A planter and politician, he also served in the North Carolina House for several terms and the state senate.
Richard Clauselle Puryear was born in Mecklenburg County, Virginia.
When he was a child, his family moved to Surry County, North Carolina, where he grew up.
He served as a militia colonel and the magistrate of Surry County before being elected to the North Carolina House of Commons.
He returned to farming and died at his plantation, "Shallow Ford," in Yadkin County in 1867.