Utah Capitol
At the Utah Capitol there is a monument for those that have fallen in the line of duty; policemen, firemen etc. I have and ancestor that was one of the first in the state of Utah. We went to the memorial to try and find this ancestor’s name on the new memorial. His name is Albert Orlando Hastings Bowen born 1826 and died October 19, 1873. Albert O.H. Bowen is my 2nd great grandfather on my father’s side.
Marshal Albert O. H. Bowen
Died on October 16, 1873
Age 44
Provo Police Department
Homicide: Handgun
Marshal Bowen was murdered at a Provo saloon. During the evening of October 13, the 44-year-old victim responded to a report of an intoxicated man waving a gun. When Marshal Bowen attempted to disarm the man, he was shot in the side of the head with a .36-caliber revolver. The marshal lived for three days, dying on the thirteenth birthday of his eldest son. His killer was arrested two months later in Nevada. Convicted of second-degree murder, the man was sent to Utah Territorial Prison where he eventually became a trustee. In 1876, while attempting to prevent the escape of inmates who had previously attacked and mortally wounded Warden Mathew Burgher, he was shot and killed. Marshal Bowen was married and the father of nine children. He is buried in Provo City Cemetery. His bronze name plaque is sponsored by Provo P.D. Local #129/Police Mutual Aid Association.