership of 89 enslaved persons.[4]

Owens played a considerable role in the events leading up to the U.S. Civil War. He served as a delegate from Florida at the Democratic National Conventions of 1860. At the first convention, held in Charleston, he was selected to represent the interests of Southern Democrats in a debate with Benjamin Butler of Massachusetts. Owens, along with the Florida delegation and several other entire delegations representing the Southern states, walked out of the Charleston convention and held their own convention, where they nominated John C. Breckinridge for the Democratic Party ticket in the U.S. presidential election of 1860.[1]

Owens then represented Marion County at the Secession Convention of Florida held in Tallahasee in January 1861 and was a signatory to the Ordinance of Secession which declared Florida's secession from the United States.[5] Shortly thereafter, Florida joined the Confederacy and Owens became a Deputy in the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States as well as a signatory to the Constitution of the Confederate States, representing Florida.

After the war, Owens, along with all other former Confederates, was granted a full and unconditional pardon by President Andrew Johnson in 1868.

Notable relatives

Owens was the brother-in-law of Ethelbert Barksdale and the maternal grandfather of John W. Martin, the 24th Governor of Florida, by way of his daughter, Willie Owens, and her husband, John M. Martin Jr., the son of John Marshall Martin.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Cutler, H.G. (1923). History of Florida : past and present, historical and biographical, volume III. Lewis Publishing Company. pp. 8–10.
  2. ^ a b "Rev James Byeram Owens (1816-1889) - Find a Grave..." www.findagrave.com. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  3. ^ Smith, Julia Floyd (2017). Slavery and plantation growth in Antebellum Florida, 1821-1860. Gainesville, Florida. ISBN 978-1-947372-62-7. OCLC 1079199321.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ^ "Marion County, Florida 1860 slaveholders and 1870 African Americans". freepages.rootsweb.com. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  5. ^ "Florida Secession". www.colket.org. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  1. "Mrs. James B. Owens". The Ocala Evening Star. November 21, 1907.
Political offices
Preceded by
New constituency
 Deputy from Florida to the
Provisional Congress of the Confederate States
1861–1862 		Succeeded by
Constituency abolished
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