HENRY RICHARD BOWEN, son of David Bowen, was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts in
At one time he was in charge of all the Northern Commercial Company stores from Yakatat to Dutch Harbor. Bowen believed that the opportunities for fishing on Kodiak Island were exceptional. He told a government official that “fishermen with a limited amount of capital can establish themselves most readily in a lucrative business on Kodiak Island…”. Bowen returned to Gloucester several times after moving to Alaska, but no amount of persuasion on his part could induce any of the New England fishermen to move to Alaska. He married Vavara (Barbara) Annie NAUMOFF in Kodiak and had 9 children. Mrs. Bowen was “the Russian woman who showed Mother how to make those wonderful fish pies the Russians called”perog”, and the Bowens were anxious for the schoolroom in St. Paul to be finished so they too could send their children to school” *From Humboldt to Kodiak by Fred Roscoe, 1992*
Henry married Barbara NAUMOFF in Kodiak; she had been married to William C. Smith and had two children Julian and Ann. After Smith died, Julian and Ann went to live with their relatives in California.
Children of Henry R. Bowen and Barbara Naumoff are: • Rufas Henry born 22 October 1879, Kodiak. Died 5 September 1954, Seldovia. • Florence, born 1 April 1883, Kodiak. She married Charles Hammelbacher Died 24 March 1946 in Seattle, Washington. • Lydia, born 1 June 1885, died 9 January 1887. • Elizabeth (Lizzy), born 27 October 1886, Kodiak. Died 25 July 1923, Anchorage. • Harriett Susanna, born 24 September 1887, Kodiak. Married Andrew Johnson. Died 25 July 1923, Seward. Buried in Seldovia, Alaska. Died of chronic nephritis. • Frederick, born 3 October 1891, Kodiak. Drowned off the Seldovia dock in 1948. • Barbara, born 31 March 1893, Kodiak. Died 15 December 1948, Seattle, Washington. • David. He was an archeologist and was buried in Illiamna Lake, Alaska and that his family came to Illiamna Lake, dug up his remains and took them to Los Angeles for burial.
As captain of the fur-trading schooner Pauline Collins, he escaped from the ship when it broke on the rocks in 1881, but drowned 14 years later when the ill-fated Seventy-Six disappeared with all hands between Kodiak and Kayak Island.
The 38 ton 60 foot schooner Seventy-Six departed Woody Island December 11, 1895 with six crewmen and one passenger aboard. It was bound for Kayak Island, continuing on to Prince William Sound on a trading voyage. The vessel disappeared with all hands. The Seventy-Six was owned by the North American Commercial Company whose principal station was at Woody Island. Weather was fair when the vessel departed the island but deteriorated into a terrific northerly gale soon after. Friends of the Seventy-Six crew reported their concern that the vessel had no extra sails and that those they were using were not in good condition and may not be able to withstand a storm. Lost with the Seventy-Six were Captain Henry R. Bowen (45) of Massachusetts and North American Commercial Company’s foreman who was in charge of the expedition, and six others. Captain Bowen left behind a wife and 9 children. The steamer Dora reported that wreckage from the schooner drifted ashore near Kodiak Island. The rest of the Bowen family lived in Kodiak until Mt. Katmai erupted in 1912.