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A stonemason is a craftsman who works with stone. She may be a sculptor who works diligently on small details of a stone mural or relief or a three dimensional shape; putting her creativity and energy into perhaps a lifetime of effort to make something memorable. Such was the case with the St. John the Divine Cathedral in New York City. Here a person had worked for most of his lifetime adding small detail to the work-in-progress that has been under construction for over a century. This is similar to the timeline of the Medieval monuments that have been with us for half a millennium or more. But it takes over a century for a cathedral takes shape
A stonemason is a skilled artisan who works with stone to create structures, sculptures, and other items. They use various tools to cut, shape, and lay stones, often working on buildings, walls, monuments, and other stone structures. The craft of stonemasonry requires a good understanding of geometry, design, and an ability to work with different types of stones.
Stonemasons have been essential throughout history, contributing to the construction of some of the most famous structures in the world, such as the Egyptian pyramids, the Parthenon in Greece, and the medieval cathedrals of Europe.
My paternal great grandfather, Samuel Truran (1853 - 1921), was a stonemason back in Cornwall England. He lived in the same handful of miles that his ancestors did back to at least the 1400s. My grandfather Harty came to the US to work in the zinc mine, and his neighbor across the street over there in Cornwall was also across the street in Franklin where many Cornish immigrated.
Samuel lived in a row house in the Plain-An-Gwarry section of Redruth in Cornwall on a street called Chapel Row. The small stone home is shown here.
Samuel was a different kind of stonemason, one who worked with rough cut large blocks. He chipped at them to make them smoother, and he cut the edges to be sharp so as to go together well. Samuel would also work to make surfaces smooth. All this to create a firm structure that would last many lifetimes and would also look handsome with fine stone, the straight and sharp edges and a smooth surfaces.
He may have worked on the Methodist Episcopal Church that was a mere two lots down the little lane from his dwelling, perhaps on a rebuild of the church that Reverend John Wesley visited often during 40 or so years of his travel preaching to thousands.
Hopefully Samuel had heard repeated, the words known to have been said by John Wesley here in Plain-An-Gwarry: "Ye are saved through faith."
May these words be solace and hope for all of us. We should do kind work for others. Some work may be a dwelling or a place of worship. Some talent we have may last many generations. Words written and expressed by Wesley, for example, also have stood the test of time and have lasted these centuries since said.
Might these be a testament to the longevity that acts of good will may stay with society longer than we can imagine. Let us have faith and make a difference for the betterment of humankind.
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Inspiring History is a compendium of people we could recognize for their good traits: knowledge, skills, abilities, and intentions that amount to qualities that have made our world a better place. These Portraits in Character offer us examples that we could emulate ourselves for us to also improve the human condition and the world around us.
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Images from Google Maps and public domain.
Images from Unsplash slashio-photography-QfgvOyiDVLQ-unsplash.jpg
Unsplash 056a georgi-kalaydzhiev-QHjEp0s_RZA-unsplash.jpg
Stonemason in NYC Simon Verity, 9/1/2024 (NY Times)
John Wesley in Redruth Cornwall https://dmbi.online/index.php?do=app.entry&id=2272
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Episode 56 1/25/2025
Thanks for reading Inspiring History! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
I love this valuable reminder of the legacy we can leave through our good works. I appreciate how you illustrated that message by describing the remarkable work of your paternal great grandpa and how it may have intersected with John Wesley! All my life, I have been guided by these words of JW: "Do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, to all the souls you can, in every place you can, at all the times you can, with all the zeal you can, as long as ever you can"
Thank you, Bill!
Thanks Debbie, always appreciated!