Remains Of Tulsa Race Massacre Victim Identified

A previously unknown victim of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre has been identified as C. L. Daniel, who was approximately 20-years-old. His remains were uncovered during a search for unmarked graves associated with the massacre and were found in an area long thought to include burials tied to it.

Daniel was a World War I Army Veteran, discharged in December 1919, after an unspecified injury to his leg that resulted in a 19-day hospitalization at the Camp Gordon Army Hospital near Augusta, Georgia. The Camp has since been renamed Fort Eisenhower.

The identification, the first since a state commission investigated in 2001, came through DNA testing and genealogical research, that narrowed the identity down to three brothers. The other two were excluded by the discovery of two letters that mention C.L. Daniel died in Tulsa, the massacre in 1921. The letters were in the National Archives.

The remains were found in a decayed wooded casket near the only two headstones at Oaklawn Cemetery connected to the massacre. Those graves remain intact. The remains of Daniel were removed for forensic testing, then re-buried in the same spot.

His next of kin will decide what happens next with the remains. Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum, said Friday he would support whatever the family decides.

Archeologists who examined the burial said Daniel was in a casket that didn't match his size, with his head and feet against the ends, and legs bent.

Daniel was a native of Newnan, Georgia, and served in the Army as a laborer.

He was not married and had no children or descendants. At least one of his brothers had a child. Through that family line, the DNA was matched.

Daniel had no known ties to Tulsa and was last known to be in Utah, trying to get back to Georgia, and possibly was passing through in June of 1921.

Brenda Nails-Alford, of Tulsa, a massacre descendant, said Friday:

"There were no questions asked. The massacre just happened. And so many, so many people who were just trying to live their lives, were involved with this, and here we are today. (He was) just trying to get home to his mom."

His mother was destitute in Georgia, and a lawyer helping her get Veterans' survivors benefits, wrote a letter that noted C.L. Daniel died in Tulsa during the 1921 riot.

The City of Tulsa is in contact with his next of kin, who now must decide whether to leave his remains at Oaklawn or move them.