I don't think J.E. was stone carver to the stars. I believe he was the working man's stone cutter, good enough for the middle class.

I notice his work differs greatly from that of his father (Nathaniel) and his older brother (Henry). The former, especially, had commissions such as the Trinity Church in Manhattan and the one in Boston. He and the latter have commissions in moneyed locations like Charleston, SC and even Savannah, GA. NE could afford to house his family in a mansion in Boston on the strength of the work he did.