Anita Owen

Anita Owen
BornNovember 1873
Brazil, Indiana, U.S.
DiedOctober 25, 1932 (age 58)
New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.
EducationSaint Mary-of-the-Woods College
OccupationsSongwriter, composer, businesswoman

Esther Anita Owen Jones (November 1873 – October 25, 1932)[1][2] was an American composer and songwriter, best known for her 1894 song "Sweet Bunch of Daisies," which sold over one million copies.[3] She published her first song at age 15 or 16, and became one of the most popular female songwriters of her generation,[4] known especially for flower-themed songs.

Early life and education

Owen was born in Brazil, Indiana, the daughter of John Dale Owen and Louisa Hughes Owen. Her father was born in Wales and worked as a piano tuner. She attended Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College.[5]

Career

Owen began writing songs in her youth,[6] and performed as a singer in Chicago as a young woman.[7] Her father helped set up a publishing company in Chicago, Wabash Music Company, to publish her own songs. She sold the company to publisher Jerome H. Remick in 1908. She and her assistant Hattie Von Bulow moved to New York City before 1910.[8]

She explained in a 1916 interview that "a simple pretty melody wedded to a clean little love story always made a good impression on young women, so I decided to confine myself mostly to this type of song, and the size of my royalty checks, and the following I have won, have proved that my judgment was correct."[4]

Songs and compositions

Any place is heaven when you're with the girl you love" (1905) by Anita Owen, cover illustration by Edgar Keller

Owen wrote lyrics and music for over 200 songs.[9] She also wrote instrumental pieces, and a comic opera, The Great Mogul (1903).[3][8]

  • "Sweet Bunch of Daisies" (1894)[10]
  • "Only a Rosebud" (1896)[10]
  • "Only One Daisy Left" (1898)[11]
  • "Dance of the Collywobbles" (1899, instrumental)[8]
  • "Sweet Sallie O'Malley" (1902)[8]
  • "Ellen O'Hagan" (1904)[8]
  • "Any Place is Heaven When You're With the Girl You Love" (1905)
  • "Daisies Won't Tell" (1908)[10]
  • "When the Daisies Bloom" (1909)[12]
  • "Sweet Red Roses" (1910)[13]
  • "When the Dew is on the Rose" (1911)[14]
  • "Only a Bunch of Violets" (1912)[8]
  • "I Want Just You: Waltz Ballad" (1913)[15]
  • "Daisies Will Tell You So" (1913)[16]
  • "Dreamy Eyes" (1915)[10]
  • "I Cannot Bear to Say Goodbye" (1918)[11]
  • "Land of Dreams" (1919)[11]
  • "Mary You Must Marry Me" (1919)[17]
  • "Wander With Me to Love Land" (1919)[18]
  • "My Memory of You: Ballad" (1920)[19]
  • "If Daisies Could Tell What they Know" (1920)[20]

Personal life and legacy

Owen was named in a divorce case in 1901, involving Lincoln J. Bartlett of Chicago; his wife claimed Bartlett was living with Owen instead of supporting her and their children.[7] Owen married dentist Arthur J. Jones in 1917.[21] The couple lived in Bridgeport and New Haven, Connecticut, in the 1920s. She died in 1932, at the age of 58, in New Haven.[2][9]

The sheet music for Owen's songs is in several archival collections, and much of it has been digitized,[22] including the illustrations by Frederick S. Manning,[18] William Austin Starmer,[20] and William Haskell Coffin.[19] Nora Louise Hulse, a scholar who specialized in female ragtime composers,[23] included a work by Owen in her collection Cake Walks, Two Steps, and Rags by Women Composers (2001).[24]

References

  1. ↑ Her birth date is given as November 1873 in the 1900 United States census, via Ancestry. Some sources give her birth year as 1874.
  2. 1 2 "Anita Owen Jones, Song Hit Composer, Dies at Age 57". The Springfield News-Leader. 1932-10-26. p. 2. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
  3. 1 2 "Is Rising As Composer; Anita Owen Progresses". The Indianapolis Star. 1909-07-04. p. 6. Retrieved 2026-05-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 Wickes, E. M. (1916). Writing the Popular Song. Springfield, Mass.: The Home Correspondence School. pp. 131–133, quote on 132.
  5. ↑ Reynolds, Christopher A. (2016). "Owen, [Esther] Anita". Grove Music Online. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.A2292630. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. Retrieved 2020-01-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: periodical has ISBN (link)
  6. ↑ "Girl Song-Writer Got Rich; Miss Anita Owen Who Won Fame and Fortune When Only 16 Years Old". The Cochran Journal. 1911-02-02. p. 2. Retrieved 2026-05-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. 1 2 "Charmed By Singer? Mrs. L. J. Bartlett Says Husband Cares for Anita Owen". The Inter Ocean. 1901-01-06. p. 11. Retrieved 2026-05-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Edwards, Bill. "Anita Owen Jones". RagPiano.com. Retrieved 2026-05-13.
  9. 1 2 "Mrs. A. O. Jones Dies; Noted Song Writer; Author of 200 Popular Pieces Was Wife of Physician of New Haven, Conn. Sold First Work for $5". The New York Times. October 26, 1932. p. 17. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Anita Owen". Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  11. 1 2 3 "Anita Owen". Levy Music Collection. Retrieved 2026-05-13.
  12. ↑ Owen, Anita (1909). When The Daisies Bloom. Jerome H. Remick & Co.
  13. ↑ Owen, Anita (1910). Sweet Red Roses. Jerome H. Remick & Co.
  14. ↑ Owen, Anita (1911). When The Dew Is On The Rose. Jerome H. Remick & Co.
  15. ↑ Owen, Anita (1913). I Want Just You : Waltz Ballad. Jerome H. Remick & Co.
  16. ↑ Owen, Anita (1913). Daisies Will Tell You So : Waltz Song. Jerome H. Remick & Co.
  17. ↑ Owen, Anita (1919). Mary: You Must Marry Me. The Jones Music Co.
  18. 1 2 Owen, Anita; Manning, Frederick S. (1919). Wander With Me To Loveland. The Jones Music Co.
  19. 1 2 Owen, Anita (1920). My Memory Of You: Ballad. The Jones Music Co.
  20. 1 2 Owen, Anita; Starmer (1920). If Daisies Could Tell What They Know. The Jones Music Co.
  21. ↑ "Dr. Jones a Rapid Wooer; Dentist Weds Anita Owen, Song Writer, After Four Days' Courtship". The New York Times. February 22, 1917. p. 11. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
  22. ↑ Owen, Anita (1918-01-01). "I Cannot Bear to Say Goodbye". Historic Sheet Music Collection.
  23. ↑ Bebco, Joe (2020-08-17). "Nora Louise Hulse, Ragtime Researcher and Performer, dies at 88". The Syncopated Times. Retrieved 2026-05-13.
  24. ↑ Hulse, Nora (2001). "Cakewalks, Two Steps and Rags". Grainger. Retrieved 2026-05-13.
  • Wikimedia Commons logo Media related to Anita Owen at Wikimedia Commons
  • Two recordings of "Daisies Won't Tell", on YouTube
  • A recording of "Dance of the Collywobbles" on YouTube
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