This is the first of several installments on members of the OWEN family who were early settlers in Milton, Vermont. This excerpt is from "Descendants of John Owen of Windsor, Connecticut" by Ralph D. Owen (1941), pp. 58-60. "Leonard OWEN (Joshua, Joseph, John), son of Joshua and Margaret (WOODWORTH) OWEN, was born 13 Dec 1720 at Lebanon, Conn. and died before 1790; buried at Milton, Vt. He married (1) Experience, who died 1 May 1756, in her 24th year; (2) at Salisbury, 28 April 1757, Mary STANNARD. He moved to Salisbury about 1750. On 12 Sept. 1750 Yale College leased to Leonard Owen of Salisbury a tract of 728 acres for a long term of years. ... The Salisbury land records also show Leonard OWEN of Salisbury as a party to conveyances in 1762, 1773, 1775, and 1781. So as early as 1775 he bought land in Milton Township, Chittenden County, Vt. 'Know all men by these presents that I, Richard DOWNING of Newington, in Rockingham County, and province of New Hampshire, esquire, for and in consideration of the sum of 20 L lawful money of said province, to me in hand paid, before the delivery hereof, by Leonard OWEN of Salisbury, in Litchfield County, and colony of Conn., yeoman, the receipt whereof I do hereby acknowledge, have given, granted, bargained, sold, and released, and by these presents do give, grant, bargain, sell, release, convey, and confirm to him the said Leonard OWEN and to his heirs, one full share or lot of land in the township of Milton, which was given under the Great Seal of the Province of New Hampshire to the said Richard DOWNING of the charter patent, which land is now supposed to be in the province of New York, 9 Feb 1775.' The original grantees of Milton were 65 in number. Each received a lot of about 100 acres in 1763. But none of them moved onto his land. The town was first settled by William IRISH, Leonard OWEN, Amos MANSFIELD, Absolam TAYLOR, and Thomas DEWEY in February 1782. (Heminway: "Vermont Historical Gazeteer", Vol. I, p. 663). 'Milton was settled by William IRELAND and Leonard OWEN. In 1782 Leonard OWEN settled on land several miles south of the site of Checkerbury (part of the township) on the place occupied (in 1885) by Eli NELSON. Leonard OWEN is buried in the cemetery at Milton.' (from "History of Chittenden County, Vt., 1886). The town was organized 25 March 1788. The first town clerk was Enoch ASHLEY. The first church was the Congregational, organized in 1804. No OWEN among its members. Several land transfers are recorded in which Leonard OWEN sold land. Leonard OWEN left no will. The date of his death can only be inferred from the latest deed he gave. Since his name is not listed in the U.S. Census of 1790 he probably died before that year. (There are some fifty gravestones in the Milton cemetery on which the inscriptions are illegible). Children, by first wife, born at Salisbury: i. Eunice, b. 30 Nov. 1754 ii. Leonard, b. 20 April 1756 Children by second wife, born at Salisbury: iii. Sabre, b. 26 Dec. 1757 iv. Mary, b. 20 1759. v. Sibel, b. 1 Sept. 1761 vi. Thadeus, b. 27 Jan. 1763 vii. Lusina, b. 18 Oct. 1764 viii. Abigail, b. 18 July or May 26 1766; m. Elisha OWEN, her 1st cousin. ix. Daniel, b. 14 Feb 1768 x. Abel, b. 26 Feb. 1772" Leonard OWEN, Jr. and his brother, Thaddeus, were early settlers of Wilmington, N. Y. about 1800. Abel OWEN remained in Milton. I will provide information on him in my next installment. Hope this is helpful to someone out there. David Owen Cartwright