{"id":2201,"date":"2023-04-13T22:10:17","date_gmt":"2023-04-13T22:10:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/?p=2201"},"modified":"2023-06-18T13:39:04","modified_gmt":"2023-06-18T13:39:04","slug":"watson-surname-in-black-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/watson-surname-in-black-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Watson As An African American Last Name"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The 2010 U.S. Census recorded 70,469 black Americans with Watson as their last name. That represented 28% of the total of 252,579 entries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This article tracks their numbers in the census since the Civil War. We also look at historic African American people named Watson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We end with a review of early records of black military service in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_65 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/watson-surname-in-black-history\/#After_The_Civil_War\" title=\"After The Civil War\">After The Civil War<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/watson-surname-in-black-history\/#Watson_In_The_1900_And_1940_Census\" title=\"Watson In The 1900 And 1940 Census\">Watson In The 1900 And 1940 Census<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/watson-surname-in-black-history\/#Historic_Black_Figures_With_The_Watson_Surname\" title=\"Historic Black Figures With The Watson Surname\">Historic Black Figures With The Watson Surname<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/watson-surname-in-black-history\/#Hilary_Watson\" title=\"Hilary Watson\">Hilary Watson<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/watson-surname-in-black-history\/#Diane_Watson\" title=\"Diane Watson\">Diane Watson<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/watson-surname-in-black-history\/#Watson_In_Black_Military_Records\" title=\"Watson In Black Military Records\">Watson In Black Military Records<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/watson-surname-in-black-history\/#Buffalo_Soldiers\" title=\"Buffalo Soldiers\">Buffalo Soldiers<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/watson-surname-in-black-history\/#Black_Civil_War_Sailors\" title=\"Black Civil War Sailors\">Black Civil War Sailors<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/watson-surname-in-black-history\/#Tuskegee_Airmen\" title=\"Tuskegee Airmen\">Tuskegee Airmen<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"After_The_Civil_War\"><\/span>After The Civil War<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Emancipation-commemoration-stamp.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-955\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The 1870 census was the first survey after the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation. In 1850 and 1860, only free African Americans were recorded in the census. The many enslaved were omitted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From 1870 onwards, all black Americans were included.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>9,194 people named Watson were recorded in the 1870 census as black and 1,151 as mixed.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There was a total of 47,636 people with the name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Watson_In_The_1900_And_1940_Census\"><\/span>Watson In The 1900 And 1940 Census<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The mixed category was dropped from the census in 1900, so we just need to look at the black numbers this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>The 1900 census recorded 18,830 people with the last name Watson as black within a total of 83,488 that year.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By the way, the mixed category returned in the 1910 and 1920 censuses. It was dropped again in 1930, but replaced with extra categories for colored and non-white in a way that seems confusing now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This changed again in 1940 and we can simply focus on one black category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>The 1940 census recorded 26,680 people named Watson as black within a total of 135,606.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Historic_Black_Figures_With_The_Watson_Surname\"><\/span>Historic Black Figures With The Watson Surname<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-style-rounded\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"536\" src=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Watson-1024x536.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2205\" srcset=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Watson-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Watson-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Watson-768x402.jpg 768w, https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Watson.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Here are some notable African Americans in history with Watson as their last name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Hilary_Watson\"><\/span>Hilary Watson<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Born: 1832<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>From: Sharpsburg, Maryland<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Died: 1917<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>As a child, Hilary Watson was enslaved with his mother on a farm near Sharpburg. He worked on the farm and married his wife Christina in 1865.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The couple were freed in 1864 by the abolition of slavery in Maryland. They built a home near the Methodist Church in Sharpsburg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The couple were heavily involved in with the church and helped run the public school that used the premises. They went on to provide land for a schoolhouse in 1899.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Diane_Watson\"><\/span>Diane Watson<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Born: 1933<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>From: Los Angeles, California<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Diane Edith Watson\u2019s father was a police officer, and her mother was a postal worker. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She studied education at the University of California and did a masters in school psychology. Watson taught in L.A., France, and Japan, and was also a school psychologist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She was only the second African American woman to be elected to the Los Angeles board of education. Taking her seat in 1975, she worked hard on desegregating the public schools. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Watson was elected to the California state senate in 1978. She spent twenty years working to help people in poverty. President Clinton appointed her as Ambassador to Micronesia in 1998. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Watson would later be elected to Congress in 2001 after the death of Julian Dixon. She retired from politics in 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Other ambassadors<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are some other African American ambassadors:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/clark-surname-in-black-history\/#Alexander_Clark\">Alexander Clark<\/a>, Ambassador to Liberia in the 1890s<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/rowan-surname-in-black-history\/#Carl_T_Rowan\">Carl T. Rowan<\/a>, Ambassador to Finland in the 1960s<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Other Black Pioneers in Psychology<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/bush-surname-in-black-history\/#Roderick_Bush\">Roderick Bush<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/robertson-surname-in-black-history\/#Carolyn_Robertson\">Carolyn Robertson Payton<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Watson_In_Black_Military_Records\"><\/span>Watson In Black Military Records<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/1918-Tenth-Cavalry-Soldiers.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-679\" srcset=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/1918-Tenth-Cavalry-Soldiers.jpg 600w, https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/1918-Tenth-Cavalry-Soldiers-300x250.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Military records are a rich resource of for family history research. Here are examples of the Watson surname from three different military services:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Buffalo soldiers<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Black civil war sailors<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tuskegee airmen<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Buffalo_Soldiers\"><\/span>Buffalo Soldiers<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Five regiments for black soldiers were formed during the Civil War. They were known as the Buffalo Soldiers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Their records are part of the national archive of military monthly returns. The information includes the year and place of birth, where they enlisted, their occupation, and their height.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the earliest military entries for Watson was in August 1867. George Watson was a Recruit in the Tenth Cavalry. He was stationed in August 1867 at Fort Riley, Kansas and Memphis, Tennessee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the later entries was in May 1915. Clifton Watson was a Corporal in the Ninth Cavalry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are researching military ancestors, there is a free index of these records on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ancestry.com\/search\/collections\/1934\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ancestry.com<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.familysearch.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">FamilySearch.org.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You have to create an account on either website, but you do not need to pay for the Buffalo Soldiers archive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Black_Civil_War_Sailors\"><\/span>Black Civil War Sailors<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The National Parks Service has a free archive of African American sailors during the Civil War.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The information includes their age, height, rank, occupation, and where and when they enlisted. It also includes every ship that they served on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can search the database on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/civilwar\/search-sailors.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">National Parks website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Robert Watson<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the earliest entries for Watson was for Robert Watson from Brooklyn, New York. He enlisted in December 1861 at New York when he was aged 27.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The record shows that Robert was assigned on December 1866 to the ship Shenandoah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>His occupation before enlisting was as a Mariner. His naval rank was Seaman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><i>A seaman in the Navy is a sailor who is not an officer.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">James Watson<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the later entries was for a sailor who enlisted at New York in Waiter\/Servant. James was aged 19 and was from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He was assigned to the ship Estrella on April 1865.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>His occupation before enlisting was as a Waiter\/Servant. His naval rank was Landsman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><i>&#8220;Landsman&#8221; was the lowest rank at the time and was given to recruits with little sea experience.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Tuskegee_Airmen\"><\/span>Tuskegee Airmen<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/tuskagee-airmen.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17\" srcset=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/tuskagee-airmen.jpg 600w, https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/tuskagee-airmen-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/tuskagee-airmen-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>The Tuskegee Airmen were military personnel who served at the Tuskegee Army Airfield or related programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nearly one thousand black pilots graduated from the Tuskegee Institute. They flew single-engine fighter planes or twin-engine bombers. 352 fought in combat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dudley Watson graduated from the Tuskegee Institute in May 1943. He qualified as a fighter pilot. Dudley was from Frankfort, Kentucky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Spann Watson came from Hackensack, New Jersey. He graduated in July 1942 as a fighter pilot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can find a full list of graduate pilots in our <a href=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/list-of-tuskegee-airmen\/\">list of Tuskegee Airmen<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 2010 U.S. Census recorded 70,469 black Americans with Watson as their last name. That represented 28% of the total of 252,579 entries. This article tracks their numbers in the census since the Civil War. We also look at historic African American people named Watson. We end with a review of early records of black &#8230; <a title=\"Watson As An African American Last Name\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/watson-surname-in-black-history\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Watson As An African American Last Name\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2205,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2201"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2201"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2201\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3212,"href":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2201\/revisions\/3212"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}