James M. Crawford was a linguist who mainly studied Native American languages, including Cocopa, Yuchi, and Mobilian trade language. He came to the field of linguistics halfway through his lifetime after pursuing a career in forestry in the West and Southwest. After receiving his PhD in 1966 from the University of California at Berkeley, he returned to his birthplace, Georgia, where he taught in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Georgia at Athens. The collection is organized into seven series: I. Correspondence, 1964-1986; II. Subject Files, 1949-1987; III. Works by Crawford, 1962-1986; IV. Research NOtes & Notebooks, 1906-1988; V. Card Files, 1960s-1980s; VI. Course Material, 1961-1986; VII. Photographs, 1963-1978.

The correspondence is principally to Zaccheus Collins (1810-1840), with bills, receipts, and notes on Rafinesque vs. Parker; letters from Collins, L.A. Tarascon, Lewis C. Beck, John Torrey, and Charles W. Short (1817-1835); and miscellaneous correspondence and documents relating to Rafinesque vs. Parker, with an account of the Felician Society of Feliciana County, Illinois (1820). The writings are chiefly on botanical topics, and include notes and essays on Indians, Blacks, grapes and wine-making, banking, and speculation. Rafinesque's growing interest in Indian antiquities, linguistics, and history is apparent in letters after 1820. There is an account of Rafinesque's scientific travels in North America and southern Europe (1800-1832), and a bibliography. The botanical notes include descriptions of specimens collected by Lewis and Clark, Patrick Gass, and Henry Muhlenberg.