“P” is for Purvis, Melvin Horace, Jr. (1902-1960)

“P” is for Purvis, Melvin Horace, Jr. (1902-1960). Federal agent. Born in Timmonsville, Purvis gained national fame during the 1930s as the nation’s “ace G-man.” After earning a law degree at the University of South Carolina, he joined the Justice Department’s Bureau of Investigation, the forerunner of the FBI. In 1932 Purvis, as senior agent in charge of the bureau’s Chicago field office, organized the operation that led to the death of John Dillinger (America’s “Public Enemy Number One”) during a shoot-out with agents. Three months later Purvis led a team that tracked down and killed Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd. Reporters made the modest agent a national celebrity. Unfortunately, the FBI’s director was jealous of Purvis’s publicity and basically ran him out of the agency. Melvin Horace Purvis, Jr., returned to Florence County where he remained until his death.