Daily AncestorStonemason
A stonemason shaped stone and laid it with mortar to build walls, foundations, bridges and buildings.
Stonemasonry is the craft of shaping and arranging stones, often with lime mortar, to build structures. It is among the oldest trades, used for houses, churches, bridges, walls and monuments, before brick and reinforced concrete replaced much of it.
The 1870 and 1880 census instructions told enumerators to distinguish between stone masons and brick masons. An entry of just mason, common in 1850 and 1860, could be either.
As seen in a recordOccupation column of the 1870 or 1880 census
Angus Reid, 44, Stone mason, Scotland
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Daily Ancestor. "Stonemason." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/stonemason. Last checked 2026-10-10.