John Owens, Shipbuilder, Saint John , New Brunswick, was the grand-son of John Owens, Mariner and Partown grantee of 1785.



He married Mary Ann Lawton, daughter of John Lawton Loyalist..............

Female: Lawton, Mary Ann -
Born: 1800 - Saint John, , NB,
Died: - Saint John, , NB,
Spouse: Owens, John, Shipwright-Shipbuilder -
Marr: 13 Feb 1821 - Saint John, , NB,

and went into partnership with her brother, James Lawton for a short time.

His home was on Paradise Row...his partner James Duncan also lived on Paradise Row


David Lynch, shipbuilder bought the house in 1881...Lynch's grandson, Charles Lynch was a famous newspaper man and broadcaster. David Lynch made improvements to the house.




Lynch shipyard....typical of the time.



John Owens' was married three times and his third marriage was to Mrs Charlotte Woodworth, September 6, 1834.

John Owens went into partnership with John Duncan and in 1841 they suffered a serious fire


1841 Fire At St. Johns, N. B. St. Johns papers of the 27th ult. furnish accounts of a destructive fire at that place on the day previous. A large ship of 900 tons, belonging to Messrs. Owens & Duncan, was building and nearly finished. Some tar which was heating in the yard, boiled over and ignited. The fire communicated to the chips around, and before it was discovered it had increased to an alarming extent. The ship was soon on fire, and the flames were soon communicated to the wooden buildings in the vicinity, and their progress could not be stayed until about filly houses in the parish of Portland were destroyed. It was believed that very little insurance was effected, and the loss to many individuals would be very serious, particularly to the owners of the ship. Their loss is estimated at 850,000. During the fire, a soldier while running to prevent a man from passing with his cart, ruptured a blood vessel, and died instantly, and a sailor, who was assisting, was smothered in the flames.

a detailed story on this fire follows later ....

Another accident...

Date July 20 1850
County Saint John
Place Saint John
Newspaper New Brunswick Courier

. On Thursday last, James Merritt WETMORE, age 46, who was working in Messrs Owens and Duncan's Shipyard was accidently killed by a heavy piece of ship timber falling on him which instantly crushed his head. He had left his home but a short time before in good health, left widow, six children.

John and Charlotte's deaths occured in 1867 and 1880

Date June 14 1867
County Saint John
Place Saint John
Newspaper Morning News

John Owens, Esq. of Owens & Duncan, probably the oldest business firm in the city died about noon today.

Date June 14 1867
County Saint John
Place Saint John
Newspaper Morning News


d. Noon, Thursday 13th inst., John Owens, Esq., age 76. Funeral Monday next 3 o'clock from his residence Paradise Row (St. John) thence to Zion Church where Public Service will be held before proceeding to the Cemetery.

Date January 27 1880
County Saint John
Place Saint John
Newspaper Daily News



d. Monday morn., 26th inst., Charlotte Douglas OWENS widow of John OWENS, 90th year. Funeral from her residence Paradise Row, Portland (St. John) Wednesday half past 2 o'clock.

An account of John Owens , Shipbuilder

















John Duncan was elected the 2nd President of the Saint John Board of Trade on 1840 and re-elected in 1841 and 1842. He retired on 1843. He died in 1869.


John Duncan's son, William....
Date January 3 1873
County Saint John
Place Saint John
Newspaper The Daily Telegraph

On Wednesday afternoon the friends of late John Duncan of (St. John) city were grieved at the intelligence of the sudden death of William Duncan who for about ten years past has resided on a large farm near the Railway Station at Moncton (West. Co.) Quite recently Mr. D. disposed of the larger part of his property to the Dominion Government and intended coming to this city to reside with his friends. His death will prove a heavy blow for his widowed mother. The remains were brought to this city by the train last eve. about five o'clock and the funeral will take place from the residence of Mrs. Duncan, Paradise Row, Saturday 2 1/2 p.m.
Some items located at New Brunswick Museum Archives in Saint John


John Duncan's wife, Mary Alice....
RS141C4
Provincial Returns of Deaths

Name	DUNCAN, MARY A.
Sex	F
Age	94
Date	1897 | 10 | 25 (Y-M-D)
County	SAINT JOHN

Lease (Simonds Parish) John Owens and John Duncan to Charles H. Dimock, 1842

Bail piece, Alexander Johnston v. John Owens, 1827

Bail papers, John Owens and Edward J. Budd v. George Hume, 1827

Hints for course of academic study by Mr. Owens

Receipt, William Kirk has paid 4 pounds on John Owens account, 1831

Owens Art School exhibit / principal of Educational Dept., John Hammond. Saint John : J. & A. McMillan, 1886

Invitation to pupils to attend reception at Owens Art Institution for John A. and Lady Macadonald, 1887

Agreement to build Ship General Williams for Owens & Duncan, 1855;

Account statements (2) 1855-1857

Administrative History or Biographical Sketch


I. John Owens was a leading member of the Methodist community in Saint John, New Brunswick. He disagreed with the majority of his fellow Methodists in believing that instrumental music was not appropriate for church services. When his fellow trustees of Portland Methodist Church installed an organ, he withdrew and with some like-minded associates, he founded an independent church.
Zion Church on Valley Road, Portland, Saint John opened 25 July 1858. The congregation accepted principles close to Methodism and Presbyterianism. Membership was granted after candidates had been examined by the pastor, made a confession of faith and received a majority of the votes of the congregation. The church had strict guidelines for conduct and members who disobeyed were either suspended or excommunicated by a majority of church members present at a regular meeting. The mode of baptism was decided by individual church members and baptism of infants was left to the parents to decide.

The dedication service in 1858 was conducted by Rev. Dr. Donald, a local Presbyterian minister. The following Sunday, Rev. W.H. Daniels, a preacher connected to the Methodist Episcopalian Church became pastor. A Sunday School was organized 29 August 1858.
On 1 August 1859 Daniels was succeeded by Thomas Smith, a former Methodist preacher. The church was enlarged to accommodate 800 people and a parsonage was built during Mr. Smith's pastorate. In 1861, Rev. Daniels returned to the pastorate and was ordained on 1 September. The ordination service was conducted by Rev. Henry Wilkes, pastor of Zion's Church, Montreal; Rev. R. Wilson, Congregationalist of Sheffield; and Rev. George Stirling of Keswick Ridge. They were assisted by serval ministers of Saint John. In 1863, John Baylis became pastor until 1872.

After the death of John Owen in 1867, the management of the church was transferred to a board of trustees who were authorized to appoint pastors from the Episcopal, Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregationalist or Methodist denominations. No instrumental music was to be permitted. Owens left money to run the church and also an endowment for teaching children music and drawing. Ministers of several different denominations served the church until June 1881 when it was closed.

By an act of Parliament, the church was turned into an art gallery and its endowment used to purchase paintings. When the gallery failed, legislative authority was given to transfer the paintings to Sackville, where, in 1895, they formed the foundation of the permanent collection of the Owens Gallery at Mount Allison University. The church building was turned over to the Methodists and reopened as a Methodist Church in 1893.
Source: "The interesting life story of Zion Methodist Church", "The Semi-Weekly Telegraph" St. John, N.B., 22 January 1902
.

In 1893 the Owens Art collection, the legacy of a wealthy Saint John shipbuilder and merchant, John Owens (1790-1867) was transferred to Mount Allison. The complicated negotiations and details of this move plus the building of the splendid Owens Art Gallery have been well told by University historian John G. Reid. It was Reid’s conclusion that “By virtue of acquiring the services of John Hammond, even more than by securing the Owens collection, Mount Allison became a centre of the Fine Arts in the Maritimes and in Canada as a whole.”



Opening Owens Art Gallery at Mount Alison, NB....



The largest ship Owens and Duncan built was the Forest Monarch...John Richardson became Captain of the ship...
Date January 19 1850 The Story of the Forest Monarch

1.The Forest Monarch departs New Brunswick,on Wednesday the first of November 1848.

2.On Sunday the 19th they were caught in a fierce South West Storm.

3.On the morning of Monday 20th at about 5a.m. the Forest Monarch strikes a rock behind the island of Arranmore,Co. Donegal,Ireland. It is very probable that at about 2 cables from shore that they saw "White Water".I expect that the order to go hard to starboard was given.The crew would have been ordered on deck.The ship's bell would have been rung?

4.It is very likely that the Forest Monarch struck on the Port side as the ship was still turning.The principal damage would have been to near the stern of the ship.

5.One must pause and consider,the order to go to starboard? Had the order been to go to Port,The ship would have gone down with all hands,and there would have been no survivors. It would have been likely that the ship would have been pinned on the bottom of very high sea cliffs. Let us just consider,had they managed to get around the Arranmore Lighthouse,they would not have been able to enter Arran Roads,a sheltered bay,because the wind would have been on the bow.The only hope to save the vessel would have been to beach her.

6.With this in mind,perhaps what Richardson was trying to do was to try and reach a safe anchorage on the north side of Iniskerragh Island.

7.It would have involved going East of Oileán Cróine,head west towards the North side of Iniskerragh Island,come up into the wind and anchor the ship.

8.This did not happen because,the ship was lost on the South side of Iniskerragh Island. The problems that he encountered were as follows.
a.The ship was fully ladened.
b.The ship had a draught of 23 feet. South of Iniskerragh Island is shallow,and full of rocks.
c.It was not a Spring tide.
d. The sea was very rough,it is something that might have worked on a good day,not after a storm.
e.There was no tug,to tow him to safety.
f.The S.V. Forest Monarch did not have an engine.
g.He did not have a pilot on board,and it is very likely that the helm was damaged.
h.There were no navigational lights to guide him.
i.It was dark,and he was not in home waters.
j.Due to the storm,he may not have been certain of his position.

9.The S.V. Forest Monarch struck rocks South of Iniskerragh Island at about 6a.m. on the morning of the 20th.

10.It had a crew of 35,and its master was Captain John Richardson.

11.The coastguard on a nearby island,under the command of Richard Heard organised the rescue.The coastguard and Iocal islanders waded into the surf and brought nearly all the crew to safety.

12.One crew member was lost,when a long boat capsized.

13.Local folklore states,that a black crew member attempted to kill the captain,when they got ashore. We do not know what was behind this? We do know that Captain Richardson paid islanders five pound stering to leave him on the mainland?

14.Attempts were made to save the ship. They cut down the three masts.

15.The ship became a total wreck.

16.We believe that the remains of the wreck is currently,one (sea mile) west of the Torc Rock.

17.It is important to note that the Arranmore Lighthouse was not lit that night for it had been unused since 1832. It was closed, when the Tory Island Lighthouse was opened. They were trying to save money. It may have been that Richardson had an old chart pre 1832,and that he was relying on it for navigation? He may have been expecting to see the Arranmore Light.?????? But in any case he should have had up to date information on the Arranmore Light.

Had the Arranmore Light been lit that night:- the S.V. Forest Monarch would not have been lost. The Loss of the S.V. Forest Monarch was a major consideration for the reopening of the Arranmore Lighthouse in 1859.

Yours sincerely, Dermot Boner







The people of Arranmore and Iniskerragh Islands,though suffering extreme hardship and famine did not in any way wrong the S.V. Forest Monarch, and it's crew. This can be proven by an eye witness account from a crew member.






HEARD, RICHARD. Chief Officer, Coastguard, Rutland Co. Donegal. Silver Medal 2 May 1849

On 20th.November 1848 the ship ‘Forest Monarch’ , on passage from St. John, New Brunswick to the Clyde was wrecked on rocks off the Island of Inneskeagh, Rutland where she became a total wreck. Mr. Heard with a mixed crew of coastguards and others waded into the surf with ropes and brought off the Master and 35 men.


Dermot's summary ....

I will try and explain as accurately as I can what I think happened.

It is the morning of 20.11.1848 about 5 a.m. Everything is very dark, the S.V. Forest Monarch has got through the force ten storm. There has been a navigation error. They are much further south than they think. This is because,they have to use "time run" to calculate their position. They may not have been able to take a fix on a star,because of the storm. Therefore all they could use was "Time Run".

The lookout warn of White Water ahead. The decision then is taken to put her hard to starboard. The ship's bell would be ringing to bring the crew up on deck..! I would expect that there would have been three men on the helm at least to try and bring her hard about to starboard. They would have been struggling with all their might to bring her about.

But too late .The ship hits a low lying rock. Most likely on the port side, near the stern of the ship. The helm has also been damaged.

Had the command been to put her hard to port, she would have lost the wind for a brief moment, which would have meant that the ship would have been pinned onto a very high sea cliff.

Of which there would have been no escape.

Because she was fully laden it would have been very difficult to figure out the damage ,and to try and carry out running repairs. I believe that the only possible choice for Richardson was to try and get inside the island of Iniskerragh ,come up into the wind and anchor her. But because the S.V. Forest Monarch was 171 foot long,35 foot beam, and drawing 23 foot of water ,she was lost behind the Island of Iniskerragh at about 6 a.m. in the morning.

My records show that it had a figure head up in the bow,and that the stern was round?

Do you have any pictures of her? What colour was she?

It is very important to try and be as accurate as possible?

My regards, Dermot



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