Edwin W. Owens


Company Names, addresses, dates: 1
      Main Store
  E. W. Owens, Dinwiddie nr Glasgow, Portsmouth VA (1880)
  E. W. Owens, Chestnut nr County, Portsmouth VA (1882-1892)
  Edwin W. Owens, 706 Chestnut Street, Portsmouth VA (1897-1910)
  Edwin W. Owens & Son, 706 Chestnut Street, Portsmouth VA (1911)
  Edwin W. Owens & Son, 708 Chestnut Street, Portsmouth VA (1912-1919)
  Owens Drug Store, 708 Chestnut Street, Portsmouth VA (1922)
  John W. Owens, 710 Chestnut Street, Portsmouth VA (1924-1927)
      Second Store
  Edwin W. Owens, High cor Blount, Portsmouth VA (1910)
  Edwin W. Owens & Son, 1443 High Street, Portsmouth VA (1911)
  Edwin W. Owens & Son, 1435 High Street, Portsmouth VA (1912)
  Edwin W. Owens & Son, 1500 High Street, Portsmouth VA (1913)

Notes:
 Colonel Edwin Watts Owens (1855-1916)2 was listed as a clerk in the 1875 Portsmouth city directory, but it doesn't say what type of store he was a clerk at. 1
In 1878, he had a Cigar Store on High Street that burned down. It was insured for $500.3
The first year he shows up in city directories as a drugstore owner was 1880. 1

I guess he was having success, because in 1908 he announced he was opening another store, at High Sreet near 1st Avenue, with a full line of "Toilet and Fancy Articles, Cigars and Tobacco".4
The second store didn't last long, possibly because Owens began suffering from Rheumatism. 5

Besides being a druggist, Owens served in the Virginia State mililtia, rising to the rank of Colonel. In 1911 he retired from the malitia after 22 years of service, due to his Rheumatism.5

Edwin passed away in 1916, but his son, John Watts Owens (1882-1961)6 took over the drug store. He kept the store under his fathers name for a few years, then changed it to "Owen's Drug Store", and finally changed it to use his own name "John W. Owens".1

John W. Owens was described in a newspaper article as a former professional baseball player, although I couldn't find any record of what team he played for. It also said he was a former justice of the peace, and "for many years in the drug business".6


Bottles:
owens_01 This is a clear 5.25" bottle embossed:
horizontal: EDWIN W. OWENS / (the word 'DRUGGIST' on a horseshow with EWO monogram inside the horseshoe) / PORTSMOUTH / VA.
base: W T & CO / O / U.S.A.
owens_02 This is a clear 4.2" bottle embossed:
horizontal: EDWIN W. OWENS / CHESTNUT STREET / PORTSMOUTH, VA.
base: W T & CO / V


1 Portsmouth VA city directories, years 1851,72,74-75,80,82-83,85-86,89-90,92,97,1900-05,07-08,10-15,17-20,22,24-5,27,30,36-42,44-47,49,51,53-54,56,58-60
2 Find-a-grave entry for Edwin Watts Owens
3 Public Ledger (Norfolk), 18-Feb-1878, p.1 "Fire Last Night"
4 Virginian-Pilot, 26-Aug-1908, p.8 (ad titled "NOTICE!")
5 Virginian-Pilot, 2-May-1911, p.8
6 Find-a-grave entry for John Watts Owens
7 Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, 4-Jun-1941, p.2 ("Three Qualify For Primary")


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This page last updated on August 22, 2026.