Born in the village of Fourdan the son of Julien Dondeau (aka Dondo, 1832 - 1889) and his wife Marie (née David, 1836 - 1873). One of at least four children; the other siblings known to have lived past early childhood were a brother, Jean-Marie (1866 - Unknown) and a sister, Marie Anne Dondeau "Dondo" (1873 - Unknown).

His family name was misspelled or variations were used in many official and unofficial documents. These included but were not limited to: Dondeau and Dondu. In fact, family records show the name varying between "Dondeau"and "Dondo" through the generations, back to at least 1620.

Joseph is mentioned on the manifest of the SS Vancouver, as arriving on April 2, 1905, in Halifax, NS, from Liverpool, England among 63 members of the following families, nearly all from Guern or nearby villages, all destined for Red Deer in what was to become Alberta, but a missionary aboard apparently convinced many of them to head for St-Claude and Manitoba, instead:

Cloaree, Corbeil, Couronne, Dacquay, Dondo, David, Gloux, Guigneno, Jute, Kervegant, Le Bris, Le Brun, Le Carre, Le Devehet / Le Devehat, Le Franc, Le Francheur, Le Gourrince, Le Mial, Le Pape, Maurre, Puybasset, Philippe, Phillipot, Rebiffe, Zegouzo

On that same ship, were the wife and young children of his cousin, Guillaume Marie Dondo who had made a similar voyage in 1904. Though Guillaume and his family settled in the St-Claude area with so many of the others in that cohort, Joseph chose a different path and settled in the Ochre River / Ste-Rose-du-lac / Makinak / Dauphin area. His family followed in 1906.

He established a home for his family on NE-14-23-16-W1 (50.988691, -99.600725) taking advantage of the Canadian government's homesteading plan. Though his wife passed away in 1907, he persisted and his children mostly remained with him until they could set out on their own.

He is named on an Honour Roll in the Ochre River Community Hall, as documented in the local history volume "Between Mountain and Lake - A History of Ochre River Municipality 1885 - 1970 (1970)", which provides some details of the family's life in the area once organized as the RM of Ochre River:

https://digitalcollections.lib.umanitoba.ca/islandora/object/uofm%3A2360418#page/59/mode/1up

Further:

MB Death Registration #1923,024349; as "Joseph Dondeau"; Estimated age at time of death: 62 years