Heyward McLaughlin CROWSON, Sr. (Jr.)^{[1, 2]}

1910 - 1981  (70 years)

• Name	Heyward McLaughlin CROWSON  [3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]
  Suffix	Sr. (Jr.)
  Birth	31 Jul 1910	Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina
  Gender	Male
  HIST	Heyward McLaughlin Crowson Sr. BIRTH 3 Mar 1883 North Carolina, USA DEATH 15 Feb 1940 (aged 56) Baltimore, City of Baltimore, Maryland, USA BURIAL Sumter Cemetery Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina, USA MEMORIAL ID 131720311 · View Source Family Members Parents William James Crowson Sr 1851–1928 Martha Smith Crowson 1857–1950 Spouse Repsie Gulley Crowson 1883–1963 Siblings Estelle Crowson Aman 1879–1961 Jessie Covington Crowson Scott 1886–1954 William James Crowson Jr 1890–1974 Children Elizabeth Heyward Crowson 1906–1962 Estelle Gulley Crowson Cline 1908–1986 Heyward McLaughlin Crowson Jr 1910–1981 Ann Crowson Schuyler 1912–1995 Heyward McLaughlin Crowson Jr. VETERAN BIRTH 31 Jul 1910 Sumter County, South Carolina, USA DEATH 28 May 1981 (aged 70) Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina, USA BURIAL Evergreen Memorial Park Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina, USA MEMORIAL ID 44934614 · View Source He was a class of 1928 graduate of Sumter High School (HERE: https://www.edmundshigh.com/alumni.html?x=info&c=28 and then scroll that page to his name & click on it to read much more biography on him). Reported in Nov. 1955 The Item, Sumter Radio Shop installed the first television in Sumter, a 7 inch TV set, in his home in 1949...reception from a station in Charlotte was very poor & fuzzy but seemed miraculous! Heyward joined the ITEM in 1941 and then went off to WWII as a Marine Combat Photographer. He continued to snap photos until his passing in 1981 at the age of 70; his son Bruz joined him in photo journalism in 1972 and retired in 2006. Fine man! And his wife, Ruth, was an amazing woman who taught generations of kids in Sunday School at Grace Baptist Church. 1968: "Heyward Crowson, Sumter Daily Item photographer, gave his 80th pint of blood at yesterday's bloodmobile operation, becoming the first 10-gallon donor to the Sumter program, the program now almost 18 years old. Blood Program Chairman Riley Bradham hailed Crowson's record as an outstanding example to the community. Mrs. Helen Malone, Red Cross staffer who engineered a photo of Crowson much against his wishes, terms him 'one in a million.' " Another obituary almost exactly like the one posted as a pic is in Columbia Record Friday, May 29, 1981 Columbia, SC Page: 25, saying that he died "yesterday". Family Members Parents Heyward McLaughlin Crowson Sr 1883–1940 Repsie Gulley Crowson 1883–1963 Spouse Ruth Cain Crowson 1912–2000 Siblings Elizabeth Heyward Crowson 1906–1962 Estelle Gulley Crowson Cline 1908–1986 Ann Crowson Schuyler 1912–1995 Children Marguerite Elizabeth "Tutta" Crowson Kwiatkowski 1938–2019  [1]
  MILI	He was a Marine combat photographer in the Pacific during World War II.  [9]
  Occupation	he joined the The Sumter Daily Item in 1941  [7]
  _UID	12A3707D50DD470D9F0B26062783A02E717A
  Death	28 May 1981	Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina   [7]
  Burial	Evergreen Memorial Park Cemetery, 802 N. Guignard Drive, Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina
  Person ID	I4781	Singleton and Related Families
  Last Modified	4 Feb 2026

  
  

  Father	Heyward McLaughlin CROWSON, Sr.,   b. 3 Mar 1883, Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina d. 15 Feb 1940, Baltimore, Baltimore County, Maryland (Age 56 years)
  Mother	Repsie GULLEY,   b. 22 Feb 1883, Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina d. 10 Aug 1963, Florence, Florence County, South Carolina (Age 80 years)
  _UID	DA530FA5D64041539B2CCD56DA3FEBDD564D
  _UID	DA530FA5D64041539B2CCD56DA3FEBDD564D
  Family ID	F6610	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Ruth Caroline CAIN,   b. 15 Mar 1912, Cain’s Mill, Sumter County, South Carolina d. 27 Aug 2000, local nursing home, Sumter County, South Carolina (Age 88 years)
  Marriage	16 Mar 1934	Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina   [3, 4]
  _UID	627C8E8B0B7440B9AD30F6D9036569B7A335
  _UID	627C8E8B0B7440B9AD30F6D9036569B7A335
  Children	1. Ruth Cain CROWSON,   b. 3 Dec 1934, Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina d. 17 Oct 2024, Charleston, Charleston County, South Carolina (Age 89 years)   2. Living   3. Living
  Family ID	F1725	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	10 Jun 2001

  
  

• Sources

  [S32040] . [S32193] Ruth Crowson Knopf. [S78] . [S610] John D. Cain, page 17. [S2158] Ruth Cain Crowson. [S3879] Ida N. McKenzie. [S7148] The Crowson Legacy. [S12754] Manchester topic at Genealogical Society. [S7298] A Look Back.