Dr. Joseph J. France served as a member of the Editorial Board with the Journal of the National Medical Association. He was also headed the Journal's "Therapeutic Notes" section from which readers could obtain numerous helpful hints to aid in their medical practice.

Dr. France was born in Accra, Ghana where he received academic training and employment as a clerk with the Baptist Missionary Society. He came to the United States in 1885, matriculating at Shaw University for a year and then at the University of Pennsylvania where he received his M.D. in 1893. In July of that year, he moved to Portsmouth, Virginia where he established his medical practice and published numerous articles in his field. Dr. France practiced in Portsmouth for 33 years, and after a lingering illness of several weeks, died on November 26, 1926. He was survived by his widow, Mrs. Mary E. France, daughter, Mrs. Vivenne France Guishard, a brother and several relatives.

G. Hamilton Francis, a colleague of Dr. France's, wrote an obituary that was published in the Journal of the National Medical Association. Dr. Francis noted that Joseph France was a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Tidewater Medical Society, the Old Dominion Medical Society, the National Medical Association, and a trustee of Zion Church. Additionally, Dr France was a member and officer of the Negro American Academy (an organization founded by the late Dr. Crummell in Washington D.C. and made up of leading Black authors and scholars).

Dr. France published numerous articles, including "Liquid in Paraffin in the Treatment of Intestinal Stasis" (pdf file).