Individual Details

Death

The bodies of the Furr brothers, Alfred 24, and Robert, 22, sons of Mr. and Mrs. Henry R. Furr, drowned Sunday afternoon two miles above the Buster Boyd bridge on the Catawba river, were recovered shortly after noon yesterday and will be buried this afternoon at Steel Creek Presbyterian church. The body of Robert was first taken from the water after a drag rigged up by George Furr, another brother, who is a fireman at Petersburg, Va., pulled it from the river floor 50 feet below the surface. It was brought out at 12:30 o'clock. Alfred Furr's body was recovered ‘two hours later. The two young men had sunk at a point about 60 feet from where their speedboat ran into a submerged log and capsized. The two went down after apparently having become exhausted in their attempt to swim to the shore. The funeral will be held at Steel Creek Presbyterian church at 2 o'clock, it was announced last night at the Douglas & Sing mortuary, with Rev. J. M. Walker, pastor of Steel Creek Presbyterian church, in charge, and the burial will follow shortly afterward at the historic old Steel Creek graveyard. The finding of the bodies yesterday ended a search that had gone on almost without interruption since the two went down about 3:30 o'clock Sunday afternoon. Members of the rural police and city fire department had aided, and neighbors of the Furrs in the Steel Creek section had worked diligently in a vain attempt to find the bodies. A tackle apparatus constructed by George Furr of Petersburg, however, succeeded in finding the bodies at one of the deepest points in the river and the removal of Alfred Furr’s body at 2:30 o'clock ended the long search. Yesterday the parents expressed their thanks for the help that had been given them throughout the trying period by their Steel Creek neighbors and the many others who had aided in the search. Surviving the two young men are their parents, six brothers, Lemuel Furr of Charlotte, George Furr of Petersburg, Va., John Furr of Matthews, Lester Furr, Roy Furr, and Arthur Furr, who live with their parents; and a sister, Miss Etta Furr of Matthews. Alfred Furr is survived by his young widow and two children, Alfred, Jr., and Julia Rose. Until recently the Alfred Furrs had lived in Indiana, Robert Furr worked in Charlotte.
The Charlotte Observer, Charlotte, North Carolina, January 13, 1932

Alfred Furr, 25, and his brother, James, 23, drowned in the Catawba River near here [Charlotte] when their speed boat overturned. Either Alfred or his brother Robert fell in a lake while fishing. The other brother went in to try to save him. They both drowned. Neither one could swim.
Burlington Daily Times, Burlington, Stanly County, North Carolina, January 11, 1932