Joseph was the son of Henry Seiders (1806-1877/also spelled "Zeiders") and Mary Miller Seiders (1811-1872). During the Civil War, Joseph served with Co. A, 172nd PA Drafted Militia and Co. H, 187th PA Infantry. He received a shell wound to the right shoulder at Petersburg on June 18, 1864. After the war, he married his second cousin, Sarah E. Enders, on Nov. 29, 1866. The couple had 13 children.

The biography that follows is provided by Dennis Brandt, Findagrave contributor 47232334:

The son of Henry & Mary Jane (Miller) Seiders, in 1860 he was a laborer living in Halifax Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. He stood 5' 5" tall and had light hair and blue eyes. The family surname is also found as "Zeiders."

A Civil War veteran, he served two terms of service:

1. Drafted by Pennsylvania at the stated age of twenty-one in Dauphin County October 30, 1862, mustered into federal service in Harrisburg November 3 as a private with Co. A, 172nd Pennsylvania Infantry (aka "Drafted Militia"), and honorably discharged with his company July 31, 1863.
2. Enlisted at the stated age of twenty-three in Harrisburg March 29, 1864, and mustered into federal service there May 7 as a private with Co. H, 187th Pennsylvania infantry. He suffered a shell wound of the right shoulder at Petersburg, Virginia, June 18, 1864, but returned to duty and honorably discharged with his company August 5, 1865.

After the war, he married his second cousin, Sarah E. Enders, on November 29, 1866, and fathered Calder A. (b. 06/24/67), Susannah Alma (b. 12/03/68 - married Simon William Rubendall), Joseph E. (b. 11/03/71, d. 03/17/72), Vinnia Pruella (b. 10/17/73 - married George Andrew Malick), George Enders (b. 04/07/75), Roscoe C. (b. @1877), Samuel S. (b. 09/03/78, d. 08/20/80), Mary Jane (b. 08/31/80, d. 09/10/80), Sadie Ellen (b. 09/22/81 - married Thomas V. Griffiths), Bessie Alverta (b. 06/12/83 - married Joseph Franklin Daniels), Seth Damon (b. 12/12/84), Beulah Agatha (b. 10/16/87 - married Anton Blaine Minnich), and Lloyd Henry (b. 05/02/93. Cause of his death is listed as "apoplexy."