He served as a cook to Major Richard Crewe of the British 17th Light Dragoons.
Within a few months in October 1776, Joseph established his own confectionery and catering business in New York City, which expanded to include a hotel, tavern, ice cream shop and two theaters.
[1] This allowed for his daughter Mary to marry a socialite, John Griffith (1768–1815), a wealthy New York City merchant.
John's family had connections in Burlington, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and New York City.
[1] She performed experiments in horticulture, natural history, economic entomology, the earth sciences, epidemiology, and optics and vision, publishing her results in scientific and literary journals and newspapers.