James Byeram Owens ( c. 1816 – August 1, 1889) was a slaveowner and American politician who served as a Deputy from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

to the

Provisional Congress of the Confederate States The Provisional Congress of the Confederate States, also known as the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States of America, was a congress of Deputy (legislator), deputies and Delegate (American politics), delegates called together from th ...

from 1861 to 1862. He mounted legal arguments in defense of

secession Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...

based on an

originalist In the context of United States law, originalism is a theory of constitutional interpretation that asserts that all statements in the Constitution must be interpreted based on the original understanding "at the time it was adopted". This conc ...

interpretation of the

U.S. Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the nation ...

and Southern arguments in favor of states' rights, with the intention of protecting the practice and institution of

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

Biography

Owens was born in Fairfield County, South Carolina, moving to Mississippi and later to

Marion County, Florida Marion County is located in the northern portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 375,908. Its county seat is Ocala. Marion County comprises the Ocala, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area. it includes par ...

, in 1857, with two of his brothers. Owens was one of the wealthier slaveowning planters in Marion County. His name appears on the 1860 Slave Census Schedules for Marion County which attribute to him the ownership of 89 enslaved persons. Owens used the forced labor of enslaved people to work the land on his

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

, where cotton was grown. Owens 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 Benjamin Franklin Butler (November 5, 1818 – January 11, 1893) was an American major general of the Union Army, politician, lawyer, and businessman from Massachusetts. Born in New Hampshire and raised in Lowell, Massachusetts, Butler is ...

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 John Cabell Breckinridge (January 16, 1821 – May 17, 1875) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier. He represented Kentucky in both houses of Congress and became the 14th and youngest-ever vice president of the United States. Serving ...

for the Democratic Party ticket in the U.S. presidential election of 1860. Owens then represented Marion County at the Secession Convention of Florida held in Tallahassee in January 1861 and was a signatory to the Ordinance of Secession which declared Florida's secession from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. 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 John Wellborn Martin (June 21, 1884 – February 22, 1958) was an American politician who served as the List of Governors of Florida, 24th Governor of Florida, from 1925 to 1929. He also served as Mayor of Jacksonville, Mayor of Jacksonville, Flo ...

, the 24th

Governor of Florida A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, by way of his daughter, Willie Owens, and her husband, John M. Martin Jr., himself the son of John Marshall Martin.

References

# {{DEFAULTSORT:Owens, James Byeram 1816 births 1889 deaths 19th-century American politicians 19th-century Baptist ministers from the United States American slave owners Burials in Florida Deputies and delegates to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States Farmers from South Carolina People from Fairfield County, South Carolina People of Florida in the American Civil War Recipients of American presidential pardons Signers of the Confederate States Constitution Signers of the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States __NOTOC__

Biography

Notable relatives

See also

References