Hugh
H. Owens came to the United States with his brother Charles and
sister Anna in 1875. Family legend says that Charles was in trouble
with the British authorities so the three siblings decided to immigrate
from their home in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Ireland. They
landed in Baltimore and made their way to Chicago. There Hugh met
Sarah Crane, another Irish immigrant, and they were married on New
Years Day, 1877.
The Crane and
Gaughan families had immigrated from County Mayo on the northwest
coast of Ireland. It is believed they lived in the city of Westport
and Michael Crane, Sarah's father, was a salvage diver. Her mother,
Bridget was a Gaughan and several members of her family came together
from Ireland.
Family legend
says that Anna also married in Chicago but her first husband died.
She married again and the family lost track of her. Charles migrated
with the Owens, Gaughan, and Crane families to southern Kansas where
they homesteaded.
Family legend
says that Charles was unhappy as a farmer. One night he took the
wagon and team of horses and left. No trace has ever been found
of him though several members of the family have tried to trace
him. |