Embedded Files
FEBRUARY
Exhibitions: Crumbly-Caldwell Heritage
Art & Family - Laurel, MS
The Laurel based Board of the Crumbly-Caldwell Collection of Art & Family History invites readers to view – and participate in – two exhibits without charge.
The first exhibit is on Friday, February 20, from 2 to 4 P.M. in the Reference section of the Laurel-Jones County Library, 530 Commerce Street. “The Crumbly-Caldwell-Heritage: Art & Family” exhibit gives a glimpse of the family history in Laurel from the early 1800s and nationwide through 2025 as a hands-on lesson in building family history. Speakers, family docents, displays, and crafts encourage attendees to “Put YOUR Foot in Family History.”
On Saturday, February 21, from 3 to 7 P.M., the exhibit is expanded in both content and time in the Sawmill Square Mall, 910 Sawmill Road.
For more information, contact Chloe Davis, 601-577-2830.
Crumbly, Caldwell families celebrate Laurel heritage
Crumbly, Caldwell families celebrate Laurel heritage
The Laurel Leader Call, October 17, 2025
The Crumbly and Caldwell families of Laurel celebrated their first family reunion since COVID. Families met on Oct.10 and 11 a.m. in the L. T. Ellis Center and closed with a luncheon on Sunday in the fellowship hall of the United Missionary Baptist Church.
The families have verified their lineage by licensed heritage research firms that traced the Crumbly line from the 13th-century Cameroonian explorer Adam de Crum. The first Crumbly resident in Laurel, Daniel Crumbly, 1841, and the first Caldwell resident in Laurel, Dave Caldwell, 1812, are also verified through church records and family Bibles. Other heritage is recorded on gravestones in local cemeteries and engraved on church cornerstones.
The Crumbly and Caldwell families have applied their education gained from one-room schools in Laurel and Ellisville, Laurel's Oak Park School, through the University of Southern Mississippi and other accredited institutions. They serve in local and state governments throughout the United States as well as in local business and industry, health care, and education. Angelique Crumbly retired from the United Nations in 2024.
Family members have served in five branches of the U.S. military. Three sons were awarded the Purple Heart. After 20 years of service in the U.S. Air Force, Eddie D. Crumbly returned home to earn a degree in education at USM. He taught special education courses for 18 years at Laurel's R.H. Watkins High School.
Family gathered from around Laurel and returned from Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Florida, and as far as Thailand. On Oct. 8, the Homegoing service in Laurel for matriarch Grace Crumbly, wife of Eddie D., preceded the reunion celebration.
Highlights of the family reunion included an international food fest and an exhibit of art by internationally acclaimed artist Gregory Crumbly, son of James “Jay” Crumbly Sr., a son of Laurel, deceased, and budding artists from middle school through high school.
Forward In Unity
On July 30, 2024, Darrell Crumbly shared this important information that extends the Crumbly family research to the continent of Africa and The Republic of Cameroon.
The Crumbly-Caldwell Clan invites Cameroonian nationals and descendants living in the area of Laurel, MS, and throughout the nation to join in helping extend our knowledge and appreciation of the history and present experience of Cameroon and especially the Bamileke people's history, culture, and art. Interested persons can contact Mrs. Davis, 601-577-2380 or Mrs. Crumbly, 301-710-8402, to discuss how you might participate in the 2026 Crumbly-Caldwell Family History and Art exhibitions in Laurel, MS, and Asheville, NC, in person or by sharing information, contacts, and cultural materials.
Research and Art by Gregory Crumbly
Heritage Research lists Lord Adam de Crum as being our first known Crumbly relative. Heritage Research reported that Adam de Crum was a lord of the Normandy region of France, making the Crumbly surname one of nobility. Lord de Crum introduced Percheron horses to the commerce of the region which also stopped the spread of the Moorish lightening fast cavalry. The Percherons were so big and strong that they formed an impenetrable wall that the Arab horses could not pierce.
Lord de Crum was credited with freeing and stabilizing the region during the 100 Years War between England and France, 1337 to 1453.
Anyone wishing to share additional information or cultural materials on the lineage of Lord Adam de Crum please contact Mrs. Crumbly, 301-710-8402.
CHOCTAW HERITAGE
Choctaws call themselves Chahtas.
The Choctaw Indians once lay claim to millions of acres of land and established some 50 towns in present-day Mississippi and western Alabama. With a population of at least 15,000 by the turn of the nineteenth century, the Choctaws were one of the largest Indian groups in the South and played a significant role in shaping the politics, economics, and armed conflicts in the region. The Choctaw continue the art of white oak basketweaving.
encyclopediaofalabama.org
CHOCTAW COUSINS
The Mississippi Band. Thousands of Choctaws remained in the Southeast even after removal and are known today as the federally recognized Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and the state-recognized MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians (so named for their location in Mobile and Washington County) Choctaws of Alabama. Members of the Mississippi Choctaw participated in the 2025 Family Reunion in Laurel. On Friday evening, Choctaw dancers from the Elementary School performed. The performance facilitator shared a bit of the tribe history and current activities. He stated that there are 600 members of the band in the Laurel location. Other groups are listed below:
*Choctaw Freedmen
*The Alabama MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians are named for their location in Mobile and Washington County, Alabama.
*The Choctaw in the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma survived the Trail of Tears forced removal by the U.S. Government.
*The Jena Choctaw of Louisiana.
*Choctaw communities in Texas and Tennessee.
*Families and individuals not on reservations living throughout the United States.
SCOTTISH HERITAGE
The name Caldwell is linked to Ireland, England, Scotland, and Wales. The connection with our family is the white saltire, X-shaped cross, on the flag of Scotland, beneath the blue Southern Cross of the Confederacy, and on the Confederate MS state flag. Ireland's saltire is red. The British use the T-shaped St. George's cross. Wales uses neither a T-cross nor X-saltire.
The Caldwell name leads us to Alabama, birthplace of Grandfather Wash Caldwell, and residence of slaveholder Charles Caldwell Yates, a VA transplant, and having a Mississippi Choctaw wife. He is reputed to have had children by several slaves. RESOURCES: Wikipedia; Britannica.com; 1001flags.com.
A Knight Connection
Newton Knight was an American farmer, soldier, and Southern Unionist in Mississippi, best known as the leader of the Knight Company, a band of Confederate Army deserters who resisted the Confederacy during the Civil War. Local legends tell of Knight and his men founding the "Free State of Jones" in the area around Jones County, Mississippi, at the height of the war. The nature and extent of the Knight Company's opposition to the Confederate government is disputed among historians. After the war, Knight joined the Republican Party and served in Mississippi's Reconstruction government as a deputy U.S. Marshal.
Knight has long been a controversial figure in the region, with people divided over his motives and actions. He and his allies developed a small mixed-race community in southeastern Mississippi.
Born November 10, 1829, Jones County, Mississippi, U.S.
Age at death 92 years. Died February 16, 1922, Jasper County, Mississippi, U.S. Resting place, Knight Cemetery, Jasper County, Mississippi
Political party, Republican
Spouse(s): Serena Turner, Rachel Knight (common law)
Occupation: Farmer, former blacksmith, former soldier, U.S. Marshal
CrumblyCaldwellHeritage@yahoo.com
Google Sites
Report abuse