Capt. Joe was born in Ottawa Ontario Canada of the union of Thomas McCracken of Ireland and Jane Weir of Oulde, Ireland. He married Ellen Mary Ann Vanidour 14 Feb 1866 at the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Capt. Joe was involved in the lumbering and export of railroad ties and large dimension lumber for shipbuilding to England on vessels plying Lake Erie. He often traveled with his cargo to Liverpool to complete the sale. In 1881, The Amherstburg Echo reported that Capt. Joe had "shipped the largest amount of timber of any dealer in western Ontario, besides the largest quantity of hardwood lumber and railroad ties he is constantly shipping from Essex." It is believed that he obtained the title of Captain from his presence in the wharfs of Lake Erie. He resided in Leamington, Mersea, Essex County, Ontario until the woods were depleted.
About 1890, he relocated his sawmill to the Little Black and Current River overflow lands in Success, Clay County Arkansas and eventually brought 3 of his sons, Willis Ransom, Colin George and Joseph Wilbert, to work with him. They rafted logs down the rivers of Arkansas to the Mississippi River and to New Orleans where they were loaded onto ships sailing to his market in England. He made 15 or 20 such trips across the oceans though the ports of New Orleans, New York and Liverpool. Capt. Joe and his sons also exported railroad ties and other wood products by rail. Capt. Joe. employed many young men from his home and those arriving in the county for other places. His spouse and other children remained in Canada and he frequently traveled by rail, through Detroit, to visit home. He was know to have a wild streak, enjoying fun and sporting events, and on one return from a log-rafting trip to New Orleans, he returned with his beard dyed red. He also participated in civic activities and personally looked after those in his employ.
With his sons, Capt. Joe, opened a number of retail businesses, converted cleared lands to corn, cotton and rice farms, and went into Cotton Ginning when the overflow lands were cleared of trees. Capt. Joe died in the Alexian Brothers Hospital in St. Louis after having fallen ill on a return trip from his home in Canada.