Sir John Owen, 1st Baronet (1776 – 6 February 1861), born John Lord, was a British Tory (later Conservative Party) politician from Wales. He sat as a Member of Parliament (MP) for over fifty years. His wealth came from coal mining but he lost most of his fortune as a result of costly electoral campaigns in Pembrokeshire, most notably those of 1831. Early life Born in 1776, the son of Joseph Lord and Corbetta Owen, grand-daughter of Sir Arthur Owen, third baronet of Orielton, Owen was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford. He was married at Gretna Green in 1800 to Charlotte, daughter of the Rev. John Lewes Philipps of Llwyncrwn, Llangynin. There was one son and four daughters, namely: Hugh Owen Owen, who later inherited the baronetcy Charlotte Owen, who was married in 1819 to John Meares of Eastington, Pembroke. She died on 2 July 1852. Maria Owen, who in 1830 was married to Edward Marcus White, of Hotham, Yorkshire. Ellen Owen, who in 1831 married G.B.J. Jordan of Pigeonsford, Cardiganshire. Eliza Owen, who married in 1831, Charles Porcher Lang of Sandrock, Surrey. His first wife died in 1829. Early political career Through his mother's friendship with Lady Anna Owen, mother of Sir Hugh Owen of Orielton, he inherited the estate on Sir Hugh's death in 1809, at the expense of the next of kin. He changed his name to John Owen on inheriting the estate and also succeeded Sir Hugh as MP for Pembroke Boroughs that year. At the 1812 General Election, he successfully contested the Pembrokeshire county seat as well as the boroughs, in opposition to Frederick Campbell, the heir to Lord Cawdor, whose estate at Stackpole was only two miles from Orielton. In his address to the electors, Owen declared that he sought to give the electors their "own free choice at the approaching Election for this County". The poll for the county election remained open for eleven days and proved so costly that Owen was obliged to raise a mortgage on part of his estate. Writing to Sir James Graham many years later in 1841, Owen admitted that this contest marked the beginnings of the financial difficulties that overshadowed his later career. Following his electoral success, albeit with a heavy financial cost, Owen chose to sit for the county, and held that seat until 1841, when he was returned to the House of Commons