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James Owen (American politician)

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James Owen
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from North Carolina's 5th district
In office
March 4, 1817 – March 3, 1819
Preceded byCharles Hooks
Succeeded byCharles Hooks
Member of the
North Carolina House of Commons
from Bladen County
In office
November 21, 1808 – December 23, 1811
Serving with Thomas Brown
Preceded byDavid Gillespie
James Bunbury White
Succeeded byDavid Gillespie
John Owen
Personal details
BornDecember 6, 1784[1]
Bladen County, North Carolina, U.S.
DiedSeptember 4, 1865(1865-09-04) (aged 80)
Wilmington, North Carolina, U.S.
Resting placeOakdale Cemetery, Wilmington, North Carolina, U.S.
PartyDemocratic-Republican
SpouseEliza Murley Mumford
RelativesJohn Owen (brother)
EducationPittsboro Academy
Profession
Military service
BranchNorth Carolina militia
RankAdjutant general
WarsWar of 1812

James Owen (December 6, 1784 – September 4, 1865) was an American politician from North Carolina, a planter, adjutant general, businessman, and slave owner, including of Omar ibn Said. He was educated at William Bingham's Academy in Pittsboro.[2] Subsequently, he was for many years president of the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad and an adjutant general in the North Carolina militia during the War of 1812.[3] His brother John Owen was governor of North Carolina.

Omar ibn Said describing his two enslavers

Owen was a member of the North Carolina House of Commons from 1808 to 1811 and a Democratic-Republican party U.S. congressman from North Carolina's 5th congressional district from 1817 to 1819. He died in 1865 and was interred at Oakdale Cemetery, Wilmington. He was a devoted Presbyterian and was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Fayetteville, North Carolina, and an officer in the Fayetteville chapter of the American Bible Society.[3]

James Owen succeeded Edward B. Dudley as president of the Wilmington & Raleigh Railroad (later renamed the Wilmington & Weldon Railroad in 1855). Under his leadership, he played a key role in developing a rail rode via Weldon that connected Wilmington with major northern markets. Upon its completion in 1840, the 161.5 mile line became the longest railroad in the world at that time, significantly impacting regional transportation and commerce in antebellum North Carolina. Moreover, Owen’s relationship with Omar ibn Said, an educated Muslim scholar whom Owen enslaved, demonstrated an unexpected cultural complexity. Capable of writing in Arabic, Said lived in Owen’s household and received both an English translation of the Quran and an Arabic Bible; reflecting his owner's unusual accommodation of Said’s faith and learning.[4]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Governor John Owen Family Bible Records – via Digital Collections of the State Archives of North Carolina and the State Library of North Carolina.
  2. ^ Coon, Charles L. "North Carolina Schools and Academies 1790–1840 A Documentary History: Electronic Edition". University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Parramore, Thomas C. (1991). "Owen, James". NCpedia. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
  4. ^ https://www.dncr.nc.gov/blog/2024/01/02/omar-ibn-said-ca-1770-1863-i-89

Further reading

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