In our last episode, we left Canada Ownbey (1811-1894) just moving into pre-Adair County from Macon County in 1838. He claimed a wide expanse of land which at that time was about 2 ½ miles south of what would be the center of Kirksville. However, in 1838, Kirksville did not exist.
In Lincolnshire, England, there is a small hamlet named OWMBY. In the Middle Ages, it was common to refer to someone by the name of their hometown. It is likely that the originator of the Ownbey families in America came from this village. A man named Arthur Ownbey is recorded as having emigrated from Lincolnshire, England, to Virginia, USA, bringing his son, John, with him. When John was grown, he resided in Bat Cave, North Carolina. Yes, there really is a place named Bat Cave. But, you won’t find Batman there, only a real cave with real bats and a regular town where one can travel down Bat Cave Drive, stay at Bat Cave Cottages, visit the Bat Cave Cider Mill and attend Bat Cave Baptist Church.