AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MRS. MARGARET OWENS
Mrs. Margaret Owens
Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Psalms 37:4
I, Margaret Owens, was born February 26, 1908, in Maury County, Tennessee. My parents were Thomas Dunnivant and Elmira Dunnivant. Elmira Dunnivant died after a long illness with tuberculosis. I was two (2) years old when my father carried me to his parents’ home in Giles County, Tennessee.
My grandparents were farmers. They owned their own stock and rented land to work. They also owned their home, which had four (4) bedrooms, a dining room, kitchen, and a large hall as you entered. There was a front porch and two (2) back porches.
I married a man who lived on another man’s farm and worked his land. That was called sharecropping. I witnessed something I had never heard of. At four o’clock a.m., a big bell would ring. I asked my husband what it was for. He said it meant it was time for us to get up and feed the stock.
I was to cook breakfast so he could eat when he came back. Then he would go to work. Since I did not have any children, I had to milk the cows and help cook. I did not get paid for this work. I lived from farm to farm for twenty (20) years. All of my children were born on the farm except Joseph.
However, here comes what we thought was a good deal. A widow had a farm with cows, so we bought some cows and sold milk for half and half. This would have been a good deal, but there was not enough water for the stock and our family. There were four (4) years wasted.
My husband and I gave up farming and went to public work.
We needed a house, and we bought a building that had been used for a café. We lived there three (3) years, and I began to have asthma. We learned that the flour mill was not too far away, and I was allergic to dust, so we had to move.
We went to a community by the name of Happy Hill. There was a Missionary Baptist Church there and nice neighbors also. We loved living there.
Since I planned to own my own home, I had planned to ask the owner to sell it to us. Before I had a chance to see the owner, the Lord spoke to me. He said to move to Columbia, and I said, “NO.” However, after arguing with God and being unable to find peace, I caught the bus to Columbia.
Two (2) blocks before I got to the first street, the Lord said, “Pull the cord and get off.” I did and went to a widow’s home. She told me that down the street, a man was repairing a house to rent. In front of the widow’s house was a big cow pasture. I liked the neighborhood very much, and I went to see the man. He rented me the house that day. The rent was the same as what I was already paying.
Three (3) years later, a house was for sale on Jackson Street, which was one street over. I always wanted my own home, so I bought it. After paying for it, some remodeling was needed. Later the house burned down, and we built it back.
We lived there three (3) years, and the highway came through. By this time, the big cow pasture had been sold for a residential area. I bought the lot and built the house I am now living in. I should have never left this street.
These are some of the things I went through.
– Margaret Owens, July 30, 2002
Her conversion began during the week of a revival. The unconverted were required to sit up front on the mourners’ bench. Night after night she did not move from her seat—until the day her schoolmate met her with tears in her eyes.
It touched Mama so much when her friend exclaimed, “I have been praying for you, and you don’t seem to want to be saved.” Margaret Dunnivant said, “If she cared so much for me, then I should care for myself.” The next night, she moved from the mourners’ bench to accept Yeshua as her Lord and Saviour.
The revival was held at a Baptist Church, and it was expected of the person coming to Christ to have some emotional experience or response. She had neither. She said, “I neither saw, heard, nor felt anything—but came forward in faith.”
Eventually, she joined the African Methodist Episcopal Church because of the doctrine we now know as justification: Sola Fide. Sola Gratia. Faith alone and grace alone. She united with Saint Joseph AMEC of Waco, TN.
Her heart’s desire was for her children to attend church weekly and to even write an Easter and Christmas play. The play portion was fulfilled by her granddaughter years later in Audrey Denise Cox Smith. Joseph and Lewis Owens drove her to Virginia to see the play Audrey produced.
All praise to YAH.
Saint Joseph AMEC Church closed years ago, but the church bell sits outside Wayman Chapel AMEC in Columbia, TN.
This is by all means not the total life story, but I will share more as it was told to me by her.
Margaret Dunnivant spoke of meeting her future husband for the first time. His name was Willie Herbert Owens, our Granddaddy. He was short in stature but a giant to us in love and protection.
Mama said he came to town riding on a tall black horse—and I will add, riding like he owned the town.
Thus began a courtship, marriage, the death of a son at childbirth, and the births of our mothers, fathers, aunts, and uncles. We are thankful for our legacy that began with and continues through prayer, faith, and grace.
We look forward to seeing them together again in heaven, around the throne of God.
Let us continue to share the story so the next generation will know how we got over.
In closing, Mama told me:
“Son, I had to pray my way out of that hollow. Every pregnancy while riding in a wagon out of that hollow was extremely painful—not to mention living in another person’s house.”
Quotes from Margaret Dunnivant Owens
As remembered by her grandchildren
“Marsha:
Seek first the kingdom of heaven and all these things shall be added unto you.”
“Barry:
Never question God — He always knows before you act.”
“Audrey:
God always answers prayers. He will answer yes, no, or wait.”
“Eric:
Prepare for war in times of peace and prepare for death in times of health.”