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Owen Family News OWEN FAMILY NEWS Published by OWEN FAMILY ASSOCIATION OWEN March 2002 A Name Worth Knowing htpp//www.geocities.com/~owenfamily VOLUME 17, NUMBER 1 Of course, one would hope that our connection to our royal ancestors was an honorable one and not the result of some royal peccadillo. Also, as many historians have found, the By Kim Owen, Assiciate Editor morals of many of the royalty and nobility were not very no- ble. Many of the alleged links in the chain of ancestors have In my genealogical pursuits, I have run across many cousins not been properly documented by citing reliable and verifi- and friends. Forrest Budd, in Kansas, is just such a fellow. able sources. Richard Owen is my tenth great grandfather and he is Forrest’s eighth great grandfather. When Arnie told me I had My curiosity led me first to one of the earliest alleged ances- to come up with an article by the next issue, I asked Forrest tors, Arnulf, who was born c.580 A.D., who served as the what he thought. The following article is based on his prem- Bishop of Metz, in Austrasia during the reign of young Da- ise. gobert I, titular ruler of Austrasia, parts of which later became parts of Austria. This discovery raised a question as to how it For those of you who are interested in which Owen lineage could be that a bishop would have children, if a bishop must I am speaking of, I will expound. My father was Hampton C. come from the ranks of the priesthood, which required oaths Owen, Jr. My grandfather was Hampton C. Owen, Sr. My of chastity and celibacy. More research disclosed the fact that grandfather’s sister, Gertrude Russell, told me that my grand- the vows of chastity and celibacy were not required of priests parents met at Weatherford Primitive Baptist Church near at that time, and thus, not required of bishops, until sometime Sycamore in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. She says my great later, during the reign of Charlemagne, the great, great, great grandfather was Bruce Wooding Owen and my great, great grandson of Arnulf. Also, research disclosed that Arnulf’s grandfather was Anderson C. Owen. The 1840 Federal Cen- wife entered a convent after the children were able to fend for sus Index accessible through Ancestry.com shows Drury themselves. Arnulf retired to a wilderness area, to live as a Owen II as the next in line. According to an individual record religious recluse several years before his death.”1. submitted to FamilySearch Pedigree Resource File by Laura Irby, compact disk #4, Drury Owen I was my great, great, “St. Arnulf of Metz was a statesman and bishop. His parents great, great grandfather. Other research on Ancestry.com lists belonged to a distinguished Frankish family, and lived in John Owen as next in line, then Robert Owen, Jr. and Robert Austrasia, the eastern section of the kingdom founded by Owen, Sr. Clovis. In the school in which he was placed during his boy- hood he excelled through his talent and his good behaviour. Again, according to research in the files of Ancestry.com, According to the custom of the age, he was sent to the court my immigrant is Bartholomew Owen who was born in Ste- of Theodebert II, king of Austrasia (595-612), to be initiated venton Parish, Berkshire, England. His father is listed as in various branches of the government. Under the guidance of Robert William Owen. Robert’s father, Richard Owen, is as Gundulf, the Mayor of the Palace, he soon became so profi- far as I can trace back. Other cousins I have spoken with cient that he was placed on the regular list of royal officers, agree this is the end of our lineage as of today. My father al- and among the first of the kings’ ministers. ways said we were of Welsh descent, but I have yet to find documentation to support that belief. He distinguished himself both as a military commander and in the civil administration; at one time he had under his care Forrest wrote, “It would seem reasonable to believe that six distinct provinces. many, like myself, who have made extensive use of the Inter- net as a tool for family history research, have found several In due course, Arnulf was married to a Frankish woman of pedigrees which appear to extend our heritage far beyond the noble lineage, by whom he had two sons, Anseghisel and bounds of generally accepted sources. Clodulf. This appears to apply to the search for the ancestors of Arnulf did not forget spiritual endeavors. His thoughts were Joane/Joanne Daniels/Daniell/Daniells, the wife of our ances- often on monasteries, and with his friend Romaricus, like- tor, Richard Owen. I have found several files on the Internet, wise, an officer of the court, he planned to make a pilgrimage which list several lines of her ancestors extending to the sixth to the Abbey of Lerins, evidently for the purpose of devoting century A.D., and others extending to a much earlier time. his life to God. Many of these lines include persons of royalty and nobility, which piques my curiousity about what it might mean to be In the meantime, the Episcopal See (‘the official seat, center descended from royalty and nobility. of authority, jurisdiction, or office of a bishop’2.) of Metz be- came vacant. Arnulf was universally designated as a worthy 1 March 2002 Volume 17 Issue 1 Owen Family News candidate for the office, and he was consecrated bishop of that king of the Franks in 751. Pepin the Short, also called Pepin see about 611. In his new position, he set the example of a III, was the first king of the Frankish Carolingian dynasty. virtuous life to his subjects and attended to matters of ecclesi- The Franks were Germanic peoples who gradually gained astical government. In 625, he took part in a council held by control of much of the present-day France and Germany and the Frankish bishops at Reims. other parts of Western Europe during the early Middle With all this, Arnulf retained his station at the court of the Ages.”5. king and took a prominent part in the national life of his peo- ple. In 613, after the death of Theodebert, he, with Pepin of “Charles Martel, (688?-741), ruled northern Gaul from 719 Landen and other nobles, called to Austrasia Clothaire II, to 741. Gaul was a region in Europe that included what are King of Neustria. When, in 625, the realm of Austrasia was now France, Germany west of the Rhine River and Belgium. entrusted to the king’s son, Dagobert, Arnulf became not only Charles was not a king, but ruled as a mayor of the palace in the tutor, but the chief minister of the young king. At the time, the name of several weak kings from the Merovingian dy- the two kings were estranged. Arnulf with other bishops tried nasty. Later, Charles Martel, brought Burgundy, the south- to effect a reconciliation. eastern part of present-day France, under his control. He, also, conquered Frisia in what is now the Netherlands. He helped Arnulf dreaded the responsibilities of the Episcopal office convert Germany to Christianity by sponsoring the missionary and grew weary of court life. About 626, he obtained the ap- work of Saint Boniface. Charles was later called Martel, pointment of a successor to the Episcopal See of Metz; he and meaning the Hammer, because of a victory over the Mus- his friend, Romaricus, withdrew to a solitary place in the lims.”6. mountains of the Vosges. There he lived in communion with God until his death c. 640. His remains, interred by Romari- ”The Merovingian dynasty, founders of the French state, cus, were transferred about a year later to the basilica of the was a line of Frankish kings who conquered Gaul and sur- Holy Apostles in Metz. rounding lands beginning in A.D. 486 and ruled until 751. The name Merovingian comes from Merovech, a relative of Of the two sons of Arnulf, Clodulf became his third succes- the first Merovingian ruler, Clovis I, (455? -511). Clovis I sor in the See of Metz. Anseghisel remained in the service of was, also, the most powerful Merovingian king. He unified the State. From Anseghisel’s union with Begga, a daughter of the Franks under his rule and defeated the last great Roman Pepin of Landen, was born Pepin of Heristal, the founder of army in Gaul. Clovis was the first Germanic king to become the Carlovingian dynasty. In this manner, Arnulf was the an- an orthodox Christian. By his conversion to Christianity, cestor of the mighty rulers of that house. The life of Arnulf Clovis won the support of his Catholic subjects, including the exhibits, to a certain extent, the Episcopal office and career in clergy. When Clovis died, the kingdom was divided among the Merovingian State. The bishops were much considered at his four sons which weakened the dynasty. In 751, the last court; their advice was listened to; they took part in the dis- Merovingian king, Childrec III, was replaced by Pepin the pensation of justice by the courts; they had a voice in the ap- Short.”7. pointment of royal officers; they were often used as the king’s ambassadors and held high administrative positions. For the “As king, Pepin aided the pope against the Lombards, a people under their care, they were the protectors of their Germanic people who had conquered much of Italy.
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