Narrowing down the builders

Just as an exercise in considering and narrowing down the possibilities, I made this chart recently.  There certainly could be more names to consider, but I started with the most relevant possibilities.  The men I considered mainly include builders mentioned in Drew Carneal’s Richmond’s Fan District, builders identified in the 1985 Historic District Nomination form for the Fan from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, and possibilities from builder contractors and architects who had worked on the homes along West Franklin Street that became John Shafer’s neighbors.