Joseph Pearson Caldwell was born in Statesville (Iredell County), North Carolina on June 16, 1853. Caldwell was a newspaperman who was owner and editor of the Statesville Landmark and the Charlotte Observer. He served as mayor of Statesville (1886-1889) and as a member (1885-1911), and later chairman of, the board of directors for the state hospital at Morganton. He died in Morganton (Burke County) on November 22, 1911.