James H. Caldwell was a British-born theatre manager who developed and dominated the pioneering theatre of the South, bringing competent actors and good plays to the region and becoming the most important theatrical person there. He established theaters in New Orleans, Cincinnati, Nashville, Mobile, and St. Louis. He also organized gas companies in New Orleans, Cincinnati, and Mobile. Caldwell retired from the theater in 1843 and thereafter devoted his time to several official positions in New Orleans: a member of the Second Municipality Council for the last ten years of its existence, president of the Board of Aldermen (1855-1856), and a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives (1848-1856).
From the description of James H. Caldwell letter, 1855 Jan. 17. (Louisiana State University). WorldCat record id: 778708130
