Individual Details
James Pelzer "Honk" FURR
(19 Feb 1898 - 2 Dec 1932)
Escape made off chain gang
Two men escaped from the York County Chain Gang while working at a gravel pit near Rock Hill this week in 1929. John D. Bradley and Pete Ransom, serving time for check flashing and breaking into a gas station, respectively, fled in a truck as guards fired shots at them. Bradley broke free of his chains, but drowned trying to swim across the Catawba River. Catawba Indians found his body in his striped uniform. Ransom had not been found. Chain Gang Superintendent Hazel Mobley was charged with assault and battery of an aggravated nature after allegedly whipping J. Pelzer Furr, a convict who left the truck unattended to get a drink of water.
Looking Back - June 21, 2004, By Tim Hartis The Herald
Long Sentence for Furr.
Word was received in Fort Mill yesterday of the conviction in Camden Tuesday of James P. ("Honk") Furr of Rock Hill on trial this week In the court for Kershaw county on the charge of bigamy. He was sentenced to three and a half years in the State penitentiary. Furr was accused of marrying n young Kershaw county woman a few months ago while he had a wife.
Fort Mill Times, Fort Mill South Carolina, November 11, 1920
Furr Seeking Freedom.
The State board of pardons was expected to act yesterday on the petition of James P. "Honk" Furr requesting that executive clemency be extended him. Furr has been a prisoner in the State penitentiary for about eight months. He was was sent up for a number of years from Kershaw county for bigamy, having been convicted of marrying a young woman from that county while his wife was living in York county. Furr is said to have been a patient at the prison hospital for greater part of the time since he began began serving his sentence, suffering from tuberculosis. He has relatives in Fort Mill who have been active in the effort to secure a full pardon or parole for him.
Fort Mill Times, Fort Mill, South Carolina, October 6, 1921
Two men escaped from the York County Chain Gang while working at a gravel pit near Rock Hill this week in 1929. John D. Bradley and Pete Ransom, serving time for check flashing and breaking into a gas station, respectively, fled in a truck as guards fired shots at them. Bradley broke free of his chains, but drowned trying to swim across the Catawba River. Catawba Indians found his body in his striped uniform. Ransom had not been found. Chain Gang Superintendent Hazel Mobley was charged with assault and battery of an aggravated nature after allegedly whipping J. Pelzer Furr, a convict who left the truck unattended to get a drink of water.
Looking Back - June 21, 2004, By Tim Hartis The Herald
Long Sentence for Furr.
Word was received in Fort Mill yesterday of the conviction in Camden Tuesday of James P. ("Honk") Furr of Rock Hill on trial this week In the court for Kershaw county on the charge of bigamy. He was sentenced to three and a half years in the State penitentiary. Furr was accused of marrying n young Kershaw county woman a few months ago while he had a wife.
Fort Mill Times, Fort Mill South Carolina, November 11, 1920
Furr Seeking Freedom.
The State board of pardons was expected to act yesterday on the petition of James P. "Honk" Furr requesting that executive clemency be extended him. Furr has been a prisoner in the State penitentiary for about eight months. He was was sent up for a number of years from Kershaw county for bigamy, having been convicted of marrying a young woman from that county while his wife was living in York county. Furr is said to have been a patient at the prison hospital for greater part of the time since he began began serving his sentence, suffering from tuberculosis. He has relatives in Fort Mill who have been active in the effort to secure a full pardon or parole for him.
Fort Mill Times, Fort Mill, South Carolina, October 6, 1921
Events
| Birth | 19 Feb 1898 | Rock Hill, York County, SC |  | ||
| Marriage | 1918 | Rock Hill, York County, SC - Frances GORDEN | |||
| Occupation | 1930 | auto company salesman - Rock Hill, York County, SC | |||
| Death | 2 Dec 1932 | Pineville, Mecklenburg County, NC |  | | |
| Burial | Laurelwood Cemetery, Rock Hill, York County, SC | |
Families
| Spouse | Frances GORDEN (1900 - 1961) |
| Child | Doris Hazel FURR (1919 - 1938) |
| Father | Henry Adolphus "Dol" FURR (1860 - 1914) |
| Mother | Mary Alice SCOTT (1865 - 1931) |
| Sibling | Luther Franklin "Frank" FURR (1884 - 1919) |
| Sibling | Adeline Pearl "Addie" FURR (1887 - 1922) |
| Sibling | Joseph Sergent "Joe" FURR (1890 - 1962) |
| Sibling | Robert "Bob" FURR (1892 - 1948) |
| Sibling | Crawford FURR (1895 - 1896) |
| Sibling | Mittie FURR (1900 - ) |
| Sibling | Jesse J. FURR (1902 - 1958) |
Notes
Death
Funeral services for J. P. Furr, who was killed in an automobile wreck just south of Pineville, N. C., about 3:30 a. m. today, will be held from the home at 241 Peachtree street Saturday at 3 p. m., with Rev. L. F. Westbury in charge, and burial will be in Laurelwood cemetery. Constable W. J. McCarter, who went from Rock Hill to investigate the wreck, which occurred in North Carolina near the state line, said it appeared that the car left the Charlotte road on right hand side some 30 yards from the wreck scene and that it then went back on the road and across it to go over an embankment of several feet and run into a fence. L. M. Gordon, father-in-law of J. P. Furr, and L. T. Smith, Hagins street, were in the car, which the officer said it appeared the deceased was driving. The other two occupants escaped serious hurts. The deceased was a son of Mr. and Mrs. Doll Furr, and surviving him are his widow, Mrs. Francis Gordon Furr, a daughter, Doris, and three brothers, Joe, Bob and Jess Furr.Pineville, N. C., Dec. 2. — (AP) J. P. Furr, 38, of Rock Hill, was killed and two others were shaken and bruised when their automobile wrecked near here today. Chief of Police W. F. Wendell said a small quantity of liquor was found in the machine, but that no arrests were made. The other two occupants were L. M. Gordon and a man named Smith, both of Rock Hill, who returned there shortly after the accident. Chief Wendell said no inquest had been scheduled, and Furr died of a broken neck when he was pinned under the steering wheel.
The Herald, Rock Hill, South Carolina, December 2, 1932
Endnotes
1. "United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K35W-C51 : 29 December 2021).
2. The Herald, Rock Hill, South Carolina.
3. findagrave.com.