James S. Watson

James Samuel Watson (1882–1952) was one of the first two Black Americans elected as a judge in the state of New York.

James S. Watson was born in Spanish Town, Jamaica on May 29, 1882. His father, James Michael Watson, was a Sergeant in the Jamaica Constabulary Force and would later work for the Jamaica Government Railway as a conductor and platform foreman. His mother's name was Elizabeth Jones Watson. After attending elementary school in Spanish Town, James S. Watson worked as a bookkeeper, cashier, and then chief clerk at a hotel in Constant Spring, Jamaica.

In June 1905, Watson moved to New York City. There he attended evening high school in Harlem, and graduated from high school in 1910. In 1908, he had begun working for the law firm of House, Grossman and Vorhaus, located at 115 Broadway, as a clerk. From 1910 to 1913, Watson took night classes at both the City College of New York and New York Law School, from which he received an LL.B. in 1913. He became a United States citizen on July 3, 1913. He was admitted to the bar of New York in April 1914 and the next month was admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Watson remained at House, Grossman and Vorhaus, now as a lawyer until 1920, becoming head of their Department of Corporate and Tax Law.