Career
Born in Middletown Point (now Matawan), Bedle was an attorney by profession. They had a son, Joseph Dorsett Bedle, Junior. (1876–1942). He served as a delegate to 1864 Democratic National Convention.
In 1865, Governor Joel Parker appointed Bedle as an associate justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court, where he served until 1875.
Bedle was elected Governor of New Jersey, and served a single term, from 1875-1878. Bedle died at Saint Luke"s Hospital in New York City on October 21, 1894 from complications from surgery.
He was buried at Maplewood Cemetery in Freehold Township.