According to The National Cyclopedia of American Biography:
He was a deputy to the general assembly in 1775–76; was a member and president of the convention which met at Newport in May, 1790, and adopted the constitution of the United States, and held several other important positions of honor and trust, among them being that of chief justice of the state of Rhode Island (1791–95). He was deputy governor in 1786–90, and was one of the five citizens who, in 1786, petitioned the general assembly for the "exclusive privilege" of a coinage for the colony of Rhode Island for the period of twelve years, which petition was granted in January, 1787. Judge Owen was a large land-holder in northern Vermont, and on October 20, 1781, he, with William Barton, received the grant of the town of Barton, in Vermont. Iron ore was found on his farm near Gloucester, and he carried on a considerable business in the iron trade with other parts of the country and with England. He was married to Hannah Angell. Aug. 15, 1756. He died at Gloucester, R. I., in 1812.[2]
