John Pendleton Watson, Jr. (1849-1917) - Obituary

 1077 years ago…This obit for John Pendleton Watson, Jr. (1849-1917) appeared on the first page of the “Douglas County Sentinel” published on Friday, February 2, 1917. He was the son of Samuel H. Watson, Jr. and grew up at Dark Corner where his father was appointed postmaster in 1840 and by 1853 was a justice of the peace. He was named for his uncle John Pendleton Watson, Sr. (1809-1889) who was in Campbell County by 1836. I’ve transcribed the full obit below.

From the obit…”When news reached Douglasville Saturday morning (February 27) that Mr. John Pendleton Watson had died suddenly at his home in Adairsville, it cast a shadow of gloom over the entire community.

Mr. Watson had spent most of his life here and no man was better known throughout the county. For many years he was one of the leading merchants in Douglasville, and besides holding other positions of honor and responsibility, at one time represented this county in the state legislature. <served 1886-1887>

At the time of his death, he was a traveling salesman <census data shows he was a tobacco salesman> and made this town frequently and was here on Wednesday before his death.

Mr. Watson was 64 years old and had been married twice. His first wife was Miss Savanah Stewart, sister of Dr. FM and ER Stewart of this place. Three children from this union survive him, one son, JM of Dallas, Texas; Mrs. Lucile Moss of Nichols, Florida; and Miss Annie May Watson of Adairsville.

His second wife was Miss Reecie Stewart of Adairsville, who, with one son, survive him. He also leaves three brothers; J.A. of Lithia Springs, I.M. of Atlanta, and M.B. of Douglasville, and one sister, Miss Sallie Watson of Douglasville.

His remains were brough to Douglasville Monday evening and the funeral conducted Tuesday in the chapel of the Douglasville College, where an immense crowd gathered to the last tribute of respect. The services were conducted by Rev. Mr. Maxwell, of Adairsville, his pastor, assisted by Rev. J.C. Atkinson. <the Douglasville College, a school serving grades 1-11 sat approximate where the fire station/armory sits today on Church Street>

He was a consistent member of the Methodist church and of the Masonic Lodge, which fraternity performed the last sad rites when his remains were interred in Douglasville cemetery. <Find-A-Grave does not show his grave and the notes of Joe Baggett indicate a marker is missing>

He was a good citizen and will be greatly missed, not only in his home community but here, where he had spent most of his life.”

Via: Douglas County Sentinel – February 2, 1917

Streets and Places - Hows and Whys

When I first moved to Douglas County more than two decades ago, I was lost. I had only been in the area a couple of times and was very unfamiliar with the streets. One thing I did notice is Douglas County and Douglasville are like any other American locale regarding street and place names.

Names are often determined to honor certain people, landmarks, or types of businesses or organizations like Church Street. Sometimes old Native American names are used or even geographic locations are referred to like Mason Creek Road.

Our community is no different!

Today we tend to refer to areas of our community in terms of subdivision names. I might tell a friend, "Oh, you know ---out there by Bear Creek Estates" or "Just down the road from Sweetwater Bluffs" or "close to Midway Estates", but if we had been living in Douglas County in her earliest days we would have made far different references to communities that existed at that time ---places like Red Hill, Morristown, Yeager, Maroney and Dark Corner would be landmarks.

Yeageer and Maroney are somewhat familiar to me in that there are roads named for both, but Dark Corner? It sounds very ominous, doesn't it? When I located that name in some old records I instantly thought of a shady dark spot in the road perhaps where thieves might overtake an uninformed traveler.

I was wrong.

Dark Corner was located between Winston and Douglasville. Historical sources state the area was named for a Cherokee leader known simply as The Dark. His claim to fame included developing the first toll road into Cherokee lands. That's all I know ----so far.  I'll keep digging.

Salt Springs still exists as a community but is no longer known by that name. The name Salt Springs was given by Native Americans who regularly witnessed deer at the site licking the salt from rocks along the creek. Later the place became known as Bowden Springs where a hotel flourished, and the waters were advertised as having curative powers. In 1918, the name of this place was changed formally to Lithia Springs. Sound familiar?

Names of communities aren't the only identifiers on the maps that have changed over time. Various roads have morphed as well for many reasons...


THANK YOU for visiting “Every Now and Then” and reading the first few paragraphs of “Streets and Places – Hows and Whys“ which is now one of the 140 chapters in my book “Every Now and Then: The Amazing Tales of Douglas County, Volume I”. 

Visit the Amazon link by clicking the book cover below where you can explore the table of contents and read a few pages of the book...plus make a purchase if you choose!