Capt. R. Randolph Owens

© Kathy Duncan, 2018

Many researchers have placed Capt. R. Randolph Owens as the son of Robert Fleming and Mary M. (Williams) Owens. I have yet to find any documentation to that effect and would love to see it if any one has it.

Like the Robert Fleming Owens household, Randolph Owens and family are in Butler County, Alabama in 1860, and Randolph is the right age to be Robert Fleming Owens' missing elder son. Proximity points to a connection between the two.

Randolph Owens married Martha Louisa Burns on 24 October 1851 in Lowndes County, Alabama. Perhaps not coincidentally, in 1850 the Robert Fleming Owens household was also in Lowndes County, Alabama although Randolph is not in the household and does not seem to be enumerated there.

Randolph Owens in the census:

14 August1860, Butler County, Alabama, P.O: Greenville:

1774-1774
Randolph Owens 30 M Brick Maker $6,000 - $2,000 b. AL
M L ---- 29 F b. AL
F. Owen 3 F b. AL
HWH ---- 2 M b. AL
John W. Burns M 20 Brick Maker b. AL
N. Martin M 30 Brick Maker b. AL
John Martin M 21 Brick Maker b. AL
Mathew King 25 M Wagoner b. AL

12 July 1870 Montgomery County, Alabama, P.O.: Montgomery:

89-90
Owen, Randolph 40 M W Butcher AL
---- Martha L 39 F W Keeping House b. AL
---- Florence N 13 F W b. AL
---- William H 11 M W b. AL
---- Jefferson D. 9 M W b. AL
Morgan, Jennie 28 F W Domestic Servant b. GA

2 June 1880 Denton County, Texas:

Elm Street

22-27
Randolph Owens W M 50 Butcher b. AL fb. SC mb. SC
---- Martha L. W F 49 b.. AL fb. SC mb. SC
---- Florence W F 24 b. AL fb. AL mb. AL
----William H. W M 21 b. AL fb. AL mb. AL
---- Jeff D. W M 17 b. AL
Kyle, Thos W. W M 29 Brick Layer b. KY

On 15 January 1885, Benjamin Franklin Paschall, a local saloon keeper, shot Randolph Owens. At first it was thought that the wound was minor and that Randolph would survive.

This article may contain a clue to R. Randolph Owens name: Richard Randolph Owens?

Randolph Owens, however, did not survive. His wound became infected, and he died on 22 January 1885. This glowing obituary in the Fort Worth Daily Gazette recounts many events in Randolph Owens' life:

Another article about events in Denton on January 15, 1885 almost slipped under the radar. Several buildings in downtown Denton burned, including property owned by B.F. Paschall:

Anyone who reads murder mysteries knows there are two rules: one, there are no coincidences and two, there are only three reasons for murder: extreme passion (this includes love, hate, and jealously), money, and to conceal a crime.

Two pieces of information, however, are missing at this point in my research, so no conclusion can be drawn. The first, is whether the fire was arson, and the second, is why Paschall shot Owens. What events led to the shooting? Owens was probably still a butcher. Did he have a shop in the area? It seems likely that he did.

B.F. Paschall was promptly arrested again and put in the local jail.

However, he did not stay in jail long enough to stand trial. By February 5th, he had escaped with the help of his jailers:

Ben F. Paschall's jailers were tried for letting him escape. Through the course of the testimony, it was revealed that Paschall had a cell to himself while the other prisoners were confined together in another cell. Paschall's cell was left unlocked, and he had access to the corridor outside it. He was allowed all the whiskey he wanted because he was a "whiskey man." His friends were allowed to visit him freely. During his banker's visit, Paschall arranged to sell $3,000 in stocks. Ultimately, his jailer(s) just opened the door and let him go, but arranged to make it look like he had broken out of a window after chloroforming them. Thus, with the help of many friends, Paschall was able to spend nearly four years on the run outside of the U.S. At the time he left, B.F. Paschall was the father of five children, the youngest one was only five. It is not known if he found a way to maintain contact with his family while he was on the run. Then one day in late 1888, B.F. Paschall got tired of running, tired of being separated from his family, and returned to Denton to surrender and to stand trial at last.

The trial was held in September of 1889, and B.F. Paschall was acquitted of the murder of Capt. Randolph Owens

B.F. Paschall's reputation seems to be unscathed by the murder of Randolph Owens. He returned to business as usual in Denton and to his activities in local government. He is remembered as being a "respectable" grocery merchant and confederate veteran. When he died in 1921, a glowing account of his life, minus the murder of Capt. Randolph Owens, was published in the Confederate Veteran.

Today, the Paschall Bar is housed in one of the buildings he owned.

Following the death of Capt. Randolph Owens, his widow sued Paschall for damages and was awarded a little over $6,000. She moved with her daughter Florence and son-in-law Thomas W. Kyle to Tulare County, California.