Sir Joseph Andrew Chisholm was born January 9, 1863 to William and Flora Chisholm of Marydale, Antigonish County, Nova Scotia, Canada. He was educated at St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, and by 1896 he was living in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He attended Dalhousie University where he recieved his law degree.

His first job in a law firm was headed by a man destined to be a future Canadian Prime Minister, Robert Borden.

He became Mayor of Halifax from 1909 - 1911.

In 1916, Borden appointed him the Nova Scotia Supreme Court, being the first Dalhousie graduate to be so named. He was appointed Chief Justice in 1931.

He wrote historical papers on Nova Scotia justices. In 1909, he edited a revised edition of "The Speeches and Public Letters of Jospeh Howe." In 1935, he became the last Nova Scotia Justice to be knighted.

He died January 22, 1950 at Halifax, Nova Scotia.

For more information on Sir Joseph Andrew Chisholm, see "The MacMillan Dictionary of Canadian Biography", Toronto, Macmillan, 1973, pg. 136.