Soon after, Owen married Johanna Magdalena Elisabeth (1797–1880), also called "Lisette" (likely a children's name for Elizabeth).

His first ship was called Amphitrite, built in 1818 at his shipyard close to the workshop; it had a 6 horsepower steam engine.

[2] These early propeller designs, however, required many years before they came into practical use; the steamships around that time were normally driven by paddle wheels.

Together with Methodist missionary George Scott, who was initially sent to Stockholm as a preacher for the British workers in Owen's factory, he founded one of the first Swedish temperance societies (Kungsholmens Nykterhetsförening) in 1832.

The Swedish Government decided to give him a lifetime pension with the motivation that he had made many important contributions to the development of industries in Sweden.

However, Owen continued to work, and was employed for a further number of years at a company in Södertälje, Stockholm County.