1870-03-01
Alamance County, NC
Alleged offense: Racially motivated (no alleged crime)
Race: Black
Gender: Male
Age: Unrecorded
Legal intervention (in alleged offense): No
Legal intervention (following lynching): Yes
Mob size: Unrecorded
Mob members: “Several Klan members”
Alleged victim: N/A
Household Status: Married
Occupation: Unrecorded
William Puryear supposedly pursued some of the murderers of Wyatt Outlaw. Although he found and confronted them, he then disappeared until his body was found, bound and weighted, in a mill pond. Newspapers indicated that he was attacked by the Klan for his interest in addressing Outlaw’s death, for, “Dead men tell no tales.” It is not known when exactly Puryear died, but his death was reported on June 1, 1870, which is why this date has been assigned to his lynching.
Documentation
Death certificate: None found
Census: None found
News coverage:
William Puryear
Alamance County–Startling Revelations
Location
Town: Graham, North Carolina
Latitude/Longitude: 36.059016, -79.396769
Rationale: Nearest city or town.
Additional Resources:
Researcher’s Note: