Owen/Barger and Related Surnames Family Web Site

My name is Lisa (Owen,Barron) Upton and I am the Webmaster of this site.I HAVE A FAVOUR TO ASK OF EVERYONE!  WHEN YOU ADD SOMEONE OR MAKE CHANGES, PLEASE SEND ME A MESSAGE INFORMING ME OF THE PERSON ADDED OR CHANGED.  THERE IS NO OTHER WAY FOR ME TO SEE THE CHANGES MADE UNLESS YOU INFORM ME OF SUCH.  THIS IS TO PROTECT THE INTEGRITY OF THE INFORMATION ON THIS SITE.  THANK YOU!!!  Another note:  Standard Accepted Genealogy procedure is to list women using their maiden names, not married name.  The married name may be listed in ( ) AFTER the maiden name.  I'm seeing some changes that have been made since I created the site that I need to go in and fix.  Please keep in mind the correct procedures when adding/changing a person's name.Thank You!!This site was created using MyHeritage.com. This is a great system that allows anyone like you and me to create a site for their family and even publish their family tree on the Internet.If you have any comments or feedback about this site, please click here to contact me.  Origin of the Owen Surname The Owen name is of Welch origin. The word means "well born" or "well descended". It was a personal name in Wales and was not used as a family name or surname until the sixteenth century. The name was originally Owain, Owin, Owens, and lastly, Owen. It has always been popular as a forename, being the name of princes and leaders, noteably Owain Gwynedd (c.1100-1170) and Owain Glyndwr (c.1354-1416). The first of the family to adopt Owen as a surname was Roland Owen, sheriff of Montgomeryshire, Wales in the year 1610. The Owen Glendowers, or Glendower Owens, were persecuted by their enemies, and driven from their estates to the mountain wilds, where they became shepherds; their ancestral home was in Marionethshire, Wales, one of the extreme western counties, the coast of which is washed by Cardigan Bay. It lies not far from the port of Liverpool, and its principle town is Barmouth.(From "Historical Sketches of the Campbell, Pilcher and Kindred Families", by Margarte Pilcher, Nashville, TN, 1911)The castle shown on this page is Arundel Castle, overlooking the Arun River in West Sussex, England.  Arundel is the second largest castle in England. Arundel Castle has been the seat of the Dukes of Norfolk for over 500 years. "The Duke of Norfolk is England�s Premier Duke, the title having been conferred on Sir John Howard in 1483 by his friend King Richard III. The Dukedom also carries with it the hereditary office of Earl Marshal of England" (since 1672).The Owen connection to the castle is through the Fitzalan's, who held possession of the castle from the 13th to 16th Centuries.   The castle passed through the de Albini female line to the Fitzalan family when Isobel de Albini married John Fitzalan acquiring the Castle and Honour of Arundel. The Fitzalan family would hold the castle and title in an "almost uninterrupted line until 1555..."  In 1272, John Fitzalan died and the castle passed to his son, Richard, who was only five years old. "In 1285 King Edward I granted the right to hold two fairs a year at Arundel and to tax the goods there." This created additional much needed cash to renovate the castle and buildings which had been neglected through lack of money. Richard reconstructed the entrance to the keep, and the Well Tower. He built the barbican with two square towers in front of the Norman gateway and hightened the gate tower (gateway). "In 1289 Richard was created Earl of Arundel (the first Fitzalan Earl of Arundel) by �Longshanks� and the two became good friends. Richard fought with the King against the Scots and he is described on the Rolls of the Siege of Caerlaverock (castle) in 1300: �A handsome and well-loved Knight, I saw there richly armed in red with gold lion rampant�." Richard died at the age of 35 in 1302.  (See News Article below for "the rest of story").