A book launching was held Sunday at the Aspray Boathouse for Janet Hudon Hartman’s latest book, Colonel Ephraim Bowen: A Pawtuxet Hero. The event was busy with Hartman autographing her book and stories being traded over village history. At 19 years old, Bowen was a member of the party that rowed out and set fire to the British schooner Gaspee as she was grounded off Namquid Point on an ebbing tide on June 9, 1772. The book looks at Bowen’s military life, business endeavors, personal relationships, his wives and children and his adult life in Pawtuxet Village. As it was learned at the event, roots have a way of connecting. Among those attending was Trish Woodard, who is Bowen’s fourth cousin five times removed. Woodard, a past president of the Rhode Island Genealogical Society, by a quirk of fate is now a resident in Bowen’s home. She said she was looking for an apartment that fit her budget and happened to land there. Does she feel any connection to her distant cousin? Woodard says her boyfriend hears voices – they say, hello – and she has a feeling of his presence. Here, Woodard and former Warwick Mayor Joseph Walsh join Hartman (at right) during the event. (Warwick Beacon photo)