Genealogists have identified the remains of a young World War I veteran from Newnan, Georgia, who was a victim of the Tulsa Race Massacre. The previously unnamed victim has been recognized as C.L. Daniel, whose life was tragically cut short 103 years ago in this act of racial violence, as reported by the New York Post.
During the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, a white mob destroyed the flourishing Black neighborhood of Greenwood, also known as Black Wall Street. Daniel, who was heading home to his mother, became one of the hundreds of victims. According to FOX 5 Atlanta, Angela Poythress, a relative of Daniel, emotionally recounted, "In August 2023, I got this email with my grandparents' names, my parents' names. It was a letter saying we might be connected to the Tulsa race massacre." This connection is the result of efforts by a forensic team to to painstakingly track down descendants related to the massacre's victims.
The identification initiative saw several individuals come forward, including Stacy "Daniel" Brown from Florida who told the New York Post, "They had been trying to reach a number of 'Stacy Daniels.' My grandfather is Stacy Daniel. That's what led them to me." Combining DNA evidence with historical records helped confirm that Brown, along with the Poythress family in Georgia, were descendants of Daniel – reuniting them with the uncle they never knew they had lost.
The forensic team discovered that Daniel had enlisted at a young age to serve in World War I and was honorably discharged after being injured. His journey home was interrupted in Tulsa, where he was killed in the massacre. "He wrote letters to the VA saying, 'I want to get home. I need help to get home to my mother. She needs me.' He left a forwarding address in Wyoming—that's where he was going next before he was killed in the race massacre,'" Angela Poythress told FOX 5 Atlanta.
Former Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum arranged for Daniel's descendants to travel to Tulsa for his burial. The family now plans to move his remains to the family cemetery in Coweta County, where they must restore the neglected gravesite of Daniel's parents. As mentioned in a New York Post report, Andrew Poythress made a promise at the site: “Don’t worry, Grandpa. We’re going to get it straight.”
The team continues their work to uncover more connections and invites families with ties in Louisiana, Alabama, North Carolina, and Texas to come forward. Contact information is listed on a dedicated webpage, aiming to restore identities and dignity to those like C.L. Daniel who have remained unnamed for too long.
