John Owen was born in Bladen County, North Carolina in August 1781. A Democratic politician, he served several terms in the North Carolina House of Representatives and Senate before becoming governor from 1828-1830. He returned to Bladen County, where he continued to have a career in public service, serving as a delegate to the North Carolina Constitutional Convention of 1835. He was Thomas and Lucy Brown's son-in-law. He died in Pittsboro, North Carolina on October 9, 1841.