After he left his parents' home, Joseph Richardson, Jr. did not live on the Bradford Road, but at the end of the nearby River Road, probably on land given or sold to him by his father. See Currier's Ould Newbury, p. for the 1729 survey map, which shows the location of his house, and Essex Deeds, v44, pp97 and 99, proved September 30, 1724. The original family home on the Bradford Road was owned by his brothers William and then Daniel.

A number of Essex County deeds indicate that both Joseph Jr. and his son Daniel were weavers.