I’ve written of the dozens of simple narrow marble grave markers in Odd Fellows Cemetery. Most are inscribed with the full name of the deceased and, often, the fraternal organization’s emblem. Were they headstones or footstones, though?

Yesterday I had a go at unscrambling the chunks of concrete from a shattered anchor-and-ivy marker found when trash and privet were cleared from the edge of the parking lot bordering Odd Fellows. There was an obvious base and, around it, two dozen or so pieces of headstone, which I sorted more quickly than I’d expected. I was surprised to recognize the name of the deceased — Smith Bennett — especially since I’d already found a Smith Bennett marker. 

Smith Bennett Died Apr. 30, 192_ [May the Resur]rection Find Thee On the Bosom of Thy God

The first stone, which lies about 15 feet from this one, is of the smooth white marble variety that the Odd Fellows seem to have supplied to lodge members and their families. Presumably, in this instance, it served as a footstone, though it (or the headstone) has obviously been dislodged from its original place. 

Smith Bennett’s footstone. At top, between the trees, his broken headstone.

Photos by Lisa Y. Henderson, April 2021.