He entered the Naval Academy (class of 1887) at the age of 16 in 1883 but did not graduate, left in 1886, information from the Naval Academy. Joseph is listed in the Morris Bealle's "Gangway for Navy" as a member of the 1884 and 1885 Navy Football teams. He played the fullback and rusher positions.

He became a doctor like his father and two brothers, Benjamin and Edwin. Joseph located in Cincinnati in the spring of 1890, practicing ophthalmology, laryngology and otology. He practiced medicine in Cincinnati, Ohio in the Trinity Hospital that was founded by Benjamin Merrill Ricketts. He passed away in 1906 in Gas City, Indiana.