Finding Aids: PVAMU Special Collections and Archives : The Dr. Emery Roswell Owens Collection

Creator: Mason, Rosalyn Owens and Westbrook, and Carolyn Owens in 2016 (daughters of Dr. Emery Roswell Owens)

Title of Collection: The Dr. Emery Roswell Owens Collection

Dates: 1913 - 1999

Extent: 4 Linear Feet (6 boxes)

Abstract: The Dr. Emery Roswell Owens Collection includes citations, six awards, two certificates, seven monographs, one photograph, one medical instrument, newspaper clippings, articles, one textile and printed material relating to the life of Dr. Emery Roswell Owens, his career and his legacy at Prairie View A&M University.

Biographical Note: 

Dr. Emery Roswell Owens was the University Physician and Medical Director at Prairie View A&M University.  Dr. Owens, a native of Smithville, Texas, an honor student at Smithville High School and son of the late Dr. & Mrs. Charles Clinton Owens, joined Prairie View as a physician in 1941, and remained until his retirement in 1989.  He received his undergraduate education at Fisk University, began medical studies at Meharry Medical College in Nashville and completed the M.D. at Physicians and Surgeons College, Boston, Massachusetts.  He did an internship at Boston City Hospital.  In addition to serving as university physician and Medical Director at Prairie View, Dr. Owens was physician to “all of Waller County” and surrounding areas. 
 
He was the first African American of the Staff at Waller County Hospital (where he became Chief of Staff) Waller County Health Officer and President of the Tri-County Medical Society.  In 1978, Prairie View honored him by naming the new hospital the Owens-Franklin Health Center.  In 1988, the University inducted him into the Prairie View Sports Hall of Fame in tribute to his service as physician to the Athletic Department, attending all home games and traveling with the football team for 25 years.  He was also on the courtesy staff at Memorial Hospital in Houston and taught Anatomy and Physiology at the Prairie View School of Nursing.  The Governor named Dr. Owens Honorary Admiral of the Texas Navy, and the title Honorary Colonel was bestowed on him by the Prairie View Army ROTC.  Waller County Commissioner’s Court awarded him a 1992 citation for meritorious achievement and Wyatt Chapel Church presented him a Certificate of Merit.
  
He received many citations and awards for his professional and civic contributions.  The National Medical Convention selected him as a member of the Awards Committee at its 1977 meeting in Los Angeles and Governor Dolph Brisco named him to the state Hospital Licensing Advisory Board.  Zeta Phi Beta Sorority chose him “Man of the Year” in tribute to his work.  Dr. Owens was a panel moderator and did a curbside consultation for the Texas Medical Association.  Dr. Owens was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and AME Church, and Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity.  He was married to the former Julia Fortes and they had two daughters, Rosalyn Mason of Los Angeles and Carolyn Westbrook of Tyler, Texas and three grandchildren.  His sons-in-law were Dr. Carl Westbrook of Tyler, Texas, OB-GYN, and jazz drummer Harvey Mason.  Dr. Owens enjoyed reading and visits from former Prairie View faculty and administrators from across the nation as he lived out his retirement in the City of Prairie View. 
 
His walls were adorned with plaques, certificates and medals presented to him by such organizations as Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Boy Scouts of America, U.S. Public Health Service, Parent Teacher Association, of Waller, Texas, Prairie View R.O.T.C. and the Jack & Jill, Inc., the Prairie View Chapter.  Proclamations in his honor were issued by the City of Houston, the Texas State Senate, the Texas A&M University Board of Regents and President Franklin D. Roosevelt, for teaching Army nursing students in World War II.  He held membership in the American Medical Association, the National Medical Association and the Texas Medical Association.  Another special joy for Dr. Owens was the visits and correspondence from many of the hundreds of babies he delivered – now adults.
  
The warm and compassionate way in which he dealt with his many patients carried over into his retirement years as did his talent for storytelling and fatherly and professional advice to all who would listen.  His connections with family were strong as he had a twin sister, Jennie Lacey of Washington, D.C., and a sister Charlessta McPeters of Lawton, Oklahoma.  A younger brother, Dr. Eugene Owens, a Lawton, Oklahoma physician, died in 1981.  Dr. Owens continued to be highly regarded, not only as a physician, but as a friend, compassionate advisor, community father figure role model and outstanding citizen.  

Sources: None.

Arrangement: The Dr. Emery Roswell Owens Collection dates from 1913 to 1999 and are arranged in original order. The Collection consists of such items as awards, certificates, citations, correspondence, monographs, photographs, medical instruments, newspaper articles and clippings, textiles, and printed materials.

Identification: MSS0011

Repository: Special Collections/Archives Department, John B. Coleman Library, Prairie View A&M University

Complied by Lisa Stafford, August 2018; Revised by Evelyn Davis, August 2024