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| death_date = Feb 8, 1942
| death_date = Feb 8, 1942
| death_place = [[Miami, Florida]], US
| death_place = [[Miami, Florida]], US
| office = Florida State Senator - 13th District
| office = Florida State Senator - 13th District
| term_start = 1925
| term_start = 1925
| term_end = 1935
| term_end = 1935
⚫
| office2 = [[Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives]]
⚫
| term_start2 = 1901
⚫
| term_end2 = 1901
⚫
| predecessor2 = Robert McNamee
⚫
| successor2 = Cromwell Gibbons
| party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]]
| party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]]
⚫
| office3 = Florida's House of Representatives - Osceola
⚫
| term_start3 = 1897
⚫
| term_end3 = 1905
⚫
| office5 = Mayor of Miami
⚫
| order5 = 6th
⚫
| term_start5 = July 18, 1912
⚫
| term_end5 = November, 1915
⚫
| predecessor5 = [[S. Rodmond Smith|Samuel Rodmond Smith]]
⚫
| successor5 = [[P. A. Henderson|P.A. Henderson]]
| office4 = Florida House of Representatives- Dade
| office4 = Florida House of Representatives- Dade
| term_start4 = 1907
| term_start4 = 1907
| term_end4 = 1919
| term_end4 = 1919


| predecessor4 = Graham W King
| predecessor4 = Graham W King
| successor4 = Ben C Willard
| successor4 = Ben C Willard

⚫
| office6 = Mayor of Miami
| order6 = 8th
| = 8th
⚫
| office5 = Mayor of Miami
⚫
| term_start6 = November, 1917
| term_end6 = November, 1919
| = November,
⚫
| term_end5 = November,
| predecessor5 = [[P. A. Henderson|P.A. Henderson]]
⚫
| = [[William Pruden Smith|W.P. Smith]]

⚫
| office6 = Mayor of Miami
⚫
| = 6th
⚫
| = July 18, 1912
⚫
| = November,
⚫
| = [[S. Rodmond Smith|Samuel Rodmond Smith]]
⚫
| = [[P. A. Henderson|P.A. Henderson]]

| office7 = Florida's House of Representatives - Dade
| term_start7 = 1907
| term_end7 = 1912
⚫
| = [[Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives]]
⚫
| = 1901
⚫
| = 1901
⚫
| = Robert McNamee
⚫
| = Cromwell Gibbons
⚫
| = Florida's House of Representatives - Osceola
⚫
| = 1897
⚫
| = 1905
<ref>{{cite book |title=City Manager's Report to City |date=1926 |publisher=City of Miami |pages=6 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/City_Manager_s_Report_to_City_Commission/Og1ucKM4NnwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=J.+W.+Watson+Sr.&pg=PA6&printsec=frontcover}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite book |title=City Manager's Report to City |date=1926 |publisher=City of Miami |pages=6 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/City_Manager_s_Report_to_City_Commission/Og1ucKM4NnwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=J.+W.+Watson+Sr.&pg=PA6&printsec=frontcover}}</ref>

⚫
| predecessor6 = [[P. A. Henderson|P.A. Henderson]]
⚫
| successor6 = [[William Pruden Smith|W.P. Smith]]
| spouse = Emma Cora Chafer Watson
| spouse = Emma Cora Chafer Watson
| children = J.W. Watson Jr., Janet Watson Carson, Robert Osborne Watson
| children = J.W. Watson Jr., Janet Watson Carson, Robert Osborne Watson
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}}
}}


'''John W. Watson Sr.''' (October 31, 1859 - February 8, 1942) was an American politician and businessman who served in a number of elected positions throughout Florida.<ref name="Orlando Sentinel 2003 h097">{{cite web | title=PIONEERING FATHER, SON WERE LEADERS, 1ST IN KISSIMMEE, THEN IN MIAMI | website=Orlando Sentinel | date=2003-08-03 | url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2003/08/03/pioneering-father-son-were-leaders-1st-in-kissimmee-then-in-miami-2/ | access-date=2023-09-21}}</ref>
'''John Watson Sr.''' (October 31, 1859 - February 8, 1942) was an American politician and businessman who served in a number of elected positions throughout Florida.<ref name="Orlando Sentinel 2003 h097">{{cite web | title=PIONEERING FATHER, SON WERE LEADERS, 1ST IN KISSIMMEE, THEN IN MIAMI | website=Orlando Sentinel | date=2003-08-03 | url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2003/08/03/pioneering-father-son-were-leaders-1st-in-kissimmee-then-in-miami-2/ | access-date=2023-09-21}}</ref>


== Biography ==
== Biography ==

Latest revision as of 02:52, 7 May 2024

John W. Watson Sr.
Florida State Senator - 13th District
In office
1925–1935
Florida House of Representatives- Dade
In office
1907–1919
Preceded byGraham W King
Succeeded byBen C Willard
8th Mayor of Miami
In office
November, 1917 – November, 1919
Preceded byP.A. Henderson
Succeeded byW.P. Smith
6th Mayor of Miami
In office
July 18, 1912 – November, 1915
Preceded bySamuel Rodmond Smith
Succeeded byP.A. Henderson
Florida's House of Representatives - Dade
In office
1907–1912
Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives
In office
1901–1901
Preceded byRobert McNamee
Succeeded byCromwell Gibbons
Florida's House of Representatives - Osceola
In office
1897–1905 [1]
Personal details
BornOct 31, 1859
North Carolina, US
DiedFeb 8, 1942
Miami, Florida, US
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseEmma Cora Chafer Watson
ChildrenJ.W. Watson Jr., Janet Watson Carson, Robert Osborne Watson
ProfessionMerchant

John William Watson Sr. (October 31, 1859 - February 8, 1942) was an American politician and businessman who served in a number of elected positions throughout Florida.[2]

Biography

[edit]

Watson was born in North Carolina. He studied at Raleigh Academy then traveled and worked various jobs. He eventually settled in Kissimmee, Florida where he established a hardware business and became active in local and state politics. He expanded the business to Miami and eventually moved there, building an edifice that would be known as the Watson Building, downtown.[3]

Watson was elected as state representative for the area that included Kissimmee and later Miami.[4] He was later elected Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives and a member of the Florida Senate[5] and served as the City of Miami's 6th and 8th Mayor.[6] His first Miami election was a landslide.[7]

In between political victories, he owned a grocery store, hardware company and grapefruit grove among his multiple business endeavors.[8]

He built several buildings in Miami which became important to the city's growth and long-term development.[9] The Watson family is considered to be among Miami's first settlers as they arrived before the railroad to town was complete.[10]

Watson testified before the House of Representatives' Committee on Indian Services regarding his first-hand knowledge of Seminole Indian culture and his distaste for the plans to drain the Everglades.[11]

He ran for Florida Governor unsuccessfully in 1911–1912.

Watson Island is named after him. He is buried in the Miami City Cemetery.

Fraternal and civic affiliations

[edit]

Fraternally he was connected with the Masonic order, the Knights of Pythias, and the Elks.[12]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
Notes
  1. ^ City Manager's Report to City. City of Miami. 1926. p. 6.
  2. ^ "PIONEERING FATHER, SON WERE LEADERS, 1ST IN KISSIMMEE, THEN IN MIAMI". Orlando Sentinel. 2003-08-03. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
  3. ^ "Watson Building in Downtown Miami". 21 December 2016.
  4. ^ Miami City Directory. R.L. Polk & Co. 1920. p. 62.
  5. ^ Oliva, Jose (2019). "People of Lawmaking" (PDF). Retrieved 16 Feb 2023.
  6. ^ Blackman, E.V. (1921). "Miami and Dade County Florida; Its settlement progress and achievement". Retrieved 16 Feb 2023.
  7. ^ "Watson Wins Mayoralty by a Large Vote". Miami Herald. July 17, 1912. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  8. ^ Piket, Casey (2016). "Watson Building in Downtown Miami". Retrieved 19 Feb 2023.
  9. ^ Piket, Casey (2016). "Watson Building in Downtown Miami". Retrieved 19 Feb 2023.
  10. ^ Blackman, E.V. (1921). "Miami and Dade County Florida; Its settlement progress and achievement". Retrieved 16 Feb 2023.
  11. ^ "Conditions of the Florida Seminoles hearings before the Committee on Investigation of the Indian Service, House of Representatives". Digital Panther archives. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  12. ^ Blackman, E.V. (1921). "Miami and Dade County Florida; Its settlement progress and achievement". Retrieved 16 Feb 2023.
Bibliography
  • Hon. John W. Watson. Miami Herald, vol. 2, no. 110, 19 Mar. 1912, p. Page Three.
  • John W. Watson, Nominated Mayor I First Primary - Miami Herald, July 23, 1913, Page One.
[edit]


Political offices
Preceded by
Robert McNamee
 Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives
1901-1901 		Succeeded by
Cromwell Gibbons


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