John Holohan

[Jim Woodall]

(05-13-2016 05:41 PM)L Verge Wrote:  For years, I have thought that Holohan was a tombstone cutter! Stone cutter at the Capitol seems a tad more "prestigious," despite the fact that he was probably one small element in a larger labor force.

As an aside, the National Cathedral in D.C. has had to go to Italy over the years to find stone cutters qualified to do the intricate work on its stone structure. In the case of the Cathedral, it is certainly art work.

Here is more info on John T Holohan's interactions with Strong during the Capitol extension in the early 1850s. This is most likely part of the dust up that caused John to write the previous comment regarding Strong.

He is giving testimony before congress regarding shenanigans with the bidding process and construction of the Capitol extension along with several other witnesses. If you thought contract bidding was a nasty affair today, you might enjoy reading the rest of the testimony which appears in several places within the book. If you wondered why there are cost overruns on contracts, the testimony in this book shows how that is accomplished.

See pages 12, 90, and 126. Page 126 discusses the problems over Strong's interference with the election of Mayor. Actually, page numbers are repeated in this Google book, so search for Holohan.
from Google Books (free ebook)

I do not believe he should be considered a lowly worker but rather very much a business man running the family business of marble stone cutting. His dad before him ran the business. I had also previously seen where he was requesting payment for pilaster(s) that were provided for the columns at the Capitol. So, it may be some of his work is visible, even today.