Lemuel Owen Explained

Lemuel Owen
Order:2nd
Office:Premier of Prince Edward Island
Predecessor:James Colledge Pope
Successor:Louis Henry Davies
Lieutenant Governor:William Robinson
Robert Hodgson
Term Start:September 1, 1873
Term End:August 15, 1876
Office1:Leader of the Conservative Party of Prince Edward Island
Predecessor1:James Colledge Pope
Successor1:William Wilfred Sullivan
Term Start1:September 1, 1873
Term End1:1877
Office3:Member of the General Assembly of Prince Edward Island for 3rd Kings
Predecessor3:None
Successor3:John Scrimgeour
Alongside3:A.C. MacDonald, J.E. MacDonald
Term Start3:April 24, 1873
Term End3:August 10, 1876
Birth Date:1822 11, mf=yes
Birth Place:Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island Colony
Death Place:Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Dominion of Canada
Nationality:Canadian
Party:Conservative
Children:William Edgar Wallace, Lemuel Cambridge, and Marion Adele
Alma Mater:Prince of Wales College
Occupation:Business person and shipping magnate
Profession:Politician

Lemuel Cambridge Owen (November 1, 1822 – November 26, 1912) was a Prince Edward Island shipbuilder, banker, merchant and politician, the second premier of Prince Edward Island.

He was born in Charlottetown to Thomas Owen, who was Postmaster General for Prince Edward Island for eighteen years, serving until his death in 1860. Owen was educated in private schools and at the Central Academy in Charlottetown (later Prince of Wales College). Brother of Canadian writer, Elizabeth Lee Owen Macdonald.

One of the island's most successful businessmen, Owen succeeded his father as Postmaster General of the island in 1860 before entering politics in 1866 winning election as a Conservative. Owen became Premier of the province in 1873 after James Colledge Pope entered federal politics. Owen was the second premier since PEI joined Canadian confederation on July 1, 1873. His government set up a Land Commission that was responsible for using funds provided by the federal government to implement land reform and end the island's system of proprietary land ownership and tenant farming.

His government was unable to resolve the contentious schools question that divided both the Conservative and Liberal parties along sectarian lines and his government was replaced in 1876 by a Protestant coalition formed to implement a secular school system on the island. Owen retired from politics and returned to his business interests.

Owen had married Lois Welsh in 1861. He retired from business in 1892 and died at the home of one of his sons in Charlottetown in 1912.

External links