Joseph Charles was born on 16 July 1772, in Killicun, County Westmeath, Leinster, Ireland.
[2] As a young man he took part in the Irish Rebellion of 1795 and was forced to flee the country for France.
[2] A printer by trade, Charless found employment in Philadelphia with Mathew Carey, another Irish refugee.
They demanded to know who had written an article signed "Q," which had criticized the military qualifications of U.S. General Benjamin Howard.
Refused, the men left, but later "The direct result of the encounter was the founding in May 1815 of Missouri's second newspaper, the Western Journal, by Charless's enemies."
Howard was the first governor of the Missouri Territory and fought in the War of 1812, still underway at the time of this incident.