He moved from Preston, Connecticut and settled in Wayne Co, PA in the spring of 1793 and had only one child. He built the first framed house in the area in 1795. In 1806 the first store opened “Granger & Tanner” and in 1808 he build the first house in the village (but it was burned down in 1811).
Joseph Tanner was the first Justice of the Peace after the organization of the town and county, since Mr. Stanton was commissioned in Northampton Co. Benjamin Dix was the first Constable.