Who was Harry J. Hovey?

In 1900 Harry J. Hovey lived in Camden, New Jersey with his wife Ida E. Hovey and NINE of their children!

Harry worked at a store that sold house furnishings.
His son Ulbert was also a furniture salesman.
His daughter Gertrude was a dressmaker.
His son Gilbert L. was a salesman at a tea store.
His wife kept house.
Their children Lillian, Pearl, Merton, and Harold C. were in school.
Althea Ruth was only four years old and her little sister Emma E. was only 2.

Since Harry and Ida had been married for 22 years we can tell they were married in 1878.  And Ida recorded that she had given birth to 11 children but in 1900 only ten were still living.

We can also read the story from this census and the one from 1910 that Harry's mother was born in Pennsylvania but Harry's father was born in England!

But by the time we get to the U.S. Census 1930 and find Harry J. Hovey, we find out that Ida died and Harry was a widow, aged 74.  If we subtract 74 years from the year 1930, then we get to the year 1856 which is what Nana Beth wrote down as Harry's birth year.

He'd been born on the 8th of August 1856.  And this helps us find him in his birth family in the old township of Newton also in Camden County, New Jersey on the U.S. Census of 1870...

The head of the household there was AMANDA HOVEY and she was 50 years old in 1870 just like her husband HENRY HOVEY who'd been born in England.

They have two children listed on that census:

KATE who is already 21 years old
&
HARRY who is still just 14 years old

Harry's father HENRY HOVEY is a baker!
And by the standards of the day, AMANDA HOVEY is wealthy!
The value of her personal property is $5000.
She was born in Pennsylvania.

HENRY AND AMANDA would've been Nana Beth's Great Grandparents.

We noticed that neighbors listed near Henry and Amanda in 1870 in Newton Township, Camden County, NJ include people named the Hoffmans and an elderly lady (71 years old) named Ruth Huff who was a nurse.  We're just taking note of these neighbors because in Nana Beth's Bible she wrote down the name Amanda Hoff near Harry Hovey who was Harry Hovey, Jr.'s father.

From the U.S. Census 1870 we went to the U.S. Census 1880 and we found a young (24 years old) Harry J. Hovey (born in PN in 1856) living in Camden city whose occupation was working at an Eating Saloon.  He was married to Ida E. Hovey and they had a one year old daughter named Lurnine and a brand new two month old son.