Five years ago, the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, launched an investigation with the aim of locating mass graves related to the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and identifying victims of the event.

The city announced last week that the first identification through the project had been made — naming C.L. Daniel, a World War I veteran who had resided in Ogden as of February that same year.

Alison Wilde — genealogy case manager for the 1921 Graves Investigation through the Utah-based Intermountain Forensics — told the Standard-Examiner that linking the DNA taken from remains at “Burial 3” after a 2021 excavation at Tulsa’s Oaklawn Cemetery with Daniel and his next of kin was a lengthy process.

“[It took] over a year,” Wilde said.

Wilde’s team compared the DNA from Burial 3 with genetic data registered with databases at GEDmatch and FamilyTreeDNA to compile a list of surnames and potential familial ties.

“We pretty quickly were taken back to Coweta County, Georgia, with Burial 3,” Wilde said.

From there, the team reached out to possible descendants, asking them to take DNA tests or approve the sharing of previous testing data with authorized databases. Family trees, stories and historical documents were also sought.

Ultimately, three brothers from around the time of the Tulsa Race Massacre were identified. Meanwhile, the investigation uncovered a letter from Daniel’s family attorney written to the U.S. Veteran’s Administration on behalf of his mother.

It was stated in the letter that “C. L. was killed in a race riot in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1921.”

A letter from a Georgia congressman similarly stated that “C. L. Daniel was killed in Oklahoma some time shortly after his discharge.”

Additionally, a letter written by Daniel himself just a few months before the massacre indicating that he had been looking for work in Ogden was found.

“We had to just marvel over the fact that the DNA was processed right here in Utah. And then, 45 minutes down the road from the laboratory, we find his last known communication.”

That unexpected discovery was poignant for Wilde and others working on the project from the Beehive State.

“We never, ever expected any type of connection to Utah for any of the burials or any of the families,” Wilde said. “To have his own words sent from Ogden, Utah, is definitely touching for the laboratory employees and the members of the genealogy team that live here in Utah.

“He was real to us as a person already just from researching his family and knowing who they were … We really get to know the family. So, he was a real person to us. But hearing his words and then knowing he was here in Utah, that just makes him even more real to us; touches our hearts more deeply even, if that’s possible.”

Historians estimate that as many as 300 people may have died in Tulsa’s Greenwood District — which the Tulsa Historical Society and Museum describes as an “affluent African-American community” some referred to as “Black Wall Street” — during the 1921 massacre.

So far, eight of the exhumed burials at Oaklawn have produced genetic genealogy profiles. Wilde hopes that the attention brought from Daniel’s identification will aid in the ongoing work to identify more victims.

“In terms of our project, we’re hopeful that this will help move things forward,” she said. “In terms of the Greenwood descendant community, this identification is just the starting point for work that they will want to do to memorialize and honor Mr. C.L. Daniel.”

For more information, go to https://www.cityoftulsa.org/1921graves.

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