In 1650, this group was established as a religious foundation by Bishop de Maupas, the Bishop of LePuy. Their vitality and expansion continued until it was abruptly stopped by the French Revolution.  Convents were closed; sisters were disbanded or were thrown into prison; some even were beheaded at the guillotine.  In the aftermath of this chaos, it was thought that the Congregation had died.  However, 
when the Revolution was over, the Sisters of St. Joseph were refounded by Mother Saint John (Jeanne Fontbonne ) and once again they flourished.  The Industrial Revolution brought about a need for education and the sisters became teachers. Soon their numbers increased again and they were able to spread throughout the region.

In 1836, a request came from the Bishop of Missouri for sisters to come to teach children who were deaf. Three sisters were sent to Corondelet, Missouri to establish a foundation and a school. The first ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph in the United States was the education of  children who were deaf. The Congregation took root and spread through the heartland of the United States and to the west and east coasts. Like their foremothers, these sisters sought out the " needs of the city" and worked to meet them.  In 1856, at the request of the Bishop of Brooklyn, Mother Austin Keane came from Philadelphia  to Brooklyn to found what is now the Sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood, New York. She was accompanied by Sister Baptista Hanson and Sister Theodosia Hegeman from Buffalo.

For 150 years, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood have been faithful to the original vision. They have served the people of Long Island from the docks of Red Hook in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty  to  Long Island's eastern shore.  When the needs of people beckoned, they sent sisters to Appalachia, other parts of the United States, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Brazil. Originally primarily  educators and nurses, sisters are now also theologians, authors, social workers and therapists, spiritual directors, administrators, canon  and civil lawyers, pastoral ministers, liturgists, computer technicians and a medical doctor.  They continue to respond to the needs of the times and actively promote the love of God and the "dear neighbor." The goal of the Sisters of St. Joseph continues to be to foster love, unity and reconciliation among all people and with this blessed earth.