Joseph probably spent his earlier years at the paternal home, but afterward drifted westward. About 1805 he, with his brother, John, removed to Montgomery Co, Ohio. It is said his marriage with Barbara Wolf was a runaway match, Joseph obtaining his wife against her father's consent. However this may be, he settled on a farm granted by Mr. Wolf to his daughter, where he resided until his death. This farm, containing 160 acres, the Montgomery Co records show, was in 1819 conveyed by Mr. Wolf to Joseph's heirs, reserving a life interest in favor of the widow. Joseph was buried on the farm of Christian Shively, the husband of one of his daughters, about three miles west of Dayton, but there is no monument or other mark to designate his grave. In 1834 the widow and children sold the farm and removed to Tippecanoe Co, Indiana. There is no record of her death.

The last name was also spelled Blickenstaff.