Orange County NC Website
28 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY LOCAL LANDMARK APPLICATION <br /> headstone/footstone variety, and most headstones have either a segmental-arched or a rectangular <br /> top characteristic of the times in which they were made. <br /> Some of the gravestones are of particular note. The oldest identified stone is that of William <br /> Comb. Although he is not on record as having been a member of the Society of Friends, he had <br /> leased the land to the Quakers for their meeting house, school, and burying ground in 1759. His <br /> initials are cut into an arched. stone with the date Dec. 19, 1791.2 A simple flower carved <br /> between the initials adds a small flourish rare in the cemetery. (Photo 7) <br /> Two gravestones of members of the Woodward family are undated, but their attributes suggest <br /> an early-nineteenth century date of installation. (Photos 8-9) Clearly executed by a non- <br /> professional artisan, on one only the initials are provided. As on several other early grave <br /> markers in the cemetery, scoring lines are present that helped the stone cutter keep his lettering <br /> straight. Each gravestone has a rounded top, and on one, the rounded top is inset from either side. <br /> Within the top of each is a group of compass-inscribed circles. At the center, a semicircle rises <br /> from the uppermost horizontal scribed line. Between it and the outer edge of the rounded top of <br /> the stone are three circles---one above the semicircle and one on either side of it. On the <br /> gravestone marked simply S W (Photo 8), believed to stand for S. Woodward, each circle <br /> contains two compass-drawn partial circles that meet at the center of the overall circle. N. J. F. <br /> Woodward's grave marker (Photo 9) displays the same design plan, but the circles on it are <br /> empty, without the inner partial circles. On this marker, the central points from which the <br /> compass, or divider, moved to form the circles can be clearly seen. As an added design feature, <br /> I Mary Claire Engstrom,"Early Quakers in the Eno River Valley ca. 1750-1847,"Eno Journal, Vol.7,No.2 <br /> 1983/1984, 39,-Cemetery Census: Old Eno Quaker Burying Ground. <br /> 6 <br />