In 1831, Omar ibn Said, the slave of John's brother James, wrote:[...] God brought me into the hands of a good man who fears God and loves to do good deeds; he is called [James] Owen and his brother is called John Owen.

[9]In 1835, Owen was a prominent member of the North Carolina Constitutional Convention; there, he supported enfranchisement of land-owning Negro citizens and opposed religious tests for officeholders.

Owen was offered the vice-presidential position on the Whig presidential ticket of William Henry Harrison; he turned down the nomination.

Had he accepted, Owen might have become President of the United States following Harrison's death early in office instead of John Tyler.

Owen retired to his farm in Chatham County, North Carolina,[10] where he died while in Pittsboro on October 9, 1841[7] (Raleigh Register and North-Carolina Gazette, Raleigh, NC, October 19, 1841, page 3, column 5); he is buried in the churchyard of St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in Pittsboro, North Carolina.