The Psychogenealogist

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Peninsular Net and Twine Co. - Tampa, Florida

This photograph shows J. Everett Baughman standing in his store, Peninsular Net & Twine Co., at 306 W. Fortune St. in Tampa, Florida.

Here is a cropped version and a closeup of the name inscribed at the bottom.

The earliest newspaper mention of the Peninsular Net & Twine Co. was from 1941. According to this notice, J.E. Baughman (713 Bungalow) and two others, A.J. Nathan (1511 Georgia Avenue) and F.R. Herberg (216 West Woodlawn Avenue), were operating a commercial fishing supplies business at 306 W. Fortune under the name Peninsular Net & Twine. Less than one month later one of the owners, Albert J. Nathan, died suddenly.

The Tampa Tribune (Tampa, Florida) - August 29, 1941

My brief research suggests the Baughman family tree looks like this.

Baughman Family

John Everett Baughman (1885-1976) had an older brother, George B. Baughman, and a younger brother, Charles W. Baughman (1894-1967). I found a 1931 advertisement for a G. Norman Baughman Co. It was “South Florida’s Pioneer Auto Parts Equipment and Supply Jobber”.

The Tampa Times (Tampa, Florida) - June 24, 1931

Here is a cropped version of the group photo with the list of identifications below it.

In the second row is listed a J. Everett Baughman who is third in from the left (assuming the man wearing a hat on the far right is considered in the second row). Listed in that same row are the names of his brothers. I believe there may be one name missing from the identifications of that row. Regardless, here is a side by side comparison of the two photos I believe to be of the same man, J. Everett Baughman.

It is of course hard to know for sure, but the circumstantial evidence and the VERY similar and distinct eyeglasses leads me to believe that it is indeed the same person.

So, the timeline seems to be that J. Everett Baughman worked with his brothers in 1931 at the auto supply store, started the fishing supply store with partners in 1941, at some point became the sole owner for Peninsular Net & Twine Co., which was then passed on to his son (John Everett Baughman Jr., born in 1922).

The Tampa Times (Tampa, FL) - August 19, 1922

As far as I can tell Peninsular Net & Twine operated from 1941 into at least the 1980s (though later the address changed to 3642 Cypress). Here are a few newspaper mentions of the store.

The Tampa Times (Tampa, FL) - May 2, 1951

The Tampa Times (Tampa, FL) - March 25, 1975

The Tampa Times (Tampa, FL) - February 9, 1954

The Tampa Tribune (Tampa, FL) - December 14, 1968

The Tampa Tribune (Tampa, FL) - April 6, 1969

The Tampa Times (Tampa, FL) - May 3, 1972

The Tampa Times (Tampa, FL) - May 14, 1980

The elder Baughman died in 1976. His son died in 2004. Here are their obituaries.

The Tampa Tribune (Tampa, FL) - April 15, 1976

The Tampa Tribune (Tampa, FL) - September 18, 2004