Forgotten By Most, Studied Intently By One

Bigham gravestones, that is, studied by University of North Carolina folklorist Daniel Patterson, who has written a scholarly work on the distinctive stones.

Here's an example, the gravestone of Andrew Bigham himself:

Patterson has spent a good portion of his life studying the gravestones and writing his book. Scholarship in the best sense of the word.

Accompanying slideshow can be found here.