As a young journeyman, Joseph Kotecki was sent out to work and assist in supporting the family. Initially a stone apprentice, he worked on various city and state projects including the East River Bridge in New York. Following the death of his mother, Joseph assumed the role of raising his younger sisters (Magie, Kate, and Josephine). He would trap animals in the swamps of New Jersey where they lived and sold their furs at market.
Joseph Kotecki would later find his bride in Mary Dembroski, an immigrant from Polish Russia. The couple would wed at the Holy Trinity Church in Long Island, New York. In 1889, Joseph would bring his stone-cutting skills to Cleveland for the first time working on the Garfield Memorial.