John and Florence married at the beginning of 1891 and lived with Florence’s parents for several years. At the time, John and Maria Ottinger’s children were still quite small — Maria would have around ten altogether, and Florence’s youngest brother was only two at the time of her marriage. (Her final child was born in 1900). It would have been a very crowded place to live, but John and Florence welcomed two children while living on Line street with the in-laws.
In 1894, they moved around the corner to St. John Street, where they remained for only a year. A year later, they moved a block or two away to Second Street where they were joined by John’s brother James. John and Maria Ottinger remained close in location to their daughter, but John and Florence were on their own. At the house on Second Street, they welcomed two more children and John’s brother came to live with them for a few years. By 1900, they had four children: Mary (1892), Florence (1894), John Joseph, Jr. (1897), and Margaret (1900). John continued to be steadily employed at J.H. Dialogue & Son, maintaining that same position throughout the difficult recession of the 1890s. James moved out, becoming a lodger on the next block.
All of this points to a relatively stable home life, at least on the surface, but John does appear to have a drinking problem that he was fined for in 1891 a month after the wedding, according to The Morning Post. The residences of this decade are gone now — most are parking lots in South Camden. Large parts of this area was redeveloped after World War II.
Evidence
Census Records
City Directory Records
1891, 1892, 1893, 1894, 1895, 1896, 1897, 1898, 1899, 1900
Vital Records
John & Florence’s Marriage Record
Margaret (Maggie May)’s Birth Return