Luther Woods
1807-1832

Bryant Number(s): 438

Type of Memorial: Sandstone headstone

Stonecarver: The Rev. Thomas Hughes

Inscription:

To die
is gain.

Erected
to
the Memory
of
Luther Woods
who departed
this life July
23rd 1832
in the 26th Year
of his
Age

“Blessed are the dead which die in the
Lord.”
Far from this world of toil and strife,
They are present with the Lord.

The labours of their mortal life
End in a large reward.
—Hughes

Commentary: Luther Woods was one of the early board members of the school that ultimately became Denison University. That institution, created in 1831 by the Ohio Baptist Education Society, was originally named the Granville Literary and Theological Institution. Mr. Woods, who was appointed the school’s Treasurer, had an important role to play as the fledgling college urgently sought funds with which to launch itself. Indeed, Woods himself made a gift to the school of $50, which in 2025 would be about $1,900. Unfortunately, Woods died only one year after the Institution’s founding, at age 25.

The monument to Mr. Woods is an elaborate sandstone carved by a prominent stone carver, The Rev. Thomas Hughes, who was also pastor of the Welsh Hills Baptist Church northeast of Granville.

Find a Grave link: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10845661/luther-woods