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Record Group Number: 900000
Series/Collection Number: N2001- 2
Creator: Bevins family.
Title, Dates: Bevins family papers, 1900-1936, 1999.
Amount: 0.50 cubic ft.
Medium Included:
Organization/Arrangement: By record type.
Restrictions:
Terms Governing Use:
Biographical/Historical:     The Bevins family moved from Pennsylvania to Davenport (Polk County), Florida, prior to and attempted to homestead. After the United States entered the First World War, Algy Bevins and his brother Arthur enlisted into the U.S. Coast Guard and served aboard the U.S.S. Tampa, a Coast Guard cutter serving on convoy duty with the U.S. Navy in Europe when it disappeared into a fog bank and exploded with the loss of all hands after a German U-boat torpedoed it.
Summary:     This collection contains correspondence, photographs, and some newspaper clippings that pertain to the Bevins family of Davenport (Polk County), Florida. Algy Bevins is the author of most of the correspondence, and most of it prior to 1918 is from Algy to his sister, Merie Rieck, describing life in Florida, his various jobs, and plans for himself and her.

    Included in the collection is a letter from the Navy to the parents of Algy and Arthur describing the work done by their ship and the circumstances surrounding their loss on the U.S.S. Tampa. The clippings are newspaper accounts of the sinking and the various memorial services held in commemoration of their sacrifice. The photographs are of Algy in civilian and naval pursuits, Arthur aboard the Tampa, and some other views of life in Florida and England.

    On Veterans Day of 1999, the Lakeland Ledger newspaper ran a story about the Bevins family and the discovery of these letters. That story is also included in the collection.
Finding Aids: Folder listing available. 0
Additional Physical Form: The letters and photographs from this collection have been digitized and are available on the Florida Memory web site: https://www.floridamemory.com/discover/historical_records/bevins/
Reproduction Note:
Location of Originals/Duplicates:
Associated Materials:
Language Notes:
Ownership/Custodial History:
Publication Note:
General Note:
Electronic Records Access: https://www.floridamemory.com/discover/historical_records/bevins/
Subject Access Fields: United States. Coast Guard.
United States. Navy.
Family Florida
War Casualties (Statistics, etc.)
World War, 1914-1918.
Photographs. aat
Clippings. aat
Added Entries