My Genealogy Hound

REV. J. P. WATSON, Pastor of the First Christian Church, Troy. Mr. Watson is descended from Welsh and English ancestry on the paternal, and from English stock on the maternal, side; his father, Elijah Watson, was the son of Rev. Elijah Watson, of East Andover, N. H., a Baptist minister, whose father, Nathan, the third of his name, was born in Wales in 1729; he emigrated to New Hampshire in 1759, where, in 1819, aged 90 years, he died; Mr. Watson’s paternal great-grandfather, Josiah Sawyer, came from England to New Hampshire early in the eighteenth century, and died, aged 90 years, in 1819; his mother was Eliza Palmer, whose grandparents emigrated from England early in the eighteenth century, but of whom he has little knowledge; his ancestry served with distinction in the Revolutionary war. Josiah P. Watson, the subject of this sketch, was born in Lempster, N. H., June 29, 1838, and is, therefore, 42 years of age; he is the fifth of eight children; when a babe of 3 months, his parents removed to Nashua, N. H., in the schools of which city he received his education; at 15 years of age, his parents removed to a farm near East Andover, N. H.; at 16, he was converted, was baptized in Highland Lake, and entered the Christian Church of the village; he at once felt seriously impressed that his life-work was to be that of the ministry; before him, his grandfather and four uncles had been honored ministers; he was very active in general church-work during the winter, both in his home church and in the schoolhouses around; his strong natural sympathies led him much, also, to the Township Infirmary, where he conducted worship; in the spring of 1855, he held meetings in the adjoining town of Wilmot, visiting from house to house and witnessing a limited work of grace; singularly, the first person baptized by him was a convert of this meeting; July 1, the same year, and two days following his 17th birthday, he preached two sermons (his first) in the adjoining township of Hill; he now gave himself wholly to the ministry, and soon had much work on his hands; a revival began in Hill, which extended to another part of the township, the adjoining townships of Danbury and Wilmot, and continued through the fall and winter; June 13, 1856, in Wilmot, he was ordained to the ministry, Revs. P. M. Hershey, W. H. Nason and John Burden officiating—the latter preaching the sermon; the Sabbath following, two weeks to a day before he was 18 years old, he organized a church in Wilmot and baptized seven adult persons; the following winter he taught, and, in the spring, attended one session of the Andover Institute, meanwhile preaching to three churches; in the spring of 1857, he settled with the Christian Church of Bradford, Vt., but, health failing, he resigned at the end of three months and went to Illinois, where, in Ogle Co., he taught the following winter and spring, having, meantime, no regular charge, yet preaching irregularly, and seeing the most of his adult scholars converted; he resumed ministerial work in the same county, in April, 1858, and in May, 1859. became Pastor of the Christian Church of Belvidere, the county seat of Boone Co., Ill.; with this church he remained nearly two years, and here, Oct. 13, 1859, he married Miss L. E. Witwer, the daughter of John Witwer, Esq., of Rockford, Ill.; Jan. 1, 1861, Mr. Watson became the Pastor of the Christian Church of Marion, Grant Co., Ind., and in October following, with leave of absence from his church, he accepted the chaplaincy of the 12th Ind. V. I., holding the position until they were mustered out in May, 1862, being, in their first enlistment, one-year men; re-organizing, Mr. Watson was re-appointed chaplain, but, the regiment being immediately captured in the battle of Richmond, Ky., he resigned, and returned to his church in Marion, where he remained one year. Until 1871, he preached in Iowa and Illinois, nearly five years of the time with the Christian Church at Blackberry Station, in Kane Co.; Jan. 1, 1871, he entered upon his duties as Pastor of the Troy Christian Church, which office he still holds; during this pastorate, he has witnessed eighteen distinct revivals in his church in town and in schoolhouses about, and has received into fellowship more than 450 members—the present membership of his church; in addition to his pastoral work, he has done much general work; for two years he was Secretary of the Miami Co. Sunday-School Union; for ten years he has been Secretary of the Denominational Assurance Association, and for eight years Secretary of the General Mission Work of his denomination; meantime, in addition to numerous addresses on anniversary occasions, Odd Fellowship, Temperance, etc., he has published “A Manual for the Christian Pulpit,” and edited the biography of Rev. A. J. Smith, a Baptist minister of this county; this last work has had an extensive sale, and is well received; Mr. Watson, for nearly twenty years, has been a constant writer for the press, contributing to various papers and magazines East and West; for the last twenty months, has averaged one column and a half of matter for his weekly paper in Dayton, without a single omission; he enjoys and gratefully appreciates the general favor of the public, and has been honored with ten annual and unanimous settlements with his church, between whom and himself there ever has been a most harmonious feeling. His family consists of three sons— George Milton, Frank Elijah, Charles Evans —and one daughter— Jennie Palmer Watson. Though he has seen more than a quarter of a century in pulpit service, yet Mr. Watson is comparatively young, more vigorous than ever, easily preaches three times on the Sabbath, and does more general work than ever before; withal, he does not esteem his labor hard; would not willingly lessen it; prefers rather that, in the right direction, it should continue to expand on his hands, and has a hearty relish for it; his ambition is to honor his office and prove himself helpful to his fellows; the reward he seeks is above.