Elias Owen (Welsh cleric)
Encyclopedia
Rev. Elias Owen was a Welsh
cleric and antiquarian
whose works include The Old Stone Crosses of the Vale of Clwyd, 1886 and Welsh Folk-Lore, 1896.
, probably in the village of Llandysilio
, the third child and eldest son of James Owen (ca.1806–1886) and Susannah Morgan (1805–1868). His father was a farmer and one of the first 12 constables in the Montgomeryshire Constabulary. James Owen was the father of at least 15 children, nine by his first wife, Susannah, and five by his second wife, Mary Morris (ca.1848–ca.1921).
Elias Owen married Margaret Pierce (1839–fl.1901) on 2 August 1858 at St. David’s Church, the Welsh chapel in Brownlow Hill, Liverpool; she was the daughter of Eleanor and William Pierce, a quarryman. They had 13 children:
, about 35 miles south-west of Llandysilio
. He attended the National School at Llanidloes, becoming a pupil-teacher; his occupation was given as such in the 1851 census, when he was aged 17 and living with his parents at Club Buildings, Lower Green, Llanidloes.
He won a scholarship to the Oxford Diocesan Training College for Schoolmasters at Culham, about eight miles south of Oxford
, from where he qualified with first-class honours.
In October 1868, he enrolled at Trinity College, Dublin
, graduating with a B.A.
in June 1871 and being awarded an M.A.
in the spring of 1878. At this time, students were not required to attend lectures at the college and needed only to sit the end of term examinations; such students became known as "steamboat men". Owen is said to have "carried off many prizes, more especially in divinity".
.
Owen lived at Llanllechid from the mid 1850s until 1871; during this time, he first developed his interest in antiquarian research. Together with the local vicar, John Evans, he explored the local mountains and mapped a Roman encampment on Moel Faban, on the lower slopes of Foel-fras
. He subsequently created a map of the whole parish which was published in 1866 in the North Wales Chronicle and later, in a more elaborate form, in Archaeologia Cambrensis
. His explorations and maps were referred to in an article by Col. Augustus Lane Fox published in the 1870 Journal of the Ethnological Society
. In 2005, researchers from the nearby Moelyci Environmental Centre
made use of Owen's map during investigations into local hill-fort sites.
, near Caersws
. Also resident in Caersws at this time was the poet John Ceiriog Hughes
, who had been stationmaster at Llanidloes between 1865 and 1870 before, in 1871, becoming station-master at Caersws
and superintendent of the newly opened line from Caersws to the Van
lead mines. Hughes was buried in St. Gwynnog graveyard in 1887.
In 1875, Owen was appointed to the curacy of Holy Trinity Church, Oswestry
, for a year before being appointed Diocesan Inspector of Schools for St. Asaph. While serving as an Inspector, he lived in Llanfwrog
near Ruthin
, Denbighshire. From 1881 he was vicar of St. Michael's church at nearby Efenechtyd but continued to be an Inspector, before giving up both roles in 1892 when he became vicar of Llanyblodwel
, in Shropshire
.
On resigning his post as Diocesan Inspector, the local clergy and school managers presented him with an illuminated address, which had a photograph of St. Asaph cathedral at the head, a view of the parish church at Efenechtyd at the foot, and Owen's portrait in the margin. The teachers and parents also presented with an address. According to The North Wales Chronicle:
At Llanyblodwel, Owen became vicar at the church of St. Michael the Archangel, which had been rebuilt in 1855 to designs by its then-vicar, Rev. John Parker. Owen oversaw the addition of half an acre to the churchyard on land donated by the Earl of Bradford. He also enlarged the school at Porth-y-waen by converting the schoolmaster's house into an extra classroom.
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
cleric and antiquarian
Antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient objects of art or science, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts...
whose works include The Old Stone Crosses of the Vale of Clwyd, 1886 and Welsh Folk-Lore, 1896.
Family
Owen was born in MontgomeryshireMontgomeryshire
Montgomeryshire, also known as Maldwyn is one of thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. Montgomeryshire is still used as a vice-county for wildlife recording...
, probably in the village of Llandysilio
Llandysilio
Llandysilio is a village and community in the Welsh county of Powys.Its population at the 2001 Census was 962. The present parish church, dedicated to Saint Tysilio, dates from 1867 but tradition states that a church was founded here by Tysilio in the seventh century.- External links :*...
, the third child and eldest son of James Owen (ca.1806–1886) and Susannah Morgan (1805–1868). His father was a farmer and one of the first 12 constables in the Montgomeryshire Constabulary. James Owen was the father of at least 15 children, nine by his first wife, Susannah, and five by his second wife, Mary Morris (ca.1848–ca.1921).
Elias Owen married Margaret Pierce (1839–fl.1901) on 2 August 1858 at St. David’s Church, the Welsh chapel in Brownlow Hill, Liverpool; she was the daughter of Eleanor and William Pierce, a quarryman. They had 13 children:
- Edwin James Owen (1859–1928), who became the vicar at BrithdirBrithdir, GwyneddBrithdir is a small hamlet on the outskirts of Dolgellau, Gwynedd. The Arts and Crafts Movement St Mark's Church is a grade I listed building. Brithdir also includes a village hall, a phone box and a children's nursery....
, near Dolgelly, MerionethshireMerionethshireMerionethshire is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, a vice county and a former administrative county.The administrative county of Merioneth, created under the Local Government Act 1888, was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 on April 1, 1974...
. - William Pierce Owen (1860–1937), who played international football for WalesWales national football teamThe Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
, making 12 appearances and scoring six goals. He later became a solicitor in AberystwythAberystwythAberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....
. - Elias Owen (1863–1888), who was the WelshWales national football teamThe Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
goalkeeper for three matches in 1884. He took his own life, aged 25. - Thomas Edward Owen (1865–1932), who became the vicar at AberdaronAberdaronAberdaron is a community and former fishing village at the western tip of the Llŷn Peninsula in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. It lies west of Pwllheli and south west of Caernarfon, and has a population of 1,019. It is sometimes referred to as the "Land's End of Wales"...
, Caernarvonshire and then Blaenau FfestiniogBlaenau FfestiniogBlaenau Ffestiniog is a town in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It has a population of 5,000, including Llan Ffestiniog, which makes it the third largest town in Gwynedd, behind Caernarfon & Porthmadog. Although the population reached 12,000 at the peak of the slate industry, the population fell due to...
, Merionethshire. - Mary Owen (1866–NK), who emigrated to Australia or New Zealand.
- Susan Ellen Owen (1868–1940), who married William Greengrass who became headmaster at a school in ShoreditchShoreditchShoreditch is an area of London within the London Borough of Hackney in England. It is a built-up part of the inner city immediately to the north of the City of London, located east-northeast of Charing Cross.-Etymology:...
, London. - Margaret Ellen Owen (1870–1924), who married John James Jones who became curate at PwllheliPwllheliPwllheli is a community and the main market town of the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, north-western Wales. It has a population of 3,861, of which a large proportion, 81 per cent, are Welsh speaking. Pwllheli is the place where Plaid Cymru was founded. It is the birthplace of Albert Evans-Jones -...
and then at St. Mary's, BangorBangor, GwyneddBangor is a city in Gwynedd, north west Wales, and one of the smallest cities in Britain. It is a university city with a population of 13,725 at the 2001 census, not including around 10,000 students at Bangor University. Including nearby Menai Bridge on Anglesey, which does not however form part of...
, Caernarvonshire. - Lizzie Owen (1872–NK), who married Edward Wilde, a farmer of Westbury, ShropshireWestbury, ShropshireWestbury is a village and parish in Shropshire, England. It lies 8 miles west of the town of Shrewsbury, very close to the Wales-England border.During the Roman settlement of Britain it was an outpost of Wroxeter....
. - Myfanwy Owen (1877–1967), who married Albert Moss, a CunardCunardCunard may refer to:* Grace Cunard , American silent film actress* Nancy Cunard , English writer, editor, and publisher* Samuel Cunard , British shipping magnate-Other:...
ship’s steward. - Gwen Lily Owen (1879–1969), who married David Williams, a merchant who later operated a bus and coach company in Bethesda, Caernarvonshire.
- Sarah Louisa Owen (1881–1975), who married Arthur Harris, who was employed by the electricity board in CoventryCoventryCoventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
. - Enid Owen (1882–NK), about whom little is known.
- John Lowry Morgan Owen (1884–NK), who emigrated to ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
as a missionary.
Education
By the time he was six years old, the Owen family had settled in LlanidloesLlanidloes
Llanidloes is a town along the A470 road and B4518 road in Powys, within the historic county boundaries of Montgomeryshire , Mid Wales.It is the first town on the River Severn...
, about 35 miles south-west of Llandysilio
Llandysilio
Llandysilio is a village and community in the Welsh county of Powys.Its population at the 2001 Census was 962. The present parish church, dedicated to Saint Tysilio, dates from 1867 but tradition states that a church was founded here by Tysilio in the seventh century.- External links :*...
. He attended the National School at Llanidloes, becoming a pupil-teacher; his occupation was given as such in the 1851 census, when he was aged 17 and living with his parents at Club Buildings, Lower Green, Llanidloes.
He won a scholarship to the Oxford Diocesan Training College for Schoolmasters at Culham, about eight miles south of Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, from where he qualified with first-class honours.
In October 1868, he enrolled at Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
, graduating with a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in June 1871 and being awarded an M.A.
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts is a high academic degree offered at many universities in Europe and the United States.A Master of Arts, Magister Artium, or Magister in Artibus may also refer to:...
in the spring of 1878. At this time, students were not required to attend lectures at the college and needed only to sit the end of term examinations; such students became known as "steamboat men". Owen is said to have "carried off many prizes, more especially in divinity".
Teaching career
Owen's only teaching appointment was as headmaster of the National School at Llanllechid, near BangorBangor, Gwynedd
Bangor is a city in Gwynedd, north west Wales, and one of the smallest cities in Britain. It is a university city with a population of 13,725 at the 2001 census, not including around 10,000 students at Bangor University. Including nearby Menai Bridge on Anglesey, which does not however form part of...
.
Owen lived at Llanllechid from the mid 1850s until 1871; during this time, he first developed his interest in antiquarian research. Together with the local vicar, John Evans, he explored the local mountains and mapped a Roman encampment on Moel Faban, on the lower slopes of Foel-fras
Foel-fras
Foel-fras is a mountain in the Carneddau range, about 10 km east of Bethesda in North Wales. It lies on the border between the counties of Gwynedd and Conwy...
. He subsequently created a map of the whole parish which was published in 1866 in the North Wales Chronicle and later, in a more elaborate form, in Archaeologia Cambrensis
Archaeologia Cambrensis
Archaeologia Cambrensis is an archaeological and historical scholarly journal, published annually in Wales by the Cambrian Archaeological Association, containing excavation reports, book reviews, and historical essays...
. His explorations and maps were referred to in an article by Col. Augustus Lane Fox published in the 1870 Journal of the Ethnological Society
Ethnological Society of London
The Ethnological Society of London was founded in 1843 by a breakaway faction of the Aborigines' Protection Society . It quickly became one of England's leading scientific societies, and a meeting-place not only for students of ethnology but also for archaeologists interested in prehistoric...
. In 2005, researchers from the nearby Moelyci Environmental Centre
Moelyci Environmental Centre
Moelyci Environmental Centre is a community project based near the village of Tregarth, in the county of Gwynedd in north-west Wales.- The Centre :Moelyci Environmental Centre is run as an Industrial and Provident Society...
made use of Owen's map during investigations into local hill-fort sites.
Clerical career
Owen was ordained as a deacon by the Bishop of Bangor in 1871, and in 1872 he was ordained as a priest. From 1871 until 1875, he was curate at St. Gwynnog's church, LlanwnnogLlanwnnog
Llanwnnog is a village in Powys, Wales. It is located one-and-a half miles north of Caersws on the B4568 road.The Ordnance Survey spell the name with a single 'n'....
, near Caersws
Caersws
Caersws is a village and community sitting on the River Severn, at miles west of Newtown, Powys, and halfway between Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury.- History & Amenities :...
. Also resident in Caersws at this time was the poet John Ceiriog Hughes
John Ceiriog Hughes
John Ceiriog Hughes , was a Welsh poet and well-known collector of Welsh folk tunes. Sometimes referred to as the "Robert Burns of Wales"...
, who had been stationmaster at Llanidloes between 1865 and 1870 before, in 1871, becoming station-master at Caersws
Caersws railway station
Caersws railway station is a railway station on the Cambrian Line in mid-Wales, serving the village of Caersws. Trains call here once in every two hours and there is only a minimal Sunday service, but two extra Sunday trains are planned for summer evenings after 2009.The notable Welsh romantic poet...
and superintendent of the newly opened line from Caersws to the Van
Van, Llanidloes
Van is the Anglicised placename for a small hamlet to the north west of Llanidloes in Powys, Mid Wales.It is also often spelt "Fan", with the full, correct Welsh language name being "Y Fan"...
lead mines. Hughes was buried in St. Gwynnog graveyard in 1887.
In 1875, Owen was appointed to the curacy of Holy Trinity Church, Oswestry
Oswestry
Oswestry is a town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483, and A495 roads....
, for a year before being appointed Diocesan Inspector of Schools for St. Asaph. While serving as an Inspector, he lived in Llanfwrog
Llanfwrog, Denbighshire
Llanfwrog is a village in Denbighshire, in northern Wales....
near Ruthin
Ruthin
Ruthin is a community and the county town of Denbighshire in north Wales. Located around a hill in the southern part of the Vale of Clwyd - the older part of the town, the castle and Saint Peter's Square are located on top of the hill, while many newer parts of the town are on the floodplain of...
, Denbighshire. From 1881 he was vicar of St. Michael's church at nearby Efenechtyd but continued to be an Inspector, before giving up both roles in 1892 when he became vicar of Llanyblodwel
Llanyblodwel
Llanyblodwel is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England; the spelling "Llanyblodwell" was commonly used in the past, and the village was sometimes simply referred to as "Blodwell". It lies 7 miles west of the nearest town, Oswestry, in the valley of the River Tanat.The parish had a...
, in Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
.
On resigning his post as Diocesan Inspector, the local clergy and school managers presented him with an illuminated address, which had a photograph of St. Asaph cathedral at the head, a view of the parish church at Efenechtyd at the foot, and Owen's portrait in the margin. The teachers and parents also presented with an address. According to The North Wales Chronicle:
Both addresses pay a touching tribute to the sincerity with which Mr. Owen carried out his work, and speak of the esteem in which he was held. . . Mr. Owen as an antiquary and author enjoyed an extensive and well-deserved reputation.
At Llanyblodwel, Owen became vicar at the church of St. Michael the Archangel, which had been rebuilt in 1855 to designs by its then-vicar, Rev. John Parker. Owen oversaw the addition of half an acre to the churchyard on land donated by the Earl of Bradford. He also enlarged the school at Porth-y-waen by converting the schoolmaster's house into an extra classroom.