One might overlook the importance of a stone cutter. It was a skill that not everyone had but if you did, it made for a very profitable career. In regards to John Foote being an excellent stone cutter, one might be curious what that entailed. “The Journeyman Stonecutters Association of North America is the oldest, and perhaps the smallest, active union in North America. Based on a tradition dating back to the masons lodges of the middle ages, the International was founded in 1853. Many of the individual locals began in the 1820's and 30's, and the Washington Stonecutters are said to have marched as a body at the laying of the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol in 1792.”[1]Stone cutters was one of the highest paid jobs of the time. At the turn of the century stone cutters were paid just as well as a doctor or a lawyer was paid. Stone cutters came before the Secret Service, which provided body guards for Abraham Lincoln during his inauguration in 1861.  

[1]"Stone Sculptor, Walter Arnold in Various Marble Carving Process Photos Taken in His Chicago Studio." Stone Sculptor, Walter S. Arnold Biography Page | Marble Carving. http://www.stonecarver.com/union.html.