On the morning of November 28, 1905, Ira H. Owen left Duluth, Minnesota, with a "light load" of 116,000 bushels of barley bound for Buffalo, New York.

On December 1, the freighter Sir William Siemens located wreckage from Ira H. Owen, 12 miles (19.3 km) east of Michigan Island.

[6][7] Ira H. Owen (US official number 100410) was built in 1887 in Cleveland, Ohio, by the Globe Iron Works Company.

[9][13][16] While bound for Chicago on June 16, 1892, Ira H. Owen collided with the two-masted schooner Belle Brown, about 16 miles (25.7 km) off Ludington, Michigan.

[17] Ira H. Owen's cabin was badly damaged, while Belle Brown lost her bowsprit, jibboom and various other gear.

[17] On the night of July 2, 1893, while heavily laden with iron ore, Ira H. Owen struck a rock off Cedar Point, near Sault Ste.

[9][18] Early in the morning of July 20, 1897, while travelling on Lake Huron, Ira H. Owen collided with the package freighter Susquehanna in thick fog off Presque Isle, Michigan.

[13][19] Both vessels were severely damaged; Ira H. Owen headed for Alpena, Michigan, for repairs, while Susquehanna proceeded to Middle Island, and eventually sailed to Chicago.

[10][13] After leaving Manitowoc, Wisconsin, on December 5, 1903, with a cargo of grain bound for Buffalo, New York, a fire broke out in Ira H. Owen's boiler room.

As they were getting into the lifeboats, the car ferry Ann Arbor No.1 appeared at the scene, after hearing Ira H. Owen's distress calls.

[9] On October 13, 1904, while upbound with a cargo of coal, Ira H. Owen collided with the, downbound, ore-laden freighter Henry W. Oliver in the St. Marys River, off DeTour Village, Michigan, due to a confusion of the passing signals.

[23] On the morning of November 28, 1905, Ira H. Owen left Duluth, Minnesota, with a "light load" of 116,000 bushels of barley bound for Buffalo.

[24][25] As Ira H. Owen was passing Outer Island, she was hit by the full force by the 80–90 miles per hour (128.7–144.8 km/h) winds of what would become the Mataafa Storm.

[14][25][28] She was spotted by Captain Alva Keller of the freighter Harold B. Nye 40 miles (64.4 km) off Outer Island, and appeared to be in trouble, continually blowing distress signals.

After two hours, the storm had passed; Captain Keller looked for Ira H. Owen with his binoculars, but was unable to locate her.

[15] None of Ira H. Owen's 19 crewmen survived, making her the only victim of the Mataafa Storm to be lost with all hands; none of their bodies were recovered.