James Willis Elias "J.W.E." was born to Elias and Isabella (Wakefield) Owens in Clay County, Indiana.

His parents were farmers, and James also took care of the land and lived on it.

Sadly, James' mother, Isabella, passed away while he was very young, on March 27, 1850.

In 1850, James was living with his widowed father on a farm in Van Buren Township, Clay County, Indiana. At the time of census, there were a number of people in the household, according to the 1850 US Census:

Elias Owens M 44 Kentucky (Wife Isabella had died Mar 27, 1850)
Charlotte Crickee F 16 Ohio
William Crickee M 14 Ohio
Joseph H Owens M 9 Indiana
Sarah Owens F 7 Indiana
J W Owens M 4 Indiana

Later, Elias married Jane (Jackson) Carr. She had a number of children, and Elias and Jane were blessed with more.

The 1860 US Census shows a very large farm group, living in Van Buren Township in Clay County, Indiana. The nearest town was Harmony, Indiana.
Elias Owens, M 54, farmer Kentucky
Jane Owens, F 49, housekeeper Ohio
Alfred Carr M 21, farm laborer Indiana
Ephraim S Carr M 18, farm laborer Indiana
Elizabeth E Carr F 14, Indiana
Joseph Owens M 19, farm laborer, Indiana
Sarah J Owens F 18, domestic, Indiana
James W Owens M 15, farm laborer, Indiana
Elias D Owens M 6, Indiana
Samuel S Owens M 5, Indiana
Harriet Rachael Owens F 2, Indiana

By 1880, James W. Owens was married to Sarah (Branson). They were living in Stanton, Nebraska, and had a little girl, Martha, a servant, Naomah King, and a lodger, Arthur Dovan, who was a rail road laborer.
1880 US Census Stanton, Stanton Co, NE
J W Owen M 34, Indiana Railroad Section Boss
Sarah Owen F 22, wife, Iowa
Martha Owen F 5, daughter, Iowa
Naomah King F 21, servant, Minnesota
Arthur Doan M 23, lodger, Railroad laborer Canada

After working on the railroad, James returned to farming, this time near Missouri Valley, Iowa. He and Sarah had 3 children, all of whom were living at the time of the 1900 US Census (when the census taker asked married women how many children and how many still alive). When Sarah and James grew older, one of their sons, Orville, lived with them for a time.


J.W.E. entered eternity in Missouri Valley, Iowa, at age 86. According to cemetery records, he is buried in Rose Hill.


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Source: National Archives; Iowa County Death Records; Rose Hill Cemetery book, St. John’s Township Cemeteries, Missouri Valley, Harrison County Genealogical Society, Vol. I, book VIII, c. 1987; Note: The 1850 US Census records only list gender, age, and birth state, but not relationships. It is unknown if or how the Crickee teenagers were related to James (they might have been hired to help with the farm as well as the care of the little Owens children); kind assistance of FindaGrave volunteer James M Phillips (#46535829) who writes "James was the son of Elias Owens who married my great-grandmother’s Aunt Jane after the death of Elias' first wife Isabella."
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The only record that appeared out of sorts was the 1900 census which had birth states wrong for James, Sarah, and Orville. The Iowa death records were clear on James’ parentage. Social Security and war records consistently show that son Orville was born in Stanton, Stanton Co, NE although his AZ death certificate lists a birth in Iowa(no city listed).


1900 US census Missouri Valley, Harrison Co, IA
James Owens Head M 44 Iowa
Sarah Owens Wife F 44 Illinois
Orville Owens Son M 21 Iowa

1910 US census Missouri Valley, Harrison Co, IA
James W Owens Head M 63 Indiana
Sarah A Owens Wife F 53 Iowa
Orville Owens Son M 30 Nebraska

1920 US census Missouri Valley, Harrison Co, IA
James W Owens Head M 74 Indiana
Sarah Owens Wife F 63 Iowa

1930 US census Missouri Valley, Harrison Co, IA
James W E Owens Head M 84 Indiana
Sarah M Owens Wife F 74 Iowa