[2]: 6, 70, 288 Born in Lauderdale County, Alabama, Joiner's father was killed in 1864 during the American Civil War, and his mother died in 1868.
Joiner and former druggist, physician, and amateur geologist A. D. Lloyd (his original name was Joseph Idelbert Durham) teamed up to drill two test wells, barely missing out on discovering the Seminole and Cement oil fields.
On 11 August 1925, Joiner obtained a lease on widow Daisy Bradford's 975.5 acre farm, and moved to Rusk County proper in 1926.
[2]: 67 he died in 1947 In 1927, A. D. "Doc" Lloyd convinced Joiner to drill for oil in East Texas, predicting a well would encounter the Woodbine at a depth of 3,550 feet (1,080 m).
At one point, the Texas Company geologist Walter R. Smith visited and joked, "I'll drink every barrel of oil you get out of that hole."