Owen Shannon (1762?-1839)

    Owen Shannon, Texas pioneer, son of Eleanor and Thomas Shannon, Sr., was born around 1762 in Georgia. He, two of his brothers, and their father received certificates of service in the Revolutionary War and bounty grants of 287½ acres each. Owen, who was fourteen years old when he fought, received bounty land in Franklin County, Georgia. He married Margaret (Margit) Montgomery in Wilkes County, Georgia, on October 22, 1792. They had six children, most of whom settled on empresario grants in Texas. Their daughter Ellinder married Jonas Harrison, in whose honor Harrison County was named, and immigrated to Texas in January 1821. Another daughter, Ruthy, married James Miller; they were listed in the 1826 Atascosito census and received a league in Joseph Vehlein's colony. 

    Nancy Shannon married Charles Garrett, a member of the Old Three Hundred. Another daughter, Polly, was the wife John Hauk, and did not come to Texas. A son, John, received a league in Austin's second colony. Jacob Montgomery Shannon married Catherine Yoakum and received a league in Austin's second colony that became known as Shannon Prairie). Shannon came with his family to Texas in 1821 as a member of the Old Three Hundred. He and his sons are listed on the June 9, 1826, muster roll of the Ayish Bayou District. Shannon was listed by Stephen F. Austin as seventy years of age when he and Margaret received their league of land in Montgomery County, where the Shannons operated the Montgomery Trading Post. Margaret was a member of the Montgomery family for whom Montgomery County was named, and Owen was one of forty-six veterans of the American Revolution who came to Mexican Texas. He died in 1839. Source

Note: This is a cenotaph. Differing contemporary accounts have Owen Shannon as being buried either on his homestead or in the now defunct Joel Greenwood family cemetery in Plantersville. However, in both cases, his grave was never marked and the location lost.


Old Methodist Churchyard
Montgomery

COORDINATES

30° 23.316, -095° 41.845