Varvara Anna “Barbara” NAUMOFF was born to Peter Naumoff and Ella Kandakof 17 December 1854 in Sitka, Alaska.
Barbara was first married to William Smith in Kodiak, Alaska, 17 June 1872. They were married in the Russian Orthodox Church in Kodiak. They had two children, Julian Smith, born 10 August 1872 and Anna Smith, born 7 December 1874, both in Kodiak. William Smith died in 1885, and the children were sent to California to be raised by the Smith grandparents.
Barbara then married Captain Henry Richard Bowen from Boston, Massachusetts.
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. Died 24 March 1946 in Seattle, Washington. • Lydia, born 1 June 1885, died 9 January 1887. • Elizabeth (Lizzy), born 27 October 1886, Kodiak. Married James Ward. Died 25 July 1923, Anchorage. • Harriett Susanna, born 24 September 1887, Kodiak. Died 25 July 1923, Seward. Buried in Seldovia, Alaska. • 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. • Ollie
Barbara lived in Kodiak where her husband worked for the Alaska Commercial Company. Her children went to school in Kodiak and were taught by Ida and Ernest Roscoe of Humboldt County, California. The Bowen family moved to Wood Island after Bowen changed from the Alaska Commercial Company to the North American Commercial Company in Wood Island. By 1893, the Roscoes were teaching at the Baptist Mission school where all the Bowen children went. They were living on Wood Island at the time of her husband’s drowning on 11 December 1895. The census in 1900 listed her as the head of household.
When Mount Katmai erupted in 1912, the Kodiak area was buried in ash. Barbara and some of her family left Kodiak on the Cutter “Manning” and moved to Seldovia, where other family members were living. Elizabeth’s (Lizzy) husband James Ward was running “The Swan” a mailboat that also transported freight to the villages around Cook Inlet.
The family story (https://sharpgiving.com/MaeSharp/) is that Bill Rohde and Barbara were on a boat together and drinking when the captain of the ship married them. When Barbara sobered up she was quite upset and wouldn’t live with him in Seldovia. Bill built her a house on the boardwalk, next to the Morris store and he built himself one across the street.
Barbara felt bad about marrying Bill Rohde the way she did. So they went to Kodiak later and re-married. Bill had adopted some of the children of the Baptist Mission orphanage in Wood Island. One was Annie McCrea, who was two years old, who married Fred Bowen in 1 January 1920.
By this time Barbara’s children, Rufas, Florence, Barbara, Fred, Harriett (Hattie), and Elizabeth were all living in Seldovia. It was said that whenever the ships would come in to Seldovia, she would lock herself in her room and wouldn’t come out until they were gone. After the ships left she would come out all dressed up and visit her family. The family said that she would put a towel over her head and pray every day in the corner of the kitchen.
During her lifetime, Barbara made trips to Afognak, Kenai, Illiamna Lake, Snug Harbor, and many other small towns throughout Alaska. Some of her winters may have been spent in San Francisco. Rufas Bowen went to school in San Francisco part of the time.
Barbara died in Seldovia on 24 December 1918. She may have been buried in the original Russian Orthodox Church cemetery and later relocated as one of the unknown graves in the Seldovia City Cemetery.