James Elihu Caudill was born in Wilkes County, North Carolina, on November 16, 1883. Caudill worked as an accountant and bookkeeper for W.C. Meadows Mill Company in North Wilkesboro (Wilkes County). Around 1927, he established Key City Furniture Co., a furniture and upholstery factory in North Wilkesboro. Caudill died in Statesville (Iredell County) on March 27, 1959.