Holbrook lines: Jonas Bowen, Immigrant

I'm going to play it conservative here and say that the Jonas Bowen I am writing about is an ancestor in the Holbrook line.  That much I am relatively (sorry for the pun) certain abouot.  I also have seen information that I think says that Jonas is also an Allen ancestor, but that is confusing.  In order for these to be one and the same man, he would have had to have been born about 1605 and lived to be about 94 years of age.  It's possible, but not probable and definitely not proven, in my opinion.  However, he definitely lived in the same area as some of our Allen ancestors, the Corbins and the Wilkinsons.

So we'll still to the apparent facts.  Jonas was most likely born in England or Wales, possibly close to the border between the two since the name may have originally been "ap Owen".  I have seen various names suggested as being Jonas's father, (John, Nathaniel, Obadiah) but nothing has been proven.  We don't know for sure when Jonas appeared in the colonies, or where.  However, we do know that he was in Baltimore County, Maryland by 1676 when he was on a tax list.  This probably indicates he had actually arrived some time earlier, in order to accumulate the property he was taxed on (I haven't yet seen the mentioned tax list, so can't comment further than that).

Jonas was married to Martha Henchman, daughter of Nathaniel Henchman and possibly Ann.  Jonas may have been married earlier, as mentioned above, and he was at least a few years older than Martha, it's believed.  (Martha's birth date is given as about 1649).  Jonas and Martha had several children together, including Jonas, Benjamin, Martha, John, and Onner (Honor), and possibly Elizabeth. 

In "Settlers of Maryland 1679-1783", Peter Coldham Wilson lists four parcels of land owned by Jonas, dating from 1679 to 1695 and totalling 300 acres, all in Baltimore County, and evidently located on the Patapsco River.  Of course, he may have sold some parcels as he bought others.  He is also known to have had land surveyed in 1673, which indicates that perhaps he lived there even prior to that date, since surveys may not have been requested as soon as the land was occupied.   

Jonas may have served in the militia during the 1675-76 troubles with the native Americans, and I saw a mention that he may have been a constable at one time.  I'm still looking for more information regarding both of those statements.

Jonas wrote his will March 26, 1699 and was dead by April 13 of that same year, when his will was probated.  I have a copy of his will but it's difficult to read.  It does have at least 12 "Items" on it, so there was property to dispose of.  Some of the children were still underage.  His wife Martha died in 1704.

I'd love to know so much more about Jonas.  When and where was he born? Did he have a first wife?  Who was she?  What religion was he?  Did he have an occupation other than farming?  Did he raise tobacco, and if so, did he have indentured servants, or slaves? What is the connection, if any, that makes him an Allen ancestor? 

The line of descent is:

Jonas Bowen-Martha Henchman
Martha Bowen-John Merryman
Martha Merryman-Alexis Lemmon
Alexis Lemmon-Rachel Stansbury
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants