Background
Yeager was born c. 1792 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to a family of five boys and three girls.
Yeager was born c. 1792 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to a family of five boys and three girls.
Joseph early occupied himself with engraving; a line engraving by him, entitled "Symptoms of Restiveness, " is dated 1809. From this date until about 1845 he was active in Philadelphia as a general engraver in line and etcher of portraits. Some of his signed plates appear in the children's books published by William Charles of Philadelphia in 1814 and 1815, and no doubt he did unsigned work for other publishers. Of his thirty-five or forty known engravings about half consist of etchings of portraits and half of line engravings of scenery and views of buildings.
In 1830 and later his work appeared in the Casket and its successor, Atkinson's Casket. From 1819 until 1836 he lived at 37 Chester Street, where he published and sold prints, including his own. In 1837 Yeager's address was 30 Washington Row. From 1839 to 1847 it was 30 Palmyra Square. From all such locations he conducted his engraving business, which in addition to the titles enumerated included many others, such as the "Battle of New Orleans, " "The Exchange, New York, " "United States Branch Bank, New York, " "Interior of an Indian Lodge, " book illustrations, and engravings of a commercial nature. In 1824 he was in partnership with William H. Morgan, carver and gilder of 114 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, who also published "National Prints" and toy books for children. Morgan and Yeager sold their toy books at both wholesale and retail. Their stock included approximately sixty titles, many of them being well-known nursery and folk tales. The exact dates of this partnership are not known.
In 1848 Yeager became president of the Harrisburg and Lancaster Railroad Company, with an office in 16 Merchants Exchange. The railroad, more correctly known as the Harrisburg, Portsmouth, Mount Joy and Lancaster Railroad, extended only thirty-seven miles and was later absorbed by the Pennsylvania Railroad. Yeager was also a member of the board of controllers of the fourth school section of Philadelphia (1841-1845). He died at his home in Philadelphia and was buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery. His estate amounted to at least $55, 000, and included railroad bonds and real estate in both city and country.
Yeager was an engraver, proficient in his profession. Among his engravings are "The Great Bend of the Susquehanna River in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, " in the Portfolio (1811); "The Death of Addison" in Fears of Death (1819); the atlas and title page of John Marshall's Life of Washington (Philadelphia, c. 1822); plates for Life in China (Philadelphia, 1842); a number of plates in the New Edinburgh Encyclopedia; a title-page vignette in Confessions of Harry Lorrequer (Philadelphia, 1842); two plates after Cruikshank in Sketches by Boz (Philadelphia, 1838); and illustrations by Phiz in Nicholas Nickleby (Philadelphia, 1839).
