TULSA, Okla. — In their first on-camera interview, 2 News sat down with the family of C.L. Daniel.
He’s the first victim identified from the 1921 Graves Investigation. On Nov. 12, 2 News brought you the memorial ceremony honoring his life and service.
Now, 2 News discovered how this process brought two different sides of his family together.
It was a moment more than 103 years in the making.
C.L. Daniel’s military service was honored. The World War I vet looking to get back home to Newnan, Georgia, was killed in the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.
“C.L. has made a whole difference in all of our lives,” said Ida Daniel, C.L. Daniel’s great niece.
There’s also finally a grave marker signifying that lost history and showcasing the chance for his family to take him home finally.
“What does that mean to you all that you now can go bury him where his mom is..where he should be?” asked 2 News.
“It’s like fulfilling his last written word,” said Andrew L. Poythress Jr.
Andrew L. Poythress Jr. is C.L. Daniel’s great-great nephew. The graves investigation brought Poythress and four other families together for the first time.
“Completely out of the blue,” said Stacy Daniel Brown.
Stacy Daniel Brown, C.L. Daniel’s grandniece, got a phone call from the team a few years ago. That call, initially met with skepticism, prompted her to take her own DNA test.
During the summer of 2024, that skepticism turned to intrigue.
“We got a phone call that said that’s definitely your great uncle,” said Daniel Brown.
2 News was at the city of Tulsa’s press conference in July 2024 that announced that historic find.
Local News
1921 Tulsa Race Massacre victim identified after 103 years
The family says there was still more for them to learn.
“That’s when she sprung on me, you know you have relatives in Florida,” said Poythress. “I said do we?”
“At this point in my life to say I have cousins and where they’re from and not only do I have cousins, but I have an uncle who was a part of history,” said Ida Daniel.
The family points to C.L Daniel’s mom as their guide through this process.
“Everyone in our family agrees the truly story is Amanda Merryweather Daniel,” said Daniel Brown.
They say it’s her perseverance through years of letter writing looking for her son that brought them to his remains and together.
“It opened up the door of healing,” said Poythress. “To be able to learn from it. To be able to grow from it.”
Ultimately, they’re grateful to be able to fulfill C.L. Daniel’s last request.
“His final resting place needs to be with his mother because that was his last desire,” said Poythress Jr.
The family says the process to get him moved to Georgia will likely take some time, but this investigation has been well worth it. Along with C.L. Daniel, investigators identified the resting places for two other previously unidentified relatives.
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