Humboldt County Historical Society
From Humboldt to Kodiak: 1886-1895
by Fred Roscoe
edited by Stanley N. Roscoe
In 1886, Wesley Frederick Roscoe and his parents, Wesley Ernest Roscoe and Ida Sophina Dudley Roscoe, members of pioneer Humboldt County families from Mattole, began a wonderful adventure that any small boy would love to be part of his life story. In June of that year, Fred, as he was known, sailed with his family aboard the steamer City of Chester from Eureka to San Francisco. On his first birthday their ship from San Francisco sailed into St. Paul's Harbor, ending a journey that led to a four and one-half year sojourn at Kodiak, Alaska. Later there was another journey to neighboring Wood Island, Alaska, for a stay of two more years.
Shortly before he died in 1959, Fred visited his sister-in-law, Martha Beer Roscoe of Eureka and left with her a manuscript of his autobiography of those years, assembled from his memories, news clippings, letters and journal entries from his parents. Martha's son, Stanley, also read the fascinating matter and, in 1990, prepared the manuscript for publication. The Limestone Press, affiliated with the University of Alaska at Fairbanks' history department, published the volume as part an Alaska history series edited by Richard A. Pierce.
Part I, entitled "Kodiak, Alaska, 1886-1891," is a spellbinding assemblage of short vignettes of the lives of these early American settlers in the still nearly virgin territory of Alaska. After five years, the Roscoe family returned to northern California and Part II, "Humboldt County, California, 1891-1893," is a two-chapter description of their life back home in these two years. The family returned to Alaska, this time Wood Island in 1893 where Fred's father built a mission and orphanage. Part III, "Wood Island, Alaska, 1893-1895," tells that story.