There were a number of people in Wales in 1841 census named Edward OWENS.
Because the census enumerators were instructed to 'round down' ages to the
nearest 5 years he would have showed as age 25, although he may have been 26
or 27.
I have not investigated all the possibles, but there is one that stands out
as being a skilled worker in a metal-based industry. He was a Millwright in
Greenfield, Holywell, Flintshire, the son of a Copper Roller, and almost all
the male neighbours clearly worked in the copper works.
There was a marriage of an Edward OWENS in Holywell district in September
quarter (Jul/Aug/Sep) 1840 in Holywell district. There were four couples
listed on the same page of the marriage index, including an Ann HUGHES. A
search on
http://freebmd.org.uk showed only three Edward OWENS marriages in
1837 to 1842 in Wales with someone called Ann on the same page, the other
two in Wrexham.
It is quite possible that the middle initial was only added after he reached
America. Middle names were not that common in Wales in early 19th century.
A little further searching has just demolished my own hypothesis! Edward
OWENS, millwright, with wife Ann, both born Holywell, were in West Derby,
near Liverpool, in 1861 census.
At one time a lady from Pennsylvania placed extracts of newspaper obituaries
of people from Wales in that area on Rootsweb mailing lists dealing with
various areas of Wales. If you can track down an obituary you may well find
it said where he came from. Lead mining took place in various places in
mid-Wales, but the need for coal for efficient smelting of lead meant that
process was located near coalfields, such as the area around Swansea and
Llanelly.
You will find quite a lot on White Lead, used as a long-lasting white
pigment in paint for many years, on Wikipedia and other sites. Search on
White Lead Pigment for a description of old processes, or look in old
chemistry books.
Jeff