Richard Clauselle Puryear (9 February 1801 – 30 July 1867) was a U.S. Congressman

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

 between the years of 1853 and 1857.

Puryear, born in Mecklenburg County, Virginia

Mecklenburg County, Virginia

As of the census of 2010, there were 32,727 people, 12,951 households, and 8,962 families residing in the county. The population density was 52 people per square mile . There were 17,403 housing units at an average density of 28 per square mile...

, moved to Surry County, North Carolina

Surry County, North Carolina

Surry County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2010, the population was 73,673. Its county seat is Dobson.- History :The county was formed in 1771 from Rowan County...

 as a child. He became a planter near Huntsville

Huntsville, North Carolina

-External links:* * *...

, and served as a militia colonel

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

 and the magistrate of Surry County before being elected to the North Carolina House of Commons.

Puryear served terms in the North Carolina House in 1838, 1844, 1846, and 1852, as well as a term in the North Carolina Senate

North Carolina Senate

The North Carolina Senate is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly.Its prerogatives and powers are similar to those of the other house, the House of Representatives. Its members do, however, represent districts that are larger than those of their colleagues in the House. The...

 before being elected as a Whig to the U.S. House in 1852. He was re-elected in 1854 as a candidate of the American Party

Know Nothing

The Know Nothing was a movement by the nativist American political faction of the 1840s and 1850s. It was empowered by popular fears that the country was being overwhelmed by German and Irish Catholic immigrants, who were often regarded as hostile to Anglo-Saxon Protestant values and controlled by...

, and ran unsuccessfully for a third term in 1856.

Puryear was a delegate to the Provisional Confederate Congress

Provisional Confederate Congress

The Provisional Confederate Congress, for a time the legislative branch of the Confederate States of America, was the body which drafted the Confederate Constitution, elected Jefferson Davis President of the Confederacy, and designed the first Confederate flag...

 in 1861 and to the Peace Congress following the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. He returned to farming and died as his plantation, "Shallow Ford," in Yadkin County

Yadkin County, North Carolina

- Cities and towns :*Boonville*East Bend*Jonesville*Yadkinville-Towns of the past:These towns were incorporated at one time:*Arlington, merged with Jonesville in 2001.*Hamptonville, chartered in 1818.*Huntsville, incorporated in 1792....

in 1867.