Josiah Ogden Watson (24 September 1784 – 12 June 1852) was an American Plantation owner, physician, and statesman from North Carolina. He was the son of John Watson, a Revolutionary War veteran, and Elizabeth (née Ogden) and born at Pineville plantation in Johnston County, NC.
Physician
Josiah Watson studied medicine under Dr. Henry Haywood (d. 1812) in Tarboro, NC, from about 1800-1805. About 1807, he migrated to Georgetown County, SC, and developed a lucrative medical practice, becoming close friends with South Carolina Governor Joseph Alston's family in the area. In 1811, he matriculated at the University of Pennsylvania medical department for one year. Returning to South Carolina, he continued practicing medicine and was a parishioner at All Saints Church on Pawleys Island, representing the parish at an Episcopal convention in Charleston, SC, in 1813.
War of 1812 service
Dr. Watson served as a Hospital Surgeon during the War of 1812 in Brigadier General Joseph Graham's Brigade of the North Carolina and South Carolina militia. He was on command in the Creek Nation at the defeat of the Red Stick Creeks by General Andrew Jackson at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend on 27 March 1814. It is said that he remained personal friends with Andrew Jackson after the war, and Watson was an original contributor to the equestrian statue of Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C., designed by Clark Mills and erected in 1853.
Plantation Owner
After the War of 1812, Josiah O. Watson and his brother John Brown Watson inherited their father's plantation in Johnston County on the Neuse River in 1815. He bought his brother's portion and accumulated many plantations during his life. When he died in 1852, he owned approximately of land in Johnston and Wake Counties. The main plantation was called Pineville and was located across the Neuse River from Clayton, NC, where North Carolina Highway 42 intersects Buffalo Road.
After his death, most of the plantation was inherited by his nephew J. W. B. Watson, whom he had raised after the young boy was orphaned; Dr. Watson's brother William and his wife were reportedly killed by one of his slaves while traveling to Alabama. As of 1857, J. W. B. enslaved at least 135 people on the plantation, some of whom were buried in a small cemetery just north of the current intersection of Highway 42 and Buffalo Road. In May 1861, J.W.B., a State Senator, joined a unanimous vote to have North Carolina secede from the United States. When the younger Watson died in 1897, much of the land was divided among many heirs and the main plantation and house was eventually sold to the Percy Flowers family.
Dr. Josiah Watson also owned smaller plantations below Smithfield, NC, on the Neuse River called the Islands. He bequeathed these properties and their enslaved inhabitants to his nephews William H. Watson, George W. Watson, and Henry Bulls Watson, the last of whom is recorded as having held 42 people in bondage, including a high proportion of women and children. Dr. Watson also owned land and plantations in Lawrence County, Alabama, and Courtland, AL, that were managed by his brother John Brown Watson.
Currently, much of the land is being developed into a residential community called Flowers Plantation. The Dr. Watson Inn, a bed and breakfast that is part of Flowers Plantation, sits on the original site of the manor house and has some of the original wood framework.
Family
Josiah Watson married Penninah Tartt of Edgecombe County, NC, on 6 December 1818. She was the daughter of Elnathan Tartt and Obedience Thomas. Their only child was a daughter Elizabeth Obedience Watson who was born 24 September 1819 and died 3 December 1839 in Wilmington, NC, on the way to Cuba for treatment of respiratory distress. Penninah Tartt Watson died 30 January 1848 at their home Sharon near Raleigh.
Statesman
J. O. Watson served for many years on the Johnston County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions as a Justice of Peace. He was elected to the 1828 North Carolina House of Commons representing Johnston County and served on the Committee of Education. He was a member of the Democratic Party and was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1835, 1844, and 1848. He ran on the presidential electoral ticket in 1832, 1836, and 1840 and was a member of the Electoral College in 1832, casting his vote for President Andrew Jackson, and in 1836, casting his vote for President Martin Van Buren. Josiah O. Watson ran unsuccessfully in 1841 for the 27th Congress of the United States House of Representatives, representing the 4th District of North Carolina.