Biographical Information: Whit Owens

Whit Owens was born February 10, 1855. He and his wife Mallie had at least seven children, among them a daughter, Cordelia "Cordie" Owens born in 1881. In November 1898, Cordie married one of her father's distilling partners - Will Mathis.

Whit Owens was known for his run-ins with revenue officers. In February 1899, revenue officers raided Owens' house to capture a still and Owens engaged the officers in a shootout. In another incident, Will Mathis claimed that, in the fall of 1900, he and four other men encountered Owens and Orlando Lester, armed with shot guns, saying they were looking for revenue officers that night, and expressing a hatred for the law.

On at least two occasions when Orlando Lester got in trouble with the law, Whit Owens bailed him out and hired lawyers to represent him, causing a life-long bond between the two men. It is rumored that Owens planned to get rid of any witnesses against Lester and that he directed the murder of another negro, Walter Jones, which Lester carried out. Lester's shots missed Jones, but hit Hamp Williams and killed him. Owens continued to protect Lester and Lester was loyal to Owens to his death.

Though accused along with Will Mathis and Orlando Lester in the murders of the U.S. Marshals, Owens' convictions were overturned and he did not serve time for the slayings of the Montgomerys.

Whit Owens died on October 17, 1928. On his death bed, Owens reportedly confessed to the killings for which his son-in-law and Lester were hanged. This confession may have been printed in the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper, circa 1928-1930.