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Purse, Daniel Gugel

merchant, capitalist, was born Nov. 14, 1839, in Savannah, Ga. After teaching school for a while, he entered commercial life in Savannah. During the civil war he served in the confederate army, and gained the rank of captain of infantry attached to the engineer corps. Previous to 1885 he was a prominent dealer in fertilizers and coal, which enabled him to amass a large fortune. Among his greatest achievements are the development of Tybee Island, almost a sand desert, into a popular summer resort; the construction of the Savannah and Tybee railroad over large reaches of salt marsh, and the introduction into Savannah of both artesian wells and electric lights.