The Jones family roots run deep in West Tennessee. This collection begins with Sammie Lee (“S. L.”) and Ida Mae Crawford Jones, the patriarch and matriarch of the Boxtown family. Ida was born and raised in West Junction, an area about 2 miles northeast of Boxtown, and as a young boy S. L. moved to the neighborhood from a farm on Judy Branch Road in McEwen, Tennessee. Then, there’s S. L. and Ida’s five children – Gladys, Rufus, Ida, Dorothy, and Debra – and their spouses and children, all of whom referred to S. L. as “Daddy Jones” and Ida as “Mother.” Next, there’s the extended family of aunts, uncles, and cousins, like Brenda Odell, who spent most weekends and summers in the Jones family home on Sewanee Road. When Ms. Odell had her own children and grandchildren, they also became part of “Uncle Sammy” and “Aunt Ida’s” home.  

But family, in the Jones household, extends beyond bloodline. The collection contains testimonials from neighbors and church members who treated the Jones family’s house and grocery store as home base for all manner of activities. Some of these individuals are not Joneses on paper, but they were all treated as part of the network of love, care, and respect that extended out from the Jones house. 

Over four generations, the family tree also stretches far beyond Boxtown. S. L. traces his roots to a farm in McEwen, but later branches will extend to southern California, the suburbs of Chicago, and New York City. Thus, their family history fits into the broader Great Migration that takes place during the twentieth century, from rural farms to northern and western industrial cities. 

Browse through this collection of photos, family trees, poems, prayers, letters, and remembrances of the Jones family and their impact on Boxtown.