A native of what is now Wheeling West Virginia and a graduate of the University of Illinois, Gill moved about in the western U.S., practicing law, and even editing newspapers.
A vigorous supporter of William McKinley for president in 1896, he was rewarded with an appointment as United States Judge for the Northern District of the Indian Territory in 1899.
During the next few years, he moved around the northwest, practicing law in Astoria, Oregon and editing a newspaper in Oysterville, Washington.
[2] He was a delegate to the June 1896 Republican Convention, where his friend, William McKinley became the party candidate for president.
[3] In December, 1899, he appointed Gill as United States Judge for the Northern District of the Indian Territory, which was located in Muskogee.
He was also appointed, along with Judge W. H. H. Clayton and Tams Bixby, to set up the machinery for electing delegates to the Constitutional Convention.
The family moved to Tulsa in 1920, where Joseph practiced law and got involved with civic, public, religious and political affairs.